Book Review: The Long Fall by Walter Mosley - Novel

The Long Fall, by Walter Mosley, is a detective mystery novel set in New York City. The Private Investigator, Leonid McGill is the main character. He was a hard-drinking ex-boxer who turned his life around by becoming a legitimate private investigator. 

The author puts the reader in McGill’s shoes as he attempts to solve the mystery of one of his cases. He takes the reader through the city of New York as McGill tries to find four persons as requested by his client. In this quest, he gets embroiled with the NYPD and meets up with other people who know the four he is looking for. Every scene is graphically described to bring out the tense atmosphere that McGill finds himself in, as he searches for these people.

Mosley deftly brings in the many characters who become a prominent focus of the novel as each one of these characters play an important role in assisting McGill. The vivid and detailed descriptions of these characters add to the background of the novel. McGill uses his boxing skills on many an occasion. His wife and children are brought into the scenes that show McGill’s attempt at becoming a clean living citizen while leaving behind his sordid past which is alluded to in brief instances.

Mosley captivates the reader through the myriad of dialogues accompanied by reflective prose from McGill as he attempts to solve his case. It is in a colloquial form that makes it an easy read resulting in a page-turner in some sections.