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Leonid McGill #1
The Long Fall
The widely praised New York Times bestseller, and Mosley's first new series since his acclaimed Easy Rawlins novels... Leonid McGill is an ex-boxer and a hard drinker looking to clean up his act. He's an old-school P.I. working a New York City that's gotten a little too fancy all around him. But it's still full of dirty secrets, and as McGill unearths them, his commitment to the straight and narrow is going to be tested to the limit...
357 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Walter Mosley
158 books3,584 followersWalter Mosley (b. 1952) is the author of the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins, as well as numerous other works, from literary fiction and science fiction to a young adult novel and political monographs. His short fiction has been widely published, and his nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and the Nation, among other publications. Mosley is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, a Grammy, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 627 reviews
August 13, 2024
4.5 stars
This book just sucked me into the story. It is book one in the series. The blurb describes Leonid McGill as "a black man with a funny name." Leonid is a private eye in New York city with a reputation for being willing to do illegal things for the right price. He once framed a man for murder. But now he wants to go legit. He desperately needs money for his rent. Facing eviction, he agrees to find 4 men for a mysterious client. But then they start dying and he risks his life to find out why. He navigates his way through police, behind the scenes power brokers and criminals to get answers.
We also get glimpses of his complicated personal life. I read this library book in two days.
This book just sucked me into the story. It is book one in the series. The blurb describes Leonid McGill as "a black man with a funny name." Leonid is a private eye in New York city with a reputation for being willing to do illegal things for the right price. He once framed a man for murder. But now he wants to go legit. He desperately needs money for his rent. Facing eviction, he agrees to find 4 men for a mysterious client. But then they start dying and he risks his life to find out why. He navigates his way through police, behind the scenes power brokers and criminals to get answers.
We also get glimpses of his complicated personal life. I read this library book in two days.
January 14, 2015
A new series from Walter Mosley, huzzah!
Well, it's new to me. Mosley's been at the Leonid McGill series since 2009, about 20 years after he started putting out his popular Easy Rawlins books. But instead of rewinding time back to the race-war years of 1960s Los Angeles, The Long Fall takes us on a literary drive-by of a contemporary day-in-the-life of a New York City private investigator.
Leonid McGill, a 50 year old bruiser with a brain, must weave together a number of loose threads, some more deadly and personal than a PI's typical fare. Mosley's got a winning new character in McGill, putting together a nuanced portrait of a middle-aged man with a past, who's still left wondering what his future holds, if anything.
When I see someone review a book on Goodreads and they give it a three star rating, I'm seldom inspired to read that book. However, this sort of three star rating truly means what this website claims it to be, an I "liked it" kind of book. The Long Fall is not groundbreaking, but it is compelling. You want to keep reading. There's never a moment when you're afraid your brain might explode. Instead, it delivers the occasional and pleasurable pulse quickening moment - a common pace for Mosley's work it seems - which drives the plot along to the satisfying end.
Well, it's new to me. Mosley's been at the Leonid McGill series since 2009, about 20 years after he started putting out his popular Easy Rawlins books. But instead of rewinding time back to the race-war years of 1960s Los Angeles, The Long Fall takes us on a literary drive-by of a contemporary day-in-the-life of a New York City private investigator.
Leonid McGill, a 50 year old bruiser with a brain, must weave together a number of loose threads, some more deadly and personal than a PI's typical fare. Mosley's got a winning new character in McGill, putting together a nuanced portrait of a middle-aged man with a past, who's still left wondering what his future holds, if anything.
When I see someone review a book on Goodreads and they give it a three star rating, I'm seldom inspired to read that book. However, this sort of three star rating truly means what this website claims it to be, an I "liked it" kind of book. The Long Fall is not groundbreaking, but it is compelling. You want to keep reading. There's never a moment when you're afraid your brain might explode. Instead, it delivers the occasional and pleasurable pulse quickening moment - a common pace for Mosley's work it seems - which drives the plot along to the satisfying end.
May 29, 2014
Mosley introduces here PI Leonid McGill, a short, broad, and boxer-tough black fifty-something, who, after a back-story crisis, is trying to lighten the shade of his moral ambiguity, and is easy to root for. He has a few laughs tossing out character names like Norman Fell and Thom Watson. There are plenty of characters here, so be prepared to keep a scorecard. Mosley has moved from mid-twentieth-century LA to twenty-first-century New York City, but his work retains the atmosphere one expects. The 21st century and the east coast have the same sorts of gangsters, corrupt officials, colorful local characters, gorgeous women, soiled marriages, double-crosses and body counts as that other century and that warmer climate. Mosley updates with some recent technology to stay current. But the feel is the same, grimy, engaging, threatening and comfortable. You know what you are getting in a Walter Mosley mystery. And Mosley delivers, in spades.
July 17, 2011
You think you got problems? Just be glad you’re not Leonid McGill. Poor McGill is a private detective who used to specialize in blackmail and framing people to let others off the hook, but now he’s trying to turn over a new leaf and only take legitimate jobs. Staying on the straight and narrow isn’t easy. What should have been a simple case of finding four men takes a nasty turn when they start turning up dead. Leonid was used to find the guys so they could be murdered, and he looks to be next on the list. Plus, a dangerous gangster is demanding the McGill find his former accountant, and he’s probably got more than just auditing his finances in mind.
If his work life wasn’t bad enough, McGill is trapped in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife and the secret DNA tests he had run show that two of the three kids he’s raising are not his own. One of his children is a budding hustler who is about to commit his first major crime, and McGill has to find a way to stop the young man. Plus, the police are constantly hassling him because of his old criminal ways.
Mosley has a knack for creating interesting main characters like Easy Rawlins and Socrates Fortlow, and Leonid McGill is a great addition to his roster. The son of a dedicated communist and a former boxer, McGill is trying to move forward and be a better man, but his past is constantly coming back to bite him in the ass. He seems stuck between two worlds in both his work and his family life with his refusal to leave his wife despite their issues.
Mosley also adds another good entry into the Bad Ass Criminal Friend category. He had already created one all-star with Mouse, Easy Rawlins’ murderous friend, and here comes up with another entertaining BACF with Hush, a quiet hit man who owes McGill a favor.
