Belated book review.

Oops, missed one of the books I read over the weekend!  A Red Death by Walter Mosley. 

As ever, I love the Easy Rawlins novels, and the way they negotiate law and ethics as two entirely separate fields, which, given the setting and subject matter, is appropriate.  While this one is a more formulaic sort of noir plot, the emotion poured into the story is what makes it stand out as incredible.  Easy is blackmailed by the FBI into helping them nail a suspected communist spy, who quickly becomes a close friend, someone Easy loves and admires.  Negotiating the question of treachery in about four different directions at the same time, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a solution Easy can live with, especially as a growing spree of killings surrounding the case builds its body count; with no seeming motive or link between the victims except their connection to Easy himself -- making him the prime suspect. 

With his personal life increasingly entangled in the case, and just as messy, the final solutions are equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Highly recommended.