A Little Yellow Dog : Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story "Gray-Eyed Death" [Paperback]

Walter Mosley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Easy Rawlins Mysteries | Publication Date: November 5, 2002

November 1963: Easy's settled into a steady gig as a school custodian. It's a quiet, simple existence -- but a few moments of ecstasy with a sexy teacher will change all that. When the lady vanishes, Easy's stuck with a couple of corpses, the cops on his back, and a little yellow dog who's nobody's best friend. With his not-so-simple past snapping at his heels, and with enemies old and new looking to get even, Easy must kiss his careful little life good-bye -- and step closer to the edge....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The saga of Easy Rawlins that began in 1990 with Devil in a Blue Dress, continues in A Little Yellow Dog. Working as a janitor at Sojourner Truth Junior High School, Easy is asked to care for a small dog owned by the attractive Idabell Holland, a teacher at the school. When Idabell's husband is murdered, Easy finds himself mixed up with a gang of criminals engaged in looting Los Angeles schools and smuggling heroin from France. Idabell and Easy fall into a sexual liaison, but in the wake of it, Idabell is found stabbed to death in the passenger seat of Easy's car. While at first Easy thinks the murders are a "simple falling out of thieves," a surprising twist on the level of "The Maltese Falcon" reveals the truth. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

"You had to kill someone white to get any kind of news splash in the '60s," Easy Rawlins says of Los Angeles. In this fifth installment in the Easy Rawlins series, Mosley has allowed his character to evolve with age (the first book in the series took place in the mid-'40s). Tired of the street life, ex-hustler Rawlins has carved out a life on the straight and narrow, working for a public school and trying to raise his two adopted children. When the police suspect him of murder, he relies on his old street connections to help him out. Mosley is a master of dialogue and his quick-witted narrative is full of Chandler-esque twists. Weinberger is a natural Easy. With a voice that has the gravel of Jack Webb (minus the stiffness) and the confidence of Morgan Freeman, Weinberger takes listeners on what should be a smooth and exhilarating ride. However, the narration is riddled with so many small but distracting errors and slight misreadings that it shatters the suspension of disbelief. With a little more attention in the post-production phase, this fine, nine-hour foray into drama, intrigue, sex, hustling and murder could have been great.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (November 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743451805
• ISBN-13: 978-0743451802
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter Mosley is one of America's most celebrated and beloved writers. His books have won numerous awards and have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Mosley is the author of the acclaimed Easy Rawlins series of mysteries, including national bestsellers Cinnamon Kiss, Little Scarlet, and Bad Boy Brawly Brown; the Fearless Jones series, including Fearless Jones, Fear Itself, and Fear of the Dark; the novels Blue Light and RL's Dream; and two collections of stories featuring Socrates Fortlow, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, for which he received the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and Walkin' the Dog. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner From Walter Mosley, July 8, 1997

By 

N. Sausser "pucksau" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Little Yellow Dog: An Easy Rawlins Mystery (Paperback)

Can a book have atmosphere? If it can, then this book has it. The descriptions of the school yard took me back, in a flash, to my elementary school in Long Beach, California years ago. Do you remember school rooms in bungalows? And tetherball? Mosley is absolutely THE master of dialogue. Sometimes too much of one author can get tiresome, but not in this case. I read BLACK BETTY just before this book and the dialogue continues to be fresh and sparkling. I enjoyed the dry humor sprinkled throughout the story. It suits Easy very well and I'd like to see more of it in future books. The foray into the culinary experience was another new addition that I liked a lot. The main story line held together well and moved along almost effortlessly. I finished this book yesterday and I still don't know how I feel about the ending. I'm sure it will stay with me for a long while. Walter Mosley is one of the best authors around today, in my opinion. I eagerly await the next installment in the saga of Easy Rawlins

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner From Walter Mosley, May 16, 2000

By 

N. Sausser "pucksau" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A LITTLE YELLOW DOG (Easy Rawlins Mysteries) (Paperback)

Can a book have atmosphere? If it can, then this book has it. The descriptions of the school yard took me back, in a flash, to my elementary school in Long Beach, California years ago. Do you remember school rooms in bungalows? And tetherball? Mosley is absolutely THE master of dialogue. Sometimes too much of one author can get tiresome, but not in this case. I read BLACK BETTY just before this book and the dialogue continues to be fresh and sparkling. I enjoyed the dry humor sprinkled throughout the story. It suits Easy very well and I'd like to see more of it in future books. The foray into the culinary experience was another new addition that I liked a lot. The main story line held together well and moved along almost effortlessly. I finished this book yesterday and I still don't know how I feel about the ending. I'm sure it will stay with me for a long while. Walter Mosley is one of the best authors around today, in my opinion. I eagerly await the next installment in the saga of Easy Rawlins.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm Hooked On Easy, January 18, 2000

By 

Cydney Rax "rmn1994" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Little Yellow Dog: An Easy Rawlins Mystery (Paperback)

A Little Yellow Dog was the first Walter Mosley book I've ever read, and the first mystery I've read written by an African-American. From page one, I was hooked. It wasn't so much that the book was a Mystery, per se, but it was the writing style of Mosley that charmed me. I now see what people are referring to when they compliment Mosley's talent: he's quick witted, intelligent, detailed but doesn't over do it, puts you in the room, on the street, in the car, whereever the characters are, Mosley puts you there with them. He has the funniest expressions, just short little simple sentences that are profound and delightful. Since then, I have purchased a couple more books of his and look forward to enjoying them as well. I highly recommend Walter Mosley mysteries to people who just like good writing, lots of fast moving scenes, and thought-provoking, emotional, and funny, witty lines.