I liked the premise with McGill’s shady past, and his efforts to clean up his act. Mosley’s writing is as solid as ever, and he’s come up with a unique twist on the detective story here.
If his work life wasn’t bad enough, McGill is trapped in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife and the secret DNA tests he had run show that two of the three kids he’s raising are not his own. One of his children is a budding hustler who is about to commit his first major crime, and McGill has to find a way to stop the young man. Plus, the police are constantly hassling him because of his old criminal ways.
Mosley has a knack for creating interesting main characters like Easy Rawlins and Socrates Fortlow, and Leonid McGill is a great addition to his roster. The son of a dedicated communist and a former boxer, McGill is trying to move forward and be a better man, but his past is constantly coming back to bite him in the ass. He seems stuck between two worlds in both his work and his family life with his refusal to leave his wife despite their issues.
Mosley also adds another good entry into the Bad Ass Criminal Friend category. He had already created one all-star with Mouse, Easy Rawlins’ murderous friend, and here comes up with another entertaining BACF with Hush, a quiet hit man who owes McGill a favor.
I liked the premise with McGill’s shady past, and his efforts to clean up his act. Mosley’s writing is as solid as ever, and he’s come up with a unique twist on the detective story here.
January 18, 2019
Looking forward to the second Leonid book asap. Simple as ABC, this is a good read.
A- plenty of action
B- Big, Bad with mad Boxing skills (and, well, he's Black)
C- Conflicts, some complex, Contacts on the wrong side of the law
D-Deadpan Delivery, and yes...Death
It's 2008 New York, Leonid has some challenging client requests as PI, and there is big money behind the plans to kill a certain circle of people.
Interesting introduction to a reformed man who "aims" not to kill.
A- plenty of action
B- Big, Bad with mad Boxing skills (and, well, he's Black)
C- Conflicts, some complex, Contacts on the wrong side of the law
D-Deadpan Delivery, and yes...Death
It's 2008 New York, Leonid has some challenging client requests as PI, and there is big money behind the plans to kill a certain circle of people.
Interesting introduction to a reformed man who "aims" not to kill.
January 12, 2020
After finishing The Long Fall by Walter Mosley—the first of his books that I've read—it's hard to believe it's taken me this long to get there. The Long Fall is a hard-boiled private detective novel told with style and depth of character I just never see in the periodic dipping of my toe into the genre.
As with a lot of fictional private eyes, Leonid McGill is a guy dealing with a tough personal life and never quite able to get away from his past. Typically, though, this seems to manifest as a guy with a drinking problem whose wife has left him and he's irritated the wrong people. Leonid McGill is almost the opposite: he's almost too much in control of himself, which means refusing to cheat on his wife despite a marriage that's not only loveless but fraught with issues that make the reader occasionally wish Leonid would just succumb to temptation.
Katrina, Leonid's wife, dropped him for a better prospect a couple of years ago only to return, begging him to take her back. He did, despite being on the verge of moving on with someone new, for the sake of his three kids (two of whom aren't actually his.) If this makes Katrina sound awful, she's not, really. Mosley gives her—as he does with many of the characters in the book—a nuanced, understandable set of motivations and qualities. You don't necessarily find yourself thinking how lucky Leonid is to be with her, but you do understand why she does the things she does.
Leonid's past comes back to haunt him throughout the book. Back in the day his investigative work tended to be for bad people, resulting in other bad people getting killed. Now he's trying to do things differently, but while he may have moved towards enlightenment, his former clients haven't. Leonid's past bad acts make it infinitely easier to buy into his efforts to lead a nobler life and why he's constantly wrestling with the moral implications of his actions.
Most novels in the genre tend to be primarily focus on the external story—the case the P.I. is working on—while using the character's personal life as a kind of interstitial to break up the action. The Long Fall gives equal weight to both the murders and Leonid's struggles to deal with his family while also protecting them.
This balance of emphasis wouldn't work without the level of literary skill Mosley brings to the story. It's not just a matter of the writing itself being fantastic (the prose is the best I've read in the genre), but actually giving depth and humanity to the characters. Mosley invests you just as heavily in the tension between Leonid and his family as the murders themselves and he can do this because, well, he's just that good.
The Long Fall was that rare book for me that gives you everything you expect from a genre novel yet does it in a way that challenges and stimulates your sense of empathy. It's a terrific read that's left me thinking I'd best go find another of Walter Mosley's books right away.
As with a lot of fictional private eyes, Leonid McGill is a guy dealing with a tough personal life and never quite able to get away from his past. Typically, though, this seems to manifest as a guy with a drinking problem whose wife has left him and he's irritated the wrong people. Leonid McGill is almost the opposite: he's almost too much in control of himself, which means refusing to cheat on his wife despite a marriage that's not only loveless but fraught with issues that make the reader occasionally wish Leonid would just succumb to temptation.
Katrina, Leonid's wife, dropped him for a better prospect a couple of years ago only to return, begging him to take her back. He did, despite being on the verge of moving on with someone new, for the sake of his three kids (two of whom aren't actually his.) If this makes Katrina sound awful, she's not, really. Mosley gives her—as he does with many of the characters in the book—a nuanced, understandable set of motivations and qualities. You don't necessarily find yourself thinking how lucky Leonid is to be with her, but you do understand why she does the things she does.
Leonid's past comes back to haunt him throughout the book. Back in the day his investigative work tended to be for bad people, resulting in other bad people getting killed. Now he's trying to do things differently, but while he may have moved towards enlightenment, his former clients haven't. Leonid's past bad acts make it infinitely easier to buy into his efforts to lead a nobler life and why he's constantly wrestling with the moral implications of his actions.
Most novels in the genre tend to be primarily focus on the external story—the case the P.I. is working on—while using the character's personal life as a kind of interstitial to break up the action. The Long Fall gives equal weight to both the murders and Leonid's struggles to deal with his family while also protecting them.
This balance of emphasis wouldn't work without the level of literary skill Mosley brings to the story. It's not just a matter of the writing itself being fantastic (the prose is the best I've read in the genre), but actually giving depth and humanity to the characters. Mosley invests you just as heavily in the tension between Leonid and his family as the murders themselves and he can do this because, well, he's just that good.
The Long Fall was that rare book for me that gives you everything you expect from a genre novel yet does it in a way that challenges and stimulates your sense of empathy. It's a terrific read that's left me thinking I'd best go find another of Walter Mosley's books right away.
January 21, 2024
3 1/2 stars.
I enjoyed this book, but I should not have tried the audiobook version. There were just too many players, and I kind of gave up trying to keep up them all. It was still enjoyable, but I felt I was missing out on some of the finer points. He's an interesting character, but really needs to learn to not be so touchy sometimes - seems to get him in trouble a lot, but I guess that's just part of his allure. All in all, he's a good man.
I enjoyed this book, but I should not have tried the audiobook version. There were just too many players, and I kind of gave up trying to keep up them all. It was still enjoyable, but I felt I was missing out on some of the finer points. He's an interesting character, but really needs to learn to not be so touchy sometimes - seems to get him in trouble a lot, but I guess that's just part of his allure. All in all, he's a good man.
May 9, 2021
This is the first of what is now a 6 book series featuring PI Leonid McGill. McGill, has taken some nasty work (framing spouses, politicians, helping criminals) and now middle aged, is trying to go legit. This story is a case he takes (he needs the money) in the hope that it will be the last of his unseemly work.
Leonid McGill’s portrait unfolds through his own first person narrative. He is a boxer who never went pro; but the skill is useful in his current profession. His marriage is a mistake he lives with; his wife tries to leave. His father was a communist who left the family for revolutions here and there. His father’s words and wisdom resonate, but not his ideology. McGill chooses aliases from the many business cards he carries. He has a fashionable office, and like so much about him, it has a back story. His mistress loves him. He loves New York City.
McGill is black. He’s a victim of a crime and the police treat him like the perpetrator. Where it would help to call the police, he is reluctant. While he is known for skirting the law, too many cops are openly show an attitude. When he describes people he will say they are white or describe their shade of brown – the norm is that being white is assumed and black suffices for describing non-whites.
The mystery is good, but the character of McGill is much more fascinating. There is a sub-story about the detective’s step son. The author has playwright experience. Maybe we’ll see this series on Netfilx.
Leonid McGill’s portrait unfolds through his own first person narrative. He is a boxer who never went pro; but the skill is useful in his current profession. His marriage is a mistake he lives with; his wife tries to leave. His father was a communist who left the family for revolutions here and there. His father’s words and wisdom resonate, but not his ideology. McGill chooses aliases from the many business cards he carries. He has a fashionable office, and like so much about him, it has a back story. His mistress loves him. He loves New York City.
McGill is black. He’s a victim of a crime and the police treat him like the perpetrator. Where it would help to call the police, he is reluctant. While he is known for skirting the law, too many cops are openly show an attitude. When he describes people he will say they are white or describe their shade of brown – the norm is that being white is assumed and black suffices for describing non-whites.
The mystery is good, but the character of McGill is much more fascinating. There is a sub-story about the detective’s step son. The author has playwright experience. Maybe we’ll see this series on Netfilx.
March 15, 2014
Four cheers for "The Long Fall". This was good reading.
As I stated in one my status updates..there is really not much that I didn't like about this book. It's been a good long time since I read a Walter Mosley book. It's been so long that I think I technically forgot about Walter. I'm embarrassed to say because I know he is a great and heralded writer and his books are good. I think to be honest I noticed one of his books on someone's "to read" list and it jarred my memory. I'm glad I was able to find this book, which is the first in the Leonid McGill series.
"Leonid McGill is a baaaad mutha...."
"Shut yo' mouth! "
"I'm talkin' bout Leonid!"
Hard nosed detective. Used to be boxer. Ex-fixer or arranger of certain not so legal "things" or "situations" shall we say. Leonid is that guy. If you need to know something, he's your man. Even the wise guys come to L.T. to "locate" people. L.T. knows people that know people that rule the city and even quiet as it's kept.. the world. He's got connections. But that, was the old L.T. The current Leonid, has a broken heart, a cheating wife, a mistress, three kids he loves, two are illigitimate and one is not.. He's trying to go straight. Cold turkey. He's not in the life any more. Or so he thinks. In walks trouble in the form of a case within a case and two on the side. No matter how he tries, he's tested time and again and destined for The Long Fall
This mystery is full of twists and turns. Leonid is cool character. He's human but even when he's showing his flaws, it just gives you more respect for the depth of his character. Leonid is a guy that no matter if he happens to do bad or good, you just want to like him and route for him. There are various characters and suspects that make appearances throughout the story who play pieces to the ever changing puzzle that is this great book. The author does a great job of fitting these together and most times reminding you of their relationship to the mystery. My only gripe would be that out of 80% reminders.. at times the connection was so necessary to the whole, I needed 100% reminders. But maybe that was just me and the fact that I wasn't able to read this all in one sitting, which is totally possible if one has the time. I also liked the flow of the book. I appreciate when there are paragraph breaks or chapter ends to signify the change in location, direction, information etc. I didn't expect the ending and that was great! Not predictable at all. I know this is the skill of such a great author. I had no idea. I couldn't have guessed the out come if I wanted to and to be honest, I didn't. I enjoyed myself just taking my time reading this book.
I'm giving this book a 4 1/2 because I'm taking off the slightest bit for the need to remind me of how those characters fit into the mystery and also for just a few back story rambles that I wasn't quite sure about. They were only maybe half page rambles and they may be necessary for future books since this is a series but I'm a slight stickler in regards to "rambling". I also rarely give more than a 5 score to any book that doesn't have any profound quotes that I can take away, so this is good and solid for a mystery. One of the best I've read in a very long time.
Yes I recommend to those who love mystery. There's a little thriller in there so, yes those readers as well. Also, African American genre readers or maybe readers of African American authors. But to everyone... this gets Deb's This Is Good Stuff seal of approval. Yes, I look forward to checking out the rest of the books in the series. I can't wait!
As I stated in one my status updates..there is really not much that I didn't like about this book. It's been a good long time since I read a Walter Mosley book. It's been so long that I think I technically forgot about Walter. I'm embarrassed to say because I know he is a great and heralded writer and his books are good. I think to be honest I noticed one of his books on someone's "to read" list and it jarred my memory. I'm glad I was able to find this book, which is the first in the Leonid McGill series.
