Fear Itself

Paris Minton doesn't want any trouble. He minds his used bookstore and his own business. But in 1950s Los Angeles, sometimes trouble finds him, no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. When the nephew of the wealthiest woman in L.A. is missing and wanted for murder, she has to get involved--no matter if she can't stand him. What will her church think? She hires Jefferson T. Hill, a former sheriff of Dawson, Texas, and a tough customer, to track him down and prove his innocence. When Hill goes missing too, she tricks his friend Fearless Jones and Paris Minton into picking up the case. Paris steps inside the world of the black bourgeoisie, and it turns out to be filled with deceit and corruption. It takes everything he has just to stay alive through a case filled with twists and turns and dead ends like he never imagined. Written with the voice and vision that have made Walter Mosley one of the most entertaining writers in America, FEAR ITSELF marks the return of a master at the top of his form.

FEAR ITSELF, Walter Mosley's latest Fearless Jones mystery, is terrific, and Don Cheadle's narration is low- key, yet it meshes beautifully with the novel. The book is set in Los Angeles in the 1950s, with bookseller Paris Minton suddenly thrust into the middle of a murder investigation that turns into much more. Cheadle, who has a wonderful voice, seems to relish the plot twists and extensive dialogue. He particularly seems to enjoy Minton's difficulty knowing whom to trust and, more importantly, whom to fear. Don Cheadle is an often underrated actor, but there's nothing underrated about this reading. FEAR ITSELF's only flaw is its ending, but that shouldn't deter fans of Mosley and Cheadle, who will not be disappointed by this collaboration. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine