First look: Easy Rawlins in Rose Gold

Each book in the Easy Rawlins series by Walter Mosley comes with a colour in the title. The first was Devil in a Blue Dress, and the last one we saw was Little Green in June 2013. The latest gives us two colours for the price of one – Rose and Gold, and here’s the eye-catching cover which is slick, retro and symbolic. A gold bullet, and a matching rose shade stick of lipstick with the Easy Rawlins emblem reminding one of the lettering on an old Chevrolet.

Will the story inside be solid gold, though? Well, you’ll have to wait for our review but it does sound very promising. Easy’s first day on a new case goes quite badly when someone attempts to gun him down. The setting – as always – is the wild, wild west days of post-war LA and the fact that Easy’s been attacked so soon could be because he’s working for the cops, or it could be because he’s good at what he does.

The lawmen have asked Easy Rawlins to track down Rosemary Goldsmith, daughter of a rich arms dealer who might just be with an ex-boxer who’s become a leader in black radical circles. The pugilist is now calling himself Uhuru Nolica and his group, Scorched Earth, appears to have kidnapped Rose. As a black detective, Easy might be able to get much closer to the radicals than the LAPD, State Department and FBI, who all have an interest in finding Rose. Well, so it would seem, but as we noted his life is under threat from the off…

Rose Gold is released 25 September in the UK and 23 September in the US. Pre-order here.