"Leonid McGill is a baaaad mutha...."
"Shut yo' mouth! "
"I'm talkin' bout Leonid!"
Hard nosed detective. Used to be boxer. Ex-fixer or arranger of certain not so legal "things" or "situations" shall we say. Leonid is that guy. If you need to know something, he's your man. Even the wise guys come to L.T. to "locate" people. L.T. knows people that know people that rule the city and even quiet as it's kept.. the world. He's got connections. But that, was the old L.T. The current Leonid, has a broken heart, a cheating wife, a mistress, three kids he loves, two are illigitimate and one is not.. He's trying to go straight. Cold turkey. He's not in the life any more. Or so he thinks. In walks trouble in the form of a case within a case and two on the side. No matter how he tries, he's tested time and again and destined for The Long Fall
This mystery is full of twists and turns. Leonid is cool character. He's human but even when he's showing his flaws, it just gives you more respect for the depth of his character. Leonid is a guy that no matter if he happens to do bad or good, you just want to like him and route for him. There are various characters and suspects that make appearances throughout the story who play pieces to the ever changing puzzle that is this great book. The author does a great job of fitting these together and most times reminding you of their relationship to the mystery. My only gripe would be that out of 80% reminders.. at times the connection was so necessary to the whole, I needed 100% reminders. But maybe that was just me and the fact that I wasn't able to read this all in one sitting, which is totally possible if one has the time. I also liked the flow of the book. I appreciate when there are paragraph breaks or chapter ends to signify the change in location, direction, information etc. I didn't expect the ending and that was great! Not predictable at all. I know this is the skill of such a great author. I had no idea. I couldn't have guessed the out come if I wanted to and to be honest, I didn't. I enjoyed myself just taking my time reading this book.
I'm giving this book a 4 1/2 because I'm taking off the slightest bit for the need to remind me of how those characters fit into the mystery and also for just a few back story rambles that I wasn't quite sure about. They were only maybe half page rambles and they may be necessary for future books since this is a series but I'm a slight stickler in regards to "rambling". I also rarely give more than a 5 score to any book that doesn't have any profound quotes that I can take away, so this is good and solid for a mystery. One of the best I've read in a very long time.
Yes I recommend to those who love mystery. There's a little thriller in there so, yes those readers as well. Also, African American genre readers or maybe readers of African American authors. But to everyone... this gets Deb's This Is Good Stuff seal of approval. Yes, I look forward to checking out the rest of the books in the series. I can't wait!
September 11, 2019
Great stuff. My proper review is here: http://patricksherriff.com/2019/09/11...
March 30, 2009
Walter Mosley's new P.I. series debuts with this title set in New York City in 2008. Leonid McGill is an ex-boxer with a family who has decided to turn over a new leaf. He's done with his rough-and-tumble past. Great minor characters, including "Hush" who reminds me of Mouse. Enjoyed the dream sequences and back story woven into the narrative. This series will get better in the subsequent titles.
March 7, 2020
3.5 stars. Definitely better than I thought.
December 27, 2011
I enjoyed Mosley's Easy Rawlins books. Now let's see what Leonid McGill is all about.
I'm about half-way through, and thoroughly confused, but enjoying the read. There are two ways to read a book like this. One way, the frustrating way, is to keep turning back to refresh your mind about characters you may have met 50 pages ago. The other way is just to go with the story, confident that Mosley will, sooner or later, make all clear. Guess which I have chosen?
Of course the pieces came together in the end.
Actually, I was a little disappointed that new characters, introduced late in the story, had so much to do with the answers McGill was seeking. But a good read nevertheless.
I'm about half-way through, and thoroughly confused, but enjoying the read. There are two ways to read a book like this. One way, the frustrating way, is to keep turning back to refresh your mind about characters you may have met 50 pages ago. The other way is just to go with the story, confident that Mosley will, sooner or later, make all clear. Guess which I have chosen?
Of course the pieces came together in the end.
Actually, I was a little disappointed that new characters, introduced late in the story, had so much to do with the answers McGill was seeking. But a good read nevertheless.
January 13, 2019
I've read a couple of Mosley's Easy Rawlins books over the years -- I loved Devil in a Blue Dress, which is the one just about everyone's read, and quite enjoyed the other one, title now forgotten -- so I was enticed when I tripped over a copy of The Long Fall by the prospect of a new Mosley detective, PI Leonid McGill, and a new Mosley setting, present-day New York.
And what a lucky discovery it has been. I'm not much of a one for series novels, but I may very well delve further into the Leonid McGill books, of which I see there are now five.
Leonid -- "LT" to many of his acquaintances -- has, in true Chandleresque fashion, three cases on the go. The main one involves tracking down four young men who, years ago, were friends of a youth who died by misadventure. No sooner has LT completed the chore and given the details to the Albany PI who hired him than two of the three surviving men are murdered and an attempt is made in prison on the life of the third.
Just a few years ago this wouldn't have worried LT too much, but he's recently decided to leave his unsavory past behind and try to be, well, a modern knight errant even though the streets down which he walks are mean. He resolves to find out who's behind the killings and deliver them to the law or at least shut them down.
The Philip Marlowe comparisons are very obvious, and they extend also to the plotting, which, as it mixes the three cases together, is labyrinthine to the point that, so to speak, I still don't know who murdered the chauffeur and why. (I did puzzle why one character was sometimes called Margaret, sometimes Lana, but decided not to let it worry me too much.) One difference from the Chandleresque template is that the three cases, although they overlap slightly in terms of the characters involved, don't prove, down the line, to be all part of the same case. The other two -- in which (a) a hood seeks an accountant with murder in mind and (b) LT aims to stop his charismatic teenage adoptive son, another rumpled knight, from knocking off someone who very much deserves to be knocked off -- stay separate, although all three plot-strands resolve at roughly the same time.
The prose, on the other hand, reminded me more of Ross Macdonald than of Chandler. Actually, I think I preferred it to Macdonald's. Besides, I think Mosley's status is now such that we should be talking about other people's prose being Mosleyesque . . .
