FEAR ITSELF by Walter Mosley

Paris Minton and Fearless Jones are back for the second installment in this series, which is named for Fearless, even though Paris is the main character and narrator.  Paris, small of stature, is a used bookstore owner in Watts, and Fearless is his best friend and occasional protector, who is not book-smart but can read people like a book.  Fearless gets Paris involved in a search for Fearless’s missing employer that mushrooms into a whole lot more, of course.  This novel has a lot of moving parts, both in terms of characters and venues.  The lightning pace is a plus, but I had trouble keeping up with who did what when to whom and why.  Everything comes together in the end, but by then I just wanted to make sure that Paris was still in one piece; Fearless is a cinch to come out OK.