Leonid McGill's spent a lifetime building up his reputation in the New York investigative scene. His seemingly infallible instinct and inside knowledge of the crime world make him the ideal man to help when Phillip Worry comes knocking. Phillip "Catfish" Worry is a 92-year-old Mississippi bluesman who needs Leonid's help with a simple task: deliver a letter revealing the black lineage of a wealthy heiress and her corrupt father.
... a slim volume with the feel of a fable and the concision of a blues scale. Minor characters have marvelous names—Archibald Lawless, Dido Kazz, Mozelle Tot—and move with ageless grace. 'I felt a kinship to all of them,' Leonid thinks. So do we.
As McGill schemes to deliver the letter, the threat of violence looms over every page, but action fans may be disappointed that the gunplay, including a final act of retribution, occurs offstage. The charms of this short novel lie in Mosley’s memorable characters, his portrayal of the world McGill inhabits and the author’s uniquely lyrical writing style.
NYC fixer Leonid McGill, last seen in And Sometimes I Worry about You (2015), knows he’s in trouble when prospective client Catfish Worry throws out the name Ernie Eckles, a legendary hit man known as the Mississippi Assassin ... Spieled in a powerful, streamlined voice, this wrenching American noir will stick with readers long after the final page.