Despite his squalid deeds in the past, LT comes across as a thoroughly likable, decent man in the present -- somebody I would be glad to have as a friend. To be sure, some of the people he still mixes with are scumbags, but none of us can leave our pasts entirely behind. I enjoyed a great deal the time I spent in his company and, as noted, may very likely opt to spend more of it.
And what a lucky discovery it has been. I'm not much of a one for series novels, but I may very well delve further into the Leonid McGill books, of which I see there are now five.
Leonid -- "LT" to many of his acquaintances -- has, in true Chandleresque fashion, three cases on the go. The main one involves tracking down four young men who, years ago, were friends of a youth who died by misadventure. No sooner has LT completed the chore and given the details to the Albany PI who hired him than two of the three surviving men are murdered and an attempt is made in prison on the life of the third.
Just a few years ago this wouldn't have worried LT too much, but he's recently decided to leave his unsavory past behind and try to be, well, a modern knight errant even though the streets down which he walks are mean. He resolves to find out who's behind the killings and deliver them to the law or at least shut them down.
The Philip Marlowe comparisons are very obvious, and they extend also to the plotting, which, as it mixes the three cases together, is labyrinthine to the point that, so to speak, I still don't know who murdered the chauffeur and why. (I did puzzle why one character was sometimes called Margaret, sometimes Lana, but decided not to let it worry me too much.) One difference from the Chandleresque template is that the three cases, although they overlap slightly in terms of the characters involved, don't prove, down the line, to be all part of the same case. The other two -- in which (a) a hood seeks an accountant with murder in mind and (b) LT aims to stop his charismatic teenage adoptive son, another rumpled knight, from knocking off someone who very much deserves to be knocked off -- stay separate, although all three plot-strands resolve at roughly the same time.
The prose, on the other hand, reminded me more of Ross Macdonald than of Chandler. Actually, I think I preferred it to Macdonald's. Besides, I think Mosley's status is now such that we should be talking about other people's prose being Mosleyesque . . .
Despite his squalid deeds in the past, LT comes across as a thoroughly likable, decent man in the present -- somebody I would be glad to have as a friend. To be sure, some of the people he still mixes with are scumbags, but none of us can leave our pasts entirely behind. I enjoyed a great deal the time I spent in his company and, as noted, may very likely opt to spend more of it.
March 11, 2020
I enjoyed my first Walter Mosley Novel. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series. The pace of the story was good. Overall, Leonid's tale was satisfying. I wouldn't call it groundbreaking, but it was satisfying and good enough for me to continue reading. I enjoyed the way the author crafted the story. The short chapters also makes the pace seem faster. I think I'm going to try the Easy Rawlins series next before I move on in this series.
August 16, 2009
30 or so pages into Mosley's first tale featuring Leonid McGill, Private Investigator, and I was preparing myself to be dissapointed. McGill obviously didn't share the same moral high ground as Mosley's most famous character but it was feeling a little like "Easy Rawlins on the East Coast." I was even preparing to forgive the author for the lack of originality. I knew he'd moved from the familiar surroundings of Los Angeles to New York himself. It wouldn't make sense for Easy to move back East as well but the kinds of stories that breathed to life around him could.
Thankfully, that ended up not to be the case. There are similarities, sure. Leonid has a bad relationship with the cops, has a son on the verge of becoming a man whom he worries deeply about, and he's even got a stone cold killer as a friend. By the end of The Long Fall, however, I had forgotten the reminders of characters and stories earlier in Mosley's career and accepted this new world on it's own merits.
McGill lives in a world that appears, at least on the surface, to be rapidly changing around him. Race in America has shrouded itself in new clothes. Technology provides him tools that make his job both easier and much harder. He tries desperately to see the big picture, or at least enough to prevent himself from doing something stupid that he can't come back from yet stupid lurks for him around every corner. He's been dirty all his life and only now, way too late in the game, is he trying to do enough right to not be so damn wrong all the time.
It's an enjoyable, fast read and a fine introduction to what will become a series of interesting mysteries starring the black man with a Russian first name defiantly old school in a modern world. I should also note that spending time with Leonid McGill is what sent me in search of Elmore Leonard's kind of grit right after with Road Dogs. I've been doing a lot of alternating between the two crime fiction authors a lot this Summer and I don't really seeing that stopping as we move on into the Fall.
Thankfully, that ended up not to be the case. There are similarities, sure. Leonid has a bad relationship with the cops, has a son on the verge of becoming a man whom he worries deeply about, and he's even got a stone cold killer as a friend. By the end of The Long Fall, however, I had forgotten the reminders of characters and stories earlier in Mosley's career and accepted this new world on it's own merits.
McGill lives in a world that appears, at least on the surface, to be rapidly changing around him. Race in America has shrouded itself in new clothes. Technology provides him tools that make his job both easier and much harder. He tries desperately to see the big picture, or at least enough to prevent himself from doing something stupid that he can't come back from yet stupid lurks for him around every corner. He's been dirty all his life and only now, way too late in the game, is he trying to do enough right to not be so damn wrong all the time.
It's an enjoyable, fast read and a fine introduction to what will become a series of interesting mysteries starring the black man with a Russian first name defiantly old school in a modern world. I should also note that spending time with Leonid McGill is what sent me in search of Elmore Leonard's kind of grit right after with Road Dogs. I've been doing a lot of alternating between the two crime fiction authors a lot this Summer and I don't really seeing that stopping as we move on into the Fall.
February 6, 2020
My first Leonid McGill, won't be my last!
June 23, 2010
One of the major joys of reading Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins books is dropping oneself into the environment of the story, not just the place, but the people who inhabit the story's space. The first book of the new series, The Long Fall, is set in today's New York City, but most of the action takes place inside office buildings, apartments, and non-descript clubs. There is no feel for the streets of this huge city. The minor characters, with a couple of exceptions, aren't individualistic enough to tell them apart from one scene to another and often the action gets muddled.
Mosley develops enough back story for the main character, Leonid McGill, to give him some depth, but he really needs fleshing out. I suppose the difficulty in developing a new character for a series is that the reader needs to find out quite a bit about the character before the story can proceed. In this case, though, it would have been better to let the story go forward in such a way that everything readers need to know about Leonid McGill would come out eventually.
