What do you think?
Rate this book
Fearless Jones #3
Fear of the Dark
Fearless Jones and Paris Minton, stars of the bestsellers Fearless Jones and Fear Itself, return in a high-velocity, larger-than-life thriller about family, betrayal, and revenge.
"I'm in trouble, Paris." Paris Minton has heard these words before. They mean only one thing: that his neck is on the line too. So when they are uttered by his lowlife cousin Ulysses S. Grant, Paris keeps the door firmly closed. With family like Ulysses -- useless to everyone except his mother -- who needs enemies?
But trouble always finds an open window, and when "Useless" Ulysses' mother, Three Hearts, shows up from Louisiana to look for her son, Paris has no choice but to track down his wayward cousin. Finding a con artist like Useless is easier said than done. But with the aid of his ear-to-the-ground friend Fearless Jones, Paris gets a hint that Useless may have expanded his range of enterprise to include blackmail.
Now he has disappeared, and Paris's mission is to discover whether he is hiding from his vengeful victims -- or already dead. Traversing the complicated landscape of 1950s Los Angeles, where a wrong look can get a black man killed, Paris and Fearless find desperate women, secret lives, and more than one dead body along the way.
Fear of the Dark is filled with the sheer-nerve plotting and brilliant characterizations that prompted The Nation to credit Walter Mosley for "the finest detective oeuvre in American literature."
"I'm in trouble, Paris." Paris Minton has heard these words before. They mean only one thing: that his neck is on the line too. So when they are uttered by his lowlife cousin Ulysses S. Grant, Paris keeps the door firmly closed. With family like Ulysses -- useless to everyone except his mother -- who needs enemies?
But trouble always finds an open window, and when "Useless" Ulysses' mother, Three Hearts, shows up from Louisiana to look for her son, Paris has no choice but to track down his wayward cousin. Finding a con artist like Useless is easier said than done. But with the aid of his ear-to-the-ground friend Fearless Jones, Paris gets a hint that Useless may have expanded his range of enterprise to include blackmail.
Now he has disappeared, and Paris's mission is to discover whether he is hiding from his vengeful victims -- or already dead. Traversing the complicated landscape of 1950s Los Angeles, where a wrong look can get a black man killed, Paris and Fearless find desperate women, secret lives, and more than one dead body along the way.
Fear of the Dark is filled with the sheer-nerve plotting and brilliant characterizations that prompted The Nation to credit Walter Mosley for "the finest detective oeuvre in American literature."
Audiobook
First published September 1, 2006
162 people are currently reading
800 people want to read
About the author
Walter Mosley
212 books3,843 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
March 30, 2021
This 3rd book about Paris Minton and Fearless Jones has a bit more plot than the previous two, but it doesn't diminish the insightful view of minority life in Los Angeles of the post WWII pre Civil Rights era. ----------------2009
2021
This is not my first encounter with Paris Minton or Fearless Jones (or for that matter, Walter Mosley). I can’t explain, after my previous review, why I picked this book off the shelf. Yet, I am glad that I did so.
What I noticed this time was the care with which Mosley gives us his secondary characters. Even in the midst of a thriller, he takes time to fully “flesh-out” these people and thus enrich the genre.
Here is an example:
“Loretta was ten years my senior but looked younger than me. She was beautiful and smarter than her boss. But Loretta revered Milo Sweet, and I do believe that she was the only person in the world he would have laid down his life for…
‘Hello, Paris,’ she said.
I felt something then. It was the feeling I’d had as a child when I returned home after a long day away. My mother would be there waiting for me, and I felt a joy I had not expected to feel. Loretta’s greeting was a delight. And I think that she saw my reaction.
She smiled and nodded by moving her head in an elegant semicircle.
‘Come on in, Paris,” she said…
When Milo told Loretta that they were moving offices again, the thirteenth time in nine years, she informed him that she would only go if he let her find the place and design and furnish it. What came of it was a thing of beauty…
Loretta’s desk was a simple plank of ebony wood on white ash legs. She had no drawers or doodads to obstruct the elegant lines…
No one would have expected this particular meeting of East and West in a third-floor office in black Los Angeles. It might be that no one, outside of Milo’s clients and friends, ever knew it was there. People from the style section at magazines went to see how John Wayne and Clark Gable lived. They wanted to see foreign queens’ plaaces when they should have been looking at that bailbondsman’s office on Slauson…
When I took a step and faltered, Loretta noticed my bare feet. A moment after that she saw that I was bleeding on her cherry floor…
‘What happened to you, Paris?’ Milo asked.
Looking at Milo you would have thought he was once tall but somewhere along the way he’d gotten jammed up in a compactor that had made him a shorter, broader specimen.
He had the big hands of a heavyweight and the shoulders of a bull. For all that, Milo was not a physical man. Nine times out of ten when I saw him he was sitting, and the only sport he excelled at was darts. He was most often the darkest man in the room, that is unless he was in the room with Fearless.
‘Cut myself runnin’ barefoot through an alley,’ I said.
I didn’t need to say any more.”
Most of the elements of this story are in place quickly. It starts with the gritty elements of being black in 1950s Los Angeles and trouble finds Paris right off the bat with a woman and with his “no-good” cousin, Ulysses S. Grant IV. This may be a minor addition to Mosley’s extensive exploration of being black at mid 20th century, but I found it worth reading a second time. 3.5*
2021
This is not my first encounter with Paris Minton or Fearless Jones (or for that matter, Walter Mosley). I can’t explain, after my previous review, why I picked this book off the shelf. Yet, I am glad that I did so.
What I noticed this time was the care with which Mosley gives us his secondary characters. Even in the midst of a thriller, he takes time to fully “flesh-out” these people and thus enrich the genre.
Here is an example:
“Loretta was ten years my senior but looked younger than me. She was beautiful and smarter than her boss