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The return of Paris Minton and Fearless Jones is cause for rejoicing around this desk. Though it might be considered heresy in some circles, Minton is my favorite creation of Walter Mosley's. Yes, Easy Rawlins is certainly better known and more popular, and I will readily and happily concede that Rawlins deserves all the attention he gets. But...but...there are so many unique elements Minton possesses that he gets my nod. Maybe it's the fact that he's a short guy who likes to read...well, it's more than that, actually --- a lot more.
FEAR ITSELF picks up where FEARLESS JONES left off, in the uneasy racial turbulence of Los Angeles in the 1950s. Minton has reopened his bookstore and, while not independently wealthy, is at least keeping his head above water. His life is quiet and he is content...at least until his friend Fearless Jones comes knocking. Jones, it soon develops, has inadvertently landed himself in trouble again, and he turns to his friend Minton for help. Minton and Jones make an unlikely but somehow realistic pair. Minton is well schooled and bookish, a veritable encyclopedia of unrelated but always useful facts. Jones is a graduate of the streets, an enigmatic individual with a quiet but stalwart courage and rumpled nobility that manifests itself in unusual but notable ways. Minton will go blocks out of his way to avoid trouble, but when Jones comes knocking he is unable to turn his friend away and soon finds himself involved in a set-to between two very different forces.
The story starts off simply enough. An attractive woman, seemingly in distress, has asked Jones to find Kit Mitchell, a man who had briefly employed Jones for day labor and who is now missing. Jones starts making inquiries but soon finds himself to be the subject of some police inquiries. Jones, on the run, asks Minton to assist him in locating the man. It only takes a few hours, however, before a suspicious --- and dangerous-looking --- stranger is knocking on Minton's door, looking for Jones. Minton reluctantly becomes involved in Jones's inquiry and is soon caught between warring factions of two different worlds that are both jockeying for position in the lucrative gas station business in Los Angeles. Minton soon realizes that what was supposed to be a missing person matter now involves theft, kidnapping and murder --- and that he inadvertently possesses the key to resolving the situation.
The plot of FEAR ITSELF is extremely challenging and complex; it is best to take this novel a bit at a time to avoid becoming lost in some of the machinations of the characters. The reading, however, is worth every minute. Mosley is quite simply at the top of his game here, contrasting two extremely interesting characters against the social and cultural backdrop of mid-20th century Los Angeles. And the ending, while extremely satisfying, has an element that will leave you who are blessed with hindsight groaning in sympathy for Minton and wanting to see more of him in future novels. This is one not to be missed.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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