It will be interesting to see where Mosley takes this guy.
Mosley develops enough back story for the main character, Leonid McGill, to give him some depth, but he really needs fleshing out. I suppose the difficulty in developing a new character for a series is that the reader needs to find out quite a bit about the character before the story can proceed. In this case, though, it would have been better to let the story go forward in such a way that everything readers need to know about Leonid McGill would come out eventually.
It will be interesting to see where Mosley takes this guy.
April 6, 2009
Mosley is that rare author who can be so incredibly subtle when he's right up in your face. I love his new character, Leonid (so named by a rabidly communist father), who is physically and mentally tough but oh so tender when it comes to his loved ones. I like that he has a disfunctional marriage but a functional love life. Lots of dichotemies in this fast-moving story.
December 2, 2018
Apparently Walter Mosley was not satisfied to create one of the truly great series detective characters, Easy Rawlins. Proving with little effort his skills as a novelist who writes mysteries, Mosley now gives us a second detective, Leonid McGill. To shake things up McGill lives in New York in the present day (as opposed to Easy, who worked in Los Angeles of the mid-20th century). Easy has a complicated personal life and has never been the most upright citizen. Now, though he has "decided to go from crooked to slightly bent." As he takes on a job for a client with plenty of money, his background will help him find the info requested. Will he be able to clean up his act in a city trying to scrub off its surface grime. I look forward to more with Leonid McGill.
February 17, 2020
The protagonist was a bit too gloomy for my liking, and I occasionally found it hard to keep track of the characters (many of whom were not that memorable.)
However, I am chalking this up to my own growing pains as I get accustomed to a new genre. I look forward to reading more of Walter Mosley’s books in the coming months!
However, I am chalking this up to my own growing pains as I get accustomed to a new genre. I look forward to reading more of Walter Mosley’s books in the coming months!
November 27, 2019
Mosley keeps the energy and creativity up across the different series with different characters, and that's no easy trick. He does it in part, I think, by setting the series in different periods of recent history. Anyway, I really enjoyed this one a lot. McGill is a great character.
August 5, 2024
Hey look! It's another Walter Mosley series I'm going to devour every book of!
November 4, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Leonid McGill, PI
SETTING: New York
SERIES: #1 of 2
RATING: 4.5
Sometimes we readers are very unfair to our favorite authors. Once we really enjoy a series that they’ve written, we don’t ever want them to change. We want them to keep writing that series forever, since it brings us so much pleasure. Such is the case for me with Walter Mosley. I loved the Easy Rawlins books, and I never could warm up to the other new series that he created. Well, that situation has just changed after my reading of THE LONG FALL. The book introduces New York PI Leonid McGill. Unlike the Rawlins series, it is set in contemporary times. And for the first time, I have been able to forget Easy and embrace a new direction from Mosley.
Leonid McGill is a private investigator who has been around the block more than a few times. An ex-boxer, he’s managed to survive by doing whatever it takes to get the job done. As he’s gotten older, he’s decided he needs to play by the rules and not engage in some of the shady behaviors which defined his modus operandi earlier on. He used to have no trouble doing whatever the client wanted, such as framing people with false evidence. Now when he’s faced with those situations, he’s trying to do the right thing, which is much harder than you might expect. His intentions are put to the test by the demands of a mobster named “Tony the Suit”, who expects him to find an accountant who will be dealt with by the mob.
McGill’s main case involves finding four men who knew each other as boys; he only has their nicknames to work with. As he begins to uncover each of their whereabouts, they are murdered. That leads him to begin his own investigation, trying to understand what is connecting them in the present day and why they are being targeted for death. At the same time, he has discovered that his son is heading for big trouble and must find a way to defuse that situation.
McGill’s attempts to lead a virtuous life apply not only to his profession but his personal relationships. He is in a loveless marriage with a woman who has been repeatedly unfaithful to him. They coexist in an uneasy truce; Katrina tries to do the “good wife” bit, but Leonid knows that will only last until she finds another partner to bed. They have three children, only one of whom has been fathered by Leonid. His favorite is Twill, not even his biological son but a person that Leonid admires and loves. Leonid constantly fights the temptation to be with the woman that he really loves, Aura Ullman, trying hard to maintain true to a self-imposed morality.
Mosley has created a great character in Leonid McGill, a flawed man who is trying hard to live an honorable life. There are other memorable characters in the book as well, such as Twill and Aura; however, there are far too many individuals overall, many of whom weren’t significant to the narrative, which led to confusion on my part.
That being said, I highly recommend THE LONG FALL. I am very much looking forward to seeing Leonid again. The second book in the series, KNOWN TO EVIL, will be released in March 2010. I’m hoping that Leonid McGill will be around at least as long as Easy Rawlins.
SETTING: New York
SERIES: #1 of 2
RATING: 4.5
Sometimes we readers are very unfair to our favorite authors. Once we really enjoy a series that they’ve written, we don’t ever want them to change. We want them to keep writing that series forever, since it brings us so much pleasure. Such is the case for me with Walter Mosley. I loved the Easy Rawlins books, and I never could warm up to the other new series that he created. Well, that situation has just changed after my reading of THE LONG FALL. The book introduces New York PI Leonid McGill. Unlike the Rawlins series, it is set in contemporary times. And for the first time, I have been able to forget Easy and embrace a new direction from Mosley.
Leonid McGill is a private investigator who has been around the block more than a few times. An ex-boxer, he’s managed to survive by doing whatever it takes to get the job done. As he’s gotten older, he’s decided he needs to play by the rules and not engage in some of the shady behaviors which defined his modus operandi earlier on. He used to have no trouble doing whatever the client wanted, such as framing people with false evidence. Now when he’s faced with those situations, he’s trying to do the right thing, which is much harder than you might expect. His intentions are put to the test by the demands of a mobster named “Tony the Suit”, who expects him to find an accountant who will be dealt with by the mob.
McGill’s main case involves finding four men who knew each other as boys; he only has their nicknames to work with. As he begins to uncover each of their whereabouts, they are murdered. That leads him to begin his own investigation, trying to understand what is connecting them in the present day and why they are being targeted for death. At the same time, he has discovered that his son is heading for big trouble and must find a way to defuse that situation.
