Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (USA 2020)

From the Publisher:
Walter Mosely's Devil in a Blue Dress was written in 1990 and set in 1948. The 30th anniversary edition gives us pause to consider what has and has not changed in terms of race in the U.S. Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins comes to the job of private detective not by choice, but necessity. In true detective and noir form, he's as tough to the world as it is to him. And that world, as in all noir fiction, is a troubled and violent environment. Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress ranks in the canon of Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Jim Thompson and Dashiell Hammett.

The first novel by "master of mystery" (The New York Times) Walter Mosley, featuring Easy Rawlins, the most iconic African American detective in all of fiction. Named one of the "best 100 mystery novels of all time" by the Mystery Writers of America, this special thirtieth anniversary edition features an all new introduction from the author.

The year is 1948, the town is Los Angeles.
Easy Rawlins, a black war veteran, has just been fired from his job at a defense factory plant. Drinking in his friend's bar, he's wondering how he'll manage to make ends meet, when a white man in a linen suit approaches him and offers him good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a missing blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.

Easy has no idea that by taking this job, his life is about to change forever.

"More than simply a detective novel...[Mosley is] a talented author with something vital to say about the distance between the black and white worlds, and with a dramatic way to say it" (The New York Times).

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. The First Easy Rawlins Novel. 30th Anniversary Edition. Washington Square Press, ISBN: 9781982150341 (October, 2020), 240 p., $17.00.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (UK 2020)

From the Publisher:
Thirtieth-anniversary edition of the bestselling, awardwinning novel with a timely new introduction by the author
It's the summer of '48 in the City of Angels and heads turn whenever Daphne Monet hits the sidewalk. But when she disappears with a trunkload of somebody else's cash no one knows where to look.

Easy Rawlins is a war veteran just fired from his job. Drinking in a friend's bar, he's wondering how to meet his mortgage payments when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will locate Miss Monet, a blonde with a reputation. It's a simple decision, but one fraught with danger. In the sleazy, fearful city, Easy must rely on his instincts, not just to solve the case, but to save his own life.

Nobody warned him -- better the devil you know...

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. The First Easy Rawlins Novel. 30th Anniversary Edition. With a new introduction by the author. Serpent's Tail, ISBN: 9781788167956 (October, 2020), 219 p., £9.99.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (UK 2017)

From the Publisher:
I need to find somebody and I might need a little help looking...
The summer of '48 in the city of Angels and there's heat on the streets when Daphne Monet hits the sidewalk. Heat when she disappears with a trunkload of somebody else's cash.

Easy Rawlins is a war veteran just fired from his job. Drinking in a friend's bar, he wonders how to meet his mortgage when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will locate Miss Monet, a blonde with a reputation. It's a simple decision, but for one thing. Nobody warned him - better the devil you know...

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. With an introduction by Val McDermid. Serpent's Tail, ISBN: 9781781255193 (January, 2017), 231 p., £8.99 (?).

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (UK 2010)

From the Publisher:
Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a war veteran just fired from his job. Drinking in a friend's bar, he wonders how to meet his mortgage when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will locate Miss Daphne Monet, a blonde beauty with a reputation. In the sleazy, fearful city, Easy must rely on his instincts, not just to solve the case, but to save his life.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. An Easy Rawlins Mystery. With an introduction by Val McDermid. Serpent's Tail, ISBN: 9781846686832 (May, 2010), 219 p., £7.99 (?).

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (USA 2002)

From the Publisher:
Named "One of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century" by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association
Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs...

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. An Easy Rawlins Novel. Washington Square Press, ISBN: 9780743451796 (September, 2002), 263 p., $14.00.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (UK 2001)

From the Publisher:
The time is 1948. The town is Los Angeles. The hero is Easy Rawlins, an out of work black war veteran. The mortgage payment's coming due, so Easy accepts the assignment of finding Daphne Monet, a blonde torch singer with a penchant for jazz and criminal black consorts. In his search through a sleazy, fearful city, he is lucky to be under the protection of the murderous Mouse who wants a piece of the action. Easy Rawlins is a fascinating creation driving a plot that carries a fine and bitter sting. With this first novel, Walter Mosley made a distinctly confident start to his career as a great and inspirational writer.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. An Easy Rawlins Novel. Serpent's Tail, ISBN: 1852427493 (October, 2001), 219 p., £6.99.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (USA 1997)

From the Publisher:
The time is 1948, the town is Los Angeles, and Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when o white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Monet, a blond beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs...

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. An Easy Rawlins Novel. Pocket Books, ISBN: 0671511424 (July, 1997), 219 p., $5.99.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (UK 1995)

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. Pan Macmillan, ISBN: 0330321145 (September, 1995), 224 p., £5.99.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (UK 1992)

From the Publisher:
WINNER OF THE JOHN CREASEY AWARD
The summer of '48 in the City of Angels and there's heat on the streets and in the ghettos of LA when Daphne Monet hits the sidewalk. Heat when she disappears with a trunkload of someone else's cash.

"I'm just asking you to find a girl..."

A simple decision for Easy Rawlins - no job, a mortgage and money due. Simple but for one thing. Nobody ever warned him - better the devil you know...

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. Pan Books, ISBN: 0330321145 (March (?), 1992), 219 p., £4.99.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (UK 1991)

From the Publisher:
The time is 1948: The town is Los Angeles; the hero is Easy Rawlins, an out of work black war veteran. The mortgage payment's coming due, so Easy accepts the assignment of finding Daphne Monet, blonde torch singer. In his search through a sleazy fearful city, he is lucky to be under the protection of the murderous Mouse...

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. Serpent's Tail, ISBN: 1852422173 (April, 1991), 219 p., £6.99.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
Already the object of a chorus of praise (see back cover), Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley is the freshest new American crime novel in years.
The time is 1948; the town is Los Angeles; the hero is Easy Rawlins, a tough black war veteran just out of a job at a defense plant. The mortgage payment's coming due, so Easy takes on some detective work from a silkily menacing white gangster, Dewitt Albright. The assignment: find the whereabouts of blonde femme fatale Daphne Monet, a singer known to frequent black jazz joints not usually hospitable to white patrons.

Easy's quest for the bewitching Daphne takes him (and the reader) on a vivid tour of forties L.A., from the barber shops and raucous clubs of Watts, to the elegant boardrooms and residences of a white political establishment with a great deal to hide. Once found, Daphne Monet proves an easier woman to locate than to fathom. She incarnates the promise of love and the threat of violent death. With his sardonic, gleefully murderous sidekick Mouse to guide him, Easy enters the dangerously complex moral territory of race relations and necessary violence, where questions of right and wrong depend for their answers on just whose side the law is on.

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress. A Novel. W. W. Norton, ISBN: 0393028542 (June, 1990), 219 p., $19.95.