When the Thrill Is Gone (Leonid McGill)
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This is my third Walter Mosley book and the second one I’ve read of his Leonid McGill series. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mosely’s characters are incredibly rich – each one with deep personalities and detailed histories. Leonid McGill himself, is a great character. He’s somewhat like the classic Hollywood detective – a bit dark and lonely, with a questionable past. In this case, the hero has no “questionable” past. He was a thug and did some nasty work for some pretty bad people. Along the way, he did his fair share of favors for some important people who he calls upon to return such favors when a break in his search needs to occur. It’s all pretty reasonable in the reading.
A good portion of the text is about McGill’s internal thoughts and his situation. It’s at the same time believable and unreally complex. Credit to the author.
Perhaps what stands out about the book is how the author describes every black person in the story, of which there are many. No one is “black,” they’re “the color of maple syrup, in a glass jar, in a shadow.” No, I’m not kidding.
It’s a short book and very enjoyable. I suggest that you start at the beginning of the series, though, The Long Fall. The characters and back story are so rich, having the context makes the story that much better.
- Started reading:
- 15th April 2011
- Finished reading:
- 29th April 2011