McGill’s attempts to lead a virtuous life apply not only to his profession but his personal relationships. He is in a loveless marriage with a woman who has been repeatedly unfaithful to him. They coexist in an uneasy truce; Katrina tries to do the “good wife” bit, but Leonid knows that will only last until she finds another partner to bed. They have three children, only one of whom has been fathered by Leonid. His favorite is Twill, not even his biological son but a person that Leonid admires and loves. Leonid constantly fights the temptation to be with the woman that he really loves, Aura Ullman, trying hard to maintain true to a self-imposed morality.
Mosley has created a great character in Leonid McGill, a flawed man who is trying hard to live an honorable life. There are other memorable characters in the book as well, such as Twill and Aura; however, there are far too many individuals overall, many of whom weren’t significant to the narrative, which led to confusion on my part.
That being said, I highly recommend THE LONG FALL. I am very much looking forward to seeing Leonid again. The second book in the series, KNOWN TO EVIL, will be released in March 2010. I’m hoping that Leonid McGill will be around at least as long as Easy Rawlins.
October 23, 2010
Wow. Mosley takes what he's expected to do—write a hard-boiled detective novel—and adds in some of what he's learned doing what he is not expected to do (in books like 'Blue Light,' or more recently, 'The Man in the Basement') to inaugurate a smashing new series.
Mosley moves the setting from Los Angeles in the past to Manhattan in the present day. No more 'Easy' or 'Fearless,' or even 'Socrates,' this guy is named Leonid, son of Tolstoy, brother to Nikita. His 'slave name,' as he says, is McGill. That should tell you that Leonid McGill, a real private eye who hasn't just happened into the work, is complicated and full of contradictions, much more so than Mosley's previous protagonists.
Leonid McGill has done terrible things and wants to atone. He's married to a stunning Scandinavian blonde, but it's a marriage without love. He's got three kids, but the only one who is his legitimately doesn't speak to him. The son he cares most about is not his by blood, but Leonid is determined to rescue him from a dangerous scheme that will likely involve murder. At the same time, McGill has been hired to work on two different missing persons' cases where finding who's missing may bring them a whole lot of hurt. Given his ties to the underworld, Leonid McGill can't back out. One more complication in Leonid's complicated life: he's seriously smitten with his lovely building manager, who is charged with evicting him, but he refuses to spend the night with her because he's married.
Whew. A lot of intriguing strands to keep track of. Leonid McGill is an intriguing fellow, a hard-drinking, deceptively small and heavy black man, whose big boxer's hands can administer some painful rebukes when he's confronted, something that happens quite frequently. And whose philosopher's mind can reel off one pithy observation after another.
One of my favorites: "Librarians are wonderful people, partly because they are, on the whole, unaware of how dangerous knowledge is. Karl Marx upended the political landscape of the twentieth century sitting at a library table. Still, modern librarians are more afraid of ignorance that the potential devastation that knowledge can bring."
You gotta love that, and you gotta love this superlative crime novel.
Mosley moves the setting from Los Angeles in the past to Manhattan in the present day. No more 'Easy' or 'Fearless,' or even 'Socrates,' this guy is named Leonid, son of Tolstoy, brother to Nikita. His 'slave name,' as he says, is McGill. That should tell you that Leonid McGill, a real private eye who hasn't just happened into the work, is complicated and full of contradictions, much more so than Mosley's previous protagonists.
Leonid McGill has done terrible things and wants to atone. He's married to a stunning Scandinavian blonde, but it's a marriage without love. He's got three kids, but the only one who is his legitimately doesn't speak to him. The son he cares most about is not his by blood, but Leonid is determined to rescue him from a dangerous scheme that will likely involve murder. At the same time, McGill has been hired to work on two different missing persons' cases where finding who's missing may bring them a whole lot of hurt. Given his ties to the underworld, Leonid McGill can't back out. One more complication in Leonid's complicated life: he's seriously smitten with his lovely building manager, who is charged with evicting him, but he refuses to spend the night with her because he's married.
Whew. A lot of intriguing strands to keep track of. Leonid McGill is an intriguing fellow, a hard-drinking, deceptively small and heavy black man, whose big boxer's hands can administer some painful rebukes when he's confronted, something that happens quite frequently. And whose philosopher's mind can reel off one pithy observation after another.
One of my favorites: "Librarians are wonderful people, partly because they are, on the whole, unaware of how dangerous knowledge is. Karl Marx upended the political landscape of the twentieth century sitting at a library table. Still, modern librarians are more afraid of ignorance that the potential devastation that knowledge can bring."
You gotta love that, and you gotta love this superlative crime novel.
May 16, 2010
When Walter Mosley tells a story, you can hear the voice of the first person narrator as you read. It’s not all that different from hearing a live storyteller by a fireside. In this engaging hard-boiled noir story, Mosley introduces a new hero, Leonid McGill. Leonid is a reformed freelance criminal operative who is trying to lead a more aboveboard and moral life -- no more killing, and if possible, no more working for people who want others killed. Like Mosley’s most famous protagonist, Easy Rollins, Leonid inhabits the terrain between legal and illegal (actually hanging out more often on the illegal side) and because he needs money and because it’s his metier, he takes on difficult and dangerous cases. Easy and Leonid also share a jaundiced view of power structures and racial and class attitudes, informed by their experience as African-Americans. Unlike Easy Rollins, however, McGill is a contemporary character and a sophisticated New Yorker. Because he has to pay the rent, McGill takes on assignments that he would rather not do, and which bring with them moral problems and untold complications.
Mosley more than tips his cap to Raymond Chandler not just with the genre generally and even with the title (a la The Long Goodbye), but also in that the plot brings McGill into collision with hardened gangsters and encounters with an eccentric, wealthy and powerful family that includes a memorable daughter. McGill has more than a few family responsibilities and problems of his own to attend to, including a beloved stepson who resolves to commit murder. McGill is a character for our times, perhaps reflecting Mosley’s view of America at the outset of the Obama administration—trying to leave behind a thuggish role in the world, yet still having to deal constantly with dangerous characters and the after effects of past entanglements. Like America today, Leonid McGill is hoping to do so without compromising his better hopes—and trying to avoid financial insolvency in the process!
