BLONDE FAITH by Walter Mosley

Easy Rawlins, private investigator, is back on the job in 1967 Los Angeles.  Life, however, is not easy for Easy as he endures racism everywhere he goes and laments that his ex-girlfriend Bonnie is about to marry someone else.  Three man have gone missing, and Easy sets out to find them.  His longtime nefarious friend Ray “Mouse” Alexander is being sought by the cops for the murder of Pericles Tarr, who is also missing and not necessarily dead.  Christmas Black delivers his eight-year-old daughter to Easy’s care without so much as a note and then vanishes.  In order to locate these three missing persons whose disappearances are certainly linked, Easy calls in a lot of favors from his many colorful acquaintances and banks a few more.  The breezy writing style and dialog belie the seriousness of the subject matter, making it difficult for me to immerse myself in this book.  Easy is at times his own worst enemy, especially when it comes to his relationships with women.  To say that he is depressed is putting it mildly, and his sobriety is constantly challenged by the craving for a drink to drown his sorrows.  I want to root for Easy, and certainly he is a top-notch investigator, but his personal woes make this novel a definite downer.