Friday, December 04, 2009

Best crime novels: Al Roker

Today show weatherman Al Roker's debut novel is The Morning Show Murders, a mystery co-authored by Dick Lochte.

For The Week magazine, he named six of his favorite works of crime fiction. One novel on the list:
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley ­(Washington Square, $14).

Set in 1940s Los ­Angeles, this great noir thriller features an African-American protagonist who has an outlook not seen before in the genre. A smart, valiant war veteran who defended his country but now has trouble landing a job, Easy Rawlins can go places a white policeman or detective can’t go. For this first Rawlins mystery, Mosley created an unforgettable supporting cast, led by a psychotic killer named Mouse.
Read about another crime novel on Roker's list.

Raymond “Mouse” Alexander, from Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series, made The A.V. Club's list of “13 sidekicks who are cooler than their heroes.”

--Marshal Zeringue