“Hanging & Burning: A King Oliver Novel” by Walter Mosley, c.2026, Little, Brown, $30.00, 320 pages
In the new novel “Hanging & Burning,” prolific crime mystery writer Walter Mosley, best known for 1990’s “Devil in a Blue Dress,” has delivered yet another thrilling story about colorful criminals.
Former New York City cop, Joe “King” Oliver, would have never given the ailing and elderly Arman Babylon the time of day, if not for Joe’s Grandma Brenda.
It was Grandma Brenda who had vouched for Arman, a neighbor in a nearby room at the pricey private Los Angeles hospital where she was being treated for cancer. Arman had confided in her that he had been looking for his granddaughter, Twyla Mann. Grandma Brenda told him that her grandson would find the girl.
But Twyla did not want to be found. She used a couple of aliases and had moved around New York City. This intrigued Joe, as did the fact that Arman gave him only small clues, claiming that Twyla’s mother was not really her mother but Arman was still Twyla’s kin. The old man was hiding something, but he also had hinted that he was involved with organized crime on both coasts.
An internet search led Joe to more information, but none of it was good. Arman wasn’t exactly who he said he was, and neither was Twyla or her presumed mother.
Finding Twyla before her grandfather died should have been an easy case, Joe thought. And it definitely should not have plunged his life into danger.
Although “Hanging & Burning” is set in modern times, its criminal characters carry a 1940s mobster aura. This mix of old and new gives an appealing weightiness to the tale, with two cities full of witnesses and hideouts, a ruthless pair of mercenaries and moody dark alleys.
Readers will fall for Joe for his smarts. And his march through this quest to find Twyla is bound to bring a few chuckles. But stay alert. Soon enough, this novel grabs you, throws you in the trunk of a fancy car and races, screaming, to a stunning conclusion.
