By Terri Schlichenmeyer, Northend Agent’s
It’s been awhile.
Awhile since you saw that smile, since you looked into your beloved’s eyes and knew that the next few minutes or days or weeks would be among the best of your life. It’s been too long, in fact, since you were together, and you miss that. But in the new novel “Hanging & Burning” by Walter Mosley, beware: the next reunion could be deadly.
Joe “King” Oliver wouldn’t have given Arman Babylon the time of day, were it not for Joe’s Grandma Brenda.
It was she who’d vouched for the ailing man, a neighbor in a nearby room at the pricey private Los Angeles hospital where she was getting cancer treatment. Arman had confided in Brenda that he’d been looking for his granddaughter, Twyla, and Grandma B said that Joe, a former New York City cop, would find the girl.
Problem was, Twyla Mann didn’t want to be found. She had a couple of aliases and she moved here and there around New York City pretty often. This intrigued Joe, as did the fact that Arman gave him only the briefest of clues, claiming that Twyla’s mother was not really her mother but Arman was still Twyla’s kin. Obviously, the old man was holding something back, but he did hint that he was involved with organized crime on both coasts.
An internet search led Joe to even more information, none of it good.
Arman wasn’t exactly who he said he was – and neither was Twyla or her supposed mother or, for that matter, the woman who ran a nightclub that had distant ties to Arman’s past. The man who owned the club apparently had some beef with Joe from way back, and a woman who tied them all together was presumed dead.
Finding Twyla Mann before her grandfather died should’ve been an easy case. Joe knew that it shouldn’t have taken long to solve, and it shouldn’t have involved two last-century murders. It definitely should not have plunged Joe Oliver’s life into danger…
So, you’re flipping through the TV, looking for something to watch, and you come across an old 1940’s mobster movie. You know how easy it is to get caught up in it, right? Well, reading “Hanging & Burning” is a lot like that.
Though this novel is set in modern times with modern tools and weapons, you can absolutely picture the criminals here as the mobsters author Walter Mosley portrays them. This old-new mix adds gravel to the tale, with two cities full of witnesses and hideouts, a ruthless pair of mercenaries, and an appealing sense of dark alleys and cement shoes. You’ll love Joe Oliver for his smarts, and he’ll make you chuckle sometimes. But don’t get to complacent; soon enough, this novel grabs you, throws you in the trunk of a fancy car, and races, screaming, to a stunning conclusion.
If you love a good mystery-thriller, “Hanging & Burning” – so-titled after a Yiddish saying – will make you very happy. Look for it; you’ll be glad to take awhile.
