The second installment in the Easy Rawlins series and this book takes the development of the main character a whole lot further, with Rawlins attempting to discover why the IRS is after him for unpaid tax whilst, at the same time, attempting to run down a supposedly communist agitator. Brilliantly plotted and well written, this book almost makes you smell what it must have been like to be black and poor in early 1950's LA, with the overt racist attitude of the police and the IRS on one side and the struggle to exist with some dignity on the other. Rawlins has created a very character in Easy Rawlins and, with Raymond 'Mouse' Alexander, these are two men seemingly at odds with the norms of white society. This book is a treat for any serious fan of the genre.