September 9, 2007

Manic Monday: Clue

The word for this week is clue. Detectives are people that use clues for a living. My television tastes include a number of fictional detectives such as Rockford (James Garner) and Magnum (Tom Selleck). Garner and Selleck are both on my list of all-time favorite actors. I used to enjoy watching a show called Banacek (George Peppard), however Peppard never became a favorite actor for me ... probably because of his work on a show called the A-Team.

Over the past year I have become very much in tune with British mysteries that show on either the Biography Channel or BBC channel, such as Midsomer Murders, Miss Marple, Inspector Morse, Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Prime Suspect, Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Foyle's War. I didn't have a clue that I watched so many British mystery movies until tonight.

There are not many fictional African American detectives. Shaft and Hawk are two African American detectives that come to mind.

However villagers, my all-time favorite detective of all time is Easy Rawlins, an unemployed Black vet who falls into the detective trade quite by accident. The character was created by Walter Mosley in his 1990 book called, Devil in a Blue Dress. Mosley continues the series, jumping ahead a few years at a shot, with each book offering a vivid snapshot of the Black experience in America -- and particularly Los Angeles, in the latter half of the 20th century.

Easy is a cool character. We watch him complete his education. We see him build a real estate portfolio. We admire his sense of right and wrong as he adopts two abandoned children into his life. He knows -- as a Black man living in the last half of the twentieth century in the United States, and from his own experiences -- how easiliy it can all be stripped away.

Last year, I gave away Easy Rawlins' novels as gifts during the holiday season. I encourage all villagers to experience the Easy Rawlins experience if you haven't done so already --> Red Death (1991), White Butterfly (1992), Black Betty (1994), A Little Yellow Dog (1996), Gone Fishin' (1997), Bad Boy Brawly Brown (2002), Six Easy Pieces (2003), Little Scarlet (2004) and Cinnamon Kiss (2005).

15 comments:

Claire said...

Hey i feel the British love :)
I have read every Sherlock Holmes tale i can get my hands on and Foyle's War is a big favourite in this house, in fact all of those are.

I like the sound of Easy Rawlins and will be checking that out.

Hope you have a good start to you week :)

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

have a great monday my friend!

smiles, bee

Anonymous said...

What a great post!! Have a wonderful week, Villager.

Durward Discussion said...

We share a love for British mysteries. Even the mystery books I read tend to be British authors. However, I agree that Devil In A Blue Dress is a great movie. Growing up in LA the scenery of 40s Los Angeles was great and the story was even better.

Durward Discussion said...

I meant to invite you back to my page to check out the article I did on Three Mo' Tenors.

maryt/theteach said...

Villager, Love mystery writers, the English ones and the American ones. Love when they get made for TV or film: The Murder Book, Death in Holy Orders, the Foley series. You can get them all on Netflix. Ah yes, Easy Rawlins definitely a must read. And a must see cuz Denzel is really "easy" to look at! Hah!

Come check out my Manic Monday post:
maryt.wordpress.com

Janna said...

I've never heard of the Easy Rawlins series but it sounds interesting!

Sandee said...

Hi Villager - I haven't even heard of Easy Rawlins until today, but I love detectives stories. I will give him a try. Thanks for the tip and as usual you do a steller job on any word for MM. Have a great day. :)

Tom Hilton said...

Mosley's novels are very good, and Devil in a Blue Dress is an excellent movie (sadly, overlooked by most people).

And on the British tip: no Cracker? Robbie Coltrane is amazing, magnetic and maddening at the same time.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed reading your post, Villager. I too always watched Magnum PI and Rockford Files, love Selleck and Garner. I sometimes watch reruns of those shows on satalite tv, as well as watch other stuff with them in it... like Quigley Down Under with Tom Selleck. I love that movie!

Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

Three whoofs for James Garner & Tom Selleck! Whoof! Whoof! Whoof!

Great post!

katherine. said...

I've only read one of the Easy Rawlins books... I should check out the rest!

Unknown said...

I am grateful to everyone who took time to comment on my MM post this week. I didn't realize that so many folks hadn't heard of Easy Rawlins. I will place his books in the VILLAGE BOOKS post on the right-hand navigation bar over the coming week.

Tom - Truth to tell, I haven't seen Cracker on either BBC or Bio channel in my neighborhood. I will see if I can see the series via Netflix.

peace, Villager

Foofa said...

Sounds great, I am always on the lookout for new books to read. My favorite TV detective is Angel, you know, the Vampire with a soul.

Durward Discussion said...

There is a new 2007 Easy Rawlins novel on my "to buy" list: Blonde Faith