A Little Yellow Dog: An Easy Rawlins Mystery (Paperback)

~ (Author) "WHEN I GOT TO WORK THAT MONDAY MORNING I KNEW something was wrong..." (more)
Key Phrases: carpet balls, hopper room, little yellow dog, Sojourner Truth, Sergeant Sanchez, Idabell Turner (more...)

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

Easy Rawlins is back (after his last appearance in Black Betty), which is great news for readers intrigued by Mosley's noir L.A. settings and his resourceful, street-smart hero. It's the early 1960s, and Easy has settled for a quiet, respectable life, out of touch with his raffish old comrades, making a home for his two adopted kids, working as a maintenance supervisor at a public school in Watts. But dead bodies interfere with his solid existence: first, a well-dressed corpse shows up in the school gardens; next, the first corpse's twin is discovered at the home of an attractive teacher at the school who has disappeared?leaving Easy, who has enjoyed a quick tumble with her, to look after her little dog, Pharaoh. When white police (even an ambitious Latino sergeant) come sniffing around, Easy draws their close attention; in that time and place, independent black men were automatic suspects in any mayhem. It is Mosley's great gift to make the racist atmosphere palpable without rubbing it in, and to show the depths of courage and tenacity in his marginal characters without preachiness. In the violent events that build to a bloody climax on the day JFK is shot, Easy and his friends, despite all their failings, hold to a code that never falters, meeting the worst life can throw at them with humor and grit. Mosley's thrillers, always thrilling, are salutary as well. BOMC and QPB selections; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; 1st Printing. Easy Rawlins Mystery. edition (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671884298
• ISBN-13: 978-0671884291
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,689,697 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Easy Rawlins Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 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)

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

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.