Cinnamon Kiss: A Novel Mosley, Walter and Boatman, Michael

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. It isn't an easy job for an actor to bring to audio life all the many facets of Mosley's Easy Rawlinsthe street smarts and survival skills that make him a good detective; the devoted family man who works as a junior high school custodian; the shrewd and compassionate historian of L.A.'s black community. Easy walks the razor's edge between the straight, property-owning life he aspires to and the crime and violence that surround him. Boatman, who did such a solid job on Rawlins's Little Scarlet, works harder and shines even brighter here. Desperately needing more money than he can raise to send his adopted daughter, Feather, to a Swiss clinic to treat her rare blood condition, Easy almost agrees to join his deadly best friend, Raymond "Mouse" Alexander, in an armed robbery. Boatman catches all the nuances of their first scene togetherEasy full of moral qualms and practical fears; Mouse as calm and reassuring as a shoe salesman. When Rawlins gets a job in San Francisco, Boatman gets the chance to play crooked detectives and lawyers, mysteriously sexy females and that now-familiar gallery of supporting characters only a black Balzac could create. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description It is the Summer of Love and Easy Rawlins is contemplating robbing an armored car. It's farther outside the law than Easy has ever traveled, but his daughter, Feather, needs a medical treatment that costs far more than Easy can earn or borrow in time. And his friend Mouse tells him it's a cinch. Then another friend, Saul Lynx, offers a job that might solve Easy's problem without jail time. He has to track the disappearance of an eccentric, prominent attorney. His assistant of sorts, the beautiful "Cinnamon" Cargill, is gone as well. Easy can tell there is much more than he is being told: Robert Lee, his new employer, is as suspect as the man who disappeared. But his need overcomes all concerns, and he plunges into unfamiliar territory, from the newfound hippie enclaves to a vicious plot that stretches back to the battlefields of Europe. About the Author Walter Mosleyis one of America's most celebrated and beloved writers. A Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, he has won numerous awards, including the Anisfield-Wolf Award, a Grammy, a PEN USA's Lifetime Achievement Award, and several NAACP Image Awards. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. His short fiction has appeared in a wide array of publications, includingThe New Yorker, GQ, Esquire, Los Angeles Times Magazine, andPlayboy,and his nonfiction has been published inThe New York Times Book Review,The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, andThe Nation. He is the author of Down the River unto the Sea. He lives in New York City. From AudioFile Actor Michael Boatman's second appearance as narrator of a Mosley novel is cause for celebration. It's San Francisco during the "summer of love," and Easy Rawlins is in deep trouble, as his beloved daughter needs an expensive medical procedure to save her life. Boatman shines as he adds both tension and pathos when Easy and his lifelong friend, Mouse, contemplate robbing an armored car to save the girl's life. Evocative music bookends each disc as Boatman portrays one unforgettable character after another. Take special note of the sneering tone in the voice of Easy's employer, ace detective Robert, and the sensuous subtext Boatman brings to femme fatale Cinnamon Cargill. R.O. AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright AudioFile, Portland, Maine