Mosley more than tips his cap to Raymond Chandler not just with the genre generally and even with the title (a la The Long Goodbye), but also in that the plot brings McGill into collision with hardened gangsters and encounters with an eccentric, wealthy and powerful family that includes a memorable daughter. McGill has more than a few family responsibilities and problems of his own to attend to, including a beloved stepson who resolves to commit murder. McGill is a character for our times, perhaps reflecting Mosley’s view of America at the outset of the Obama administration—trying to leave behind a thuggish role in the world, yet still having to deal constantly with dangerous characters and the after effects of past entanglements. Like America today, Leonid McGill is hoping to do so without compromising his better hopes—and trying to avoid financial insolvency in the process!
September 30, 2020
3.5 stars for my personal tastes, 4.5 stars for terrific intelligent writing! Large-Print edition. This was my first Walter Mosley book. It's definitely got that "oh another hard-boiled private detective" novel, but the twists and mystery unfolding are both gruesome and tender where appropriate.
Poor guy has people trying to kill him, a wife who doesn't love him, a woman who loves him but can't be with him, but a bad history which makes it seem that he deserves some misery.
I found his fondness for Twill in particular above his other children, confounding. Likable kid? Sure, but Leonid seems besotted. His immediate affinity with Hannah also struck me a tad unusual but it felt right. I enjoyed the personal life story sharing the story with the mystery/mysteries.
Hush kind of reminds me of Hawk in Parker's Spenser mysteries. My favorite reference though was the man in the Guernica tie - that gave me a shiver.
Even though this isn't my usual style of mystery, the writing was SO good that as I closed the book, I right away went online looking for the next installment McGill #2 in Large Print. Unfortunately it's not available to me. So for now, Leonid will be a good memory of an interesting character.
Poor guy has people trying to kill him, a wife who doesn't love him, a woman who loves him but can't be with him, but a bad history which makes it seem that he deserves some misery.
I found his fondness for Twill in particular above his other children, confounding. Likable kid? Sure, but Leonid seems besotted. His immediate affinity with Hannah also struck me a tad unusual but it felt right. I enjoyed the personal life story sharing the story with the mystery/mysteries.
Hush kind of reminds me of Hawk in Parker's Spenser mysteries. My favorite reference though was the man in the Guernica tie - that gave me a shiver.
Even though this isn't my usual style of mystery, the writing was SO good that as I closed the book, I right away went online looking for the next installment McGill #2 in Large Print. Unfortunately it's not available to me. So for now, Leonid will be a good memory of an interesting character.
January 8, 2016
LT McGill is a man of the streets. He reminds me so much of another character of Walter Mosley; Easy Rawlins. LT has the intellect of a man that can decipher the BS from what's real. In this story, he's seeking 4 young men for a man named Ambrose Thurman. Unfortunately for Ambrose, LT is trying to change his evil ways and do things on the straight and narrow no matter what.
Where this story will lead will you through so many tricks and turns. Every direction LT turns, he's attacked. From Ambrose to Willie Sanders to Thomas Moore. If he doesn't pay attention he will lose his life.
His home life isn't much better. His wife left him for another man only to return after the guy skipped the country to avoid prosecution. She's expecting him to forgive her and go on as if nothing ever happened. They supposedly have three kids together but LT knows two of them are not his. However, he loves them unconditionally.
Whether you like the story or not, you will agree that LT is a man that is just trying to do the job he's hired to do without putting himself in harms way and that is being a private investigator.
Where this story will lead will you through so many tricks and turns. Every direction LT turns, he's attacked. From Ambrose to Willie Sanders to Thomas Moore. If he doesn't pay attention he will lose his life.
His home life isn't much better. His wife left him for another man only to return after the guy skipped the country to avoid prosecution. She's expecting him to forgive her and go on as if nothing ever happened. They supposedly have three kids together but LT knows two of them are not his. However, he loves them unconditionally.
Whether you like the story or not, you will agree that LT is a man that is just trying to do the job he's hired to do without putting himself in harms way and that is being a private investigator.
March 24, 2009
Walter Mosley’s The Long Fall is a mystery novel set in New York. The main character and narrator, Leonid, is perfection. A private investigator trying to balance what he believes is right and what is necessary to pay his rent and provide for his family. When he ignores his gut and takes the wrong case; inadvertently assisting in murder, he finds himself fighting for his life. Which is only the beginning of his problems, as his youngest son is also plotting a murder. There is a lot of back story and compelling family drama intermixed with the front burner story line—the book is obviously a series launch.
The plot is very intricate (sometimes predictable), but the structure and pace become consuming. I had some difficulty understanding how Leonid came up with some of his conclusions, but it could be that I was racing through the pages.
When I wasn’t reading this book, I wanted to be reading this book. The Long Fall is as near a perfect mystery as I have read lately. I am looking forward to the next installment of the series.
The plot is very intricate (sometimes predictable), but the structure and pace become consuming. I had some difficulty understanding how Leonid came up with some of his conclusions, but it could be that I was racing through the pages.
When I wasn’t reading this book, I wanted to be reading this book. The Long Fall is as near a perfect mystery as I have read lately. I am looking forward to the next installment of the series.
April 17, 2009
The Long Fall by Walter Mosley introduces a new PI named Leonid McGill. A little background on McGill: He is African-American, average height, a boxer in a previous life, the son of a communist, married to a woman who had children by other men during their marriage and used to take on unscrupulous jobs if paid the right price. With all that said, McGill is trying to make up for his past by taking jobs that won’t ruin the lives of others. But sometimes getting out of the life is hard to do.
Mosley weaved together a great story of personal redemption while maintaining an excellent mystery. McGill, with all his flaws, is a likable character that you want to see succeed. By using his experience as a former boxer and using his own interpretation of what his communist father was trying to teach him as a child, McGill fights his way through several dangerous scraps and uses insight that is uncommon in most mystery novels.
Mosley weaved together a great story of personal redemption while maintaining an excellent mystery. McGill, with all his flaws, is a likable character that you want to see succeed. By using his experience as a former boxer and using his own interpretation of what his communist father was trying to teach him as a child, McGill fights his way through several dangerous scraps and uses insight that is uncommon in most mystery novels.
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