Devil in a Blue Dress
Decide its fate
The record
Time
An eveningA season219 pages, about 4 hours: two-thirds the length of a typical book on the shelf.
Getting in
Walk right inSteep climbTwo readers report trouble in the opening, one quitting 15 percent in.
What it gives
Plot and actionIdeas to live byIn 15 reviews from critics and book blogs, 13 credit the plot and 9 credit the ideas or a change in how they live.
One of a kind
Others do thisNothing else doesRaymond Chandler is named in four reviews, and Alta’s John Freeman pairs him with Chester Himes.
The case for it
on the tension
“the air crackles whenever Easy goes up against a white man”
Unsigned review · Kirkus Reviews, 1990 on the opening
“The book gets off to a hot start.”
John Freeman · Alta, 2020 on the dialogue
“The dialogue crackles.”
a book blog on Mouse Alexander
“Mouse is unpredictable, dangerous, and completely comfortable using violence.”
four stars · a book blog
The case against
on the pace
“There’s a bit too much stasis for me, as clues are slowly disseminated”
Eric Beetner · Criminal Element, 2016 on the opening stretch
“Yet I got lost and I abandoned the book about 15% into it.”
a book blog on the plot
“There’s just too much going on: too many characters, too many locations, too much event.”
three stars · a Substack review on the female characters
“female characters in the story were somewhat one-note being defined primarily by their sexual presences”
a book blog
