Fear Itself: A Fearless Jones Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "A SUDDEN BANGING ON THE FRONT DOOR sent a chill down my neck and into my chest..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Fine, Kit Mitchell, Miss Moore (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this eagerly anticipated follow-up to Fearless Jones (2001), Watts bookstore owner Paris Minton and the dangerous but principled Fearless Jones tread the familiar territory mapped so successfully by Mosley's original detecting duo, Easy Rawlins and Raymond "Mouse" Alexander. The author depicts 1950s Los Angeles with his usual unerring accuracy, but a somewhat different dynamic drives his heroes. When Fearless drags the reluctant Paris into helping him look for Kit Mitchell (aka the Watermelon Man), their quest turns quickly murderous. Timid bookworm Paris gets caught in a deadly game of hide-and-seek whose players deal in lead, money and lies and include members of the fractured and fractious family of millionaire black businesswoman Winifred L. Fine. Neither Fearless nor Paris is sure who or what the various seekers are after-the missing Mitchell, a fabulous emerald pendant or a family diary-only that it's valued more than the lives lost trying to find it. A desire to aid his friend Fearless initially motivates Paris, but his journey becomes a voyage of self-discovery. While Paris possesses a narrative voice that's more literate and middle-class than that of the street-smart Easy, it should still resonate with Mosley's legions of fans.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Although Walter Mosley is best known for his popular Easy Rawlins series, critics agree that the newer Fearless Jones books come in a close second. After all, they're close cousins, both set in Los Angeles in the 1950s and dealing with themes of racism, black culture, and social injustice. The newer series, however, written in similarly cool, witty prose, is lighter in tone. Reviewers praised Mosley's vivid, convincing characters—Fearless, of course, but also the women, including the intrepid Three Hearts. They disagreed, however, about the novel's plot. Some critics thought it fast-paced and complex, while others cited it as ancillary to the character development and larger history lesson. In the end, Fear of the Dark is, like Mosley's other novels, "troubling, too—that's clearly what he intends, and he does his work well" (Washington Post).

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 316 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316591122
• ISBN-13: 978-0316591126
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #831,483 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from one of the genre's best, October 4, 2006

By	David Montgomery "Book Critic" (davidjmontgomery.com) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fear of the Dark (Fearless Jones Novel, No.3) (Hardcover)

For sixteen years now, Walter Mosley has been producing some of the finest mystery novels the genre has ever seen. That streak continues with his latest, another top-notch novel from one of literature's most gifted observers of race, crime and life on the rough side of America's streets.

"Fear of the Dark" is the third book to feature mild-mannered bookstore owner Paris Minton, and once again this gentle man is taking part in an adventure against his will, with his stalwart friend Fearless Jones along for the ride.

Paris is a fascinating hero for a crime novel, as he's neither brave nor ambitious, nor especially honest. He wants nothing more than to be left alone among his beloved books, but there's no way that the shadier residents of L.A.'s South Central are going to let that happen.

The stories featuring Paris Minton are so good that they have begun to outshine even Mosley's superb series featuring detective Easy Rawlins -- and that's high praise indeed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars bookseller as detective, September 22, 2006

By	Richard Cumming "richo" (cyberspace) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Fear of the Dark (Fearless Jones Novel, No.3) (Hardcover)

Walter Mosley can write about anything. While his Easy Rawlins series is his best known, a few years ago he started this series about Fearless Jones. Of course, Fearless is in it but he's mostly the sidekick to the dweeby little ghetto bookseller, Paris Minton.

The story opens with Minton scanning his system of mirrors that helps him to quickly identify the rare visitor who steps inside the entryway to his bookstore. Now and then he does have customers. He's more concerned about running away from bad guys who might pay a visit. One guy he knows to ignore is his worthless cousin Ulysses. They all call him USELESS (except his mother).

Useless pays a visit to Paris and then he vanishes. His mother, Minton's aunt, recruits Paris and Fearless to find her son. That's where the adventure begins. Mosley is a supremely gifted stylist. He cooks up a steaming pot of intrigue, unsolved murders, dangerous damsels, rogue cops and per the usual, Paris Minton's eye for the ladies gets him into a real stew.

Mosley can write this stuff in his sleep. We are blessed to have such a prolific author among us.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Listen To It, February 10, 2004

By	Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" (Lexington, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Los Angeles, 1955. Paris Minton is a retiring and none too courageous owner of a tiny bookstore. Fearless Jones is his best friend, but whenever he appears trouble is sure to follow. Milo Sweet is a conniving, double-dealing bail bondsman and disbarred lawyer. Kit Mitchell is missing. That's where the trouble starts, for it seems everyone is looking for Kit, and looking for him turns out to be extremely dangerous. And there are many, many more characters--the eccentric, the mad, the wealthy, the warm-hearted, the wicked.

Things go from strange to dangerous to deadly as Paris and Fearless navigate the web of deceit and double-crossing spun by the characters. So, what is the big secret everyone's looking for? Who is Kit Mitchell and why does everyone want to find him? Will Paris, the fearful book-lover, survive this dangerous web of intrigue?

Author Walter Mosley is a brilliant writer with a unique African-American voice. If the story doesn't make complete sense, if the plot doesn't quite hang together, if the characters are hard to keep track of, well, who cares? You can just listen to this book as if you were listening to jazz. It just rolls right along from one outrageous complication to another. The sentences, the words, the scenes, the dialogue--unbelievably good. I recommend this book, but, don't try to hard to follow the plot. Just listen to it! Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber