The first novel, “Devil in a Blue Dress” has just become recently unemployed when he looses his job as a plant worker.

Instead, Rawlins’ associations with rebels and misfits lead a story unlike the others. Without restrictions, Rawlins methods do not fall in line with enforcement protocols or regulations. Rawlins did not have prior experience in law enforcement, unlike Marlowe and Archer, so his style and approach was rough around the edges and untamed. Yet, Rawlins greatly differed from them, being that he was untrained and unlicensed. Upon loosing his job, Rawlins becomes an private investigator, ironically during a racial oppressive time period in American history.ĭuring the time that Rawlins was introduced, there were already other fictional African American detectives featured in other novel series, such as Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, and Ross Macdonald’s Lev Archer, who many claimed Rawlins was modeled after. As a adult, Rawlins serves in World War II, and leaves the military as a veteran, only to work at a aircraft assembly plant. When he was only 7 years old, Rawlins’ father abandoned his family, and shortly after that, his mother died. Introduced as Ezekiel “Easy” Porterhouse Rawlins, Rawlins is an African American man, born Novemin Louisiana, but raised in Texas. Rawlins, a World War II veteran, is a balanced character whose fictional encounters with mystery and crime underlined by race and class take readers on a emotional and captivating journey back in time.

With an socially troubled community, the series exploits the racial inequities and the social injustices experienced by African Americans during that time. The national attention in that area as a result of racial segregation and oppression sets the premise for Rawlins’ background. This community is historically known for its racial uprisings and riots. In the novels, Rawlins resides in Watts, Los Angeles. The series ends with the novel “Rose Gold”, which was published in 2014. The series contains 10 novels, beginning with “Devil in a Blue Dress”, which was published in 1990 and set in 1948. The mystery novel series is set in the 1940’s and it runs through the 1960’s. Easy Rawlins is a private Investigator who is the protagonist of a novel series written by Walter Mosley.

Easy rawlins devil in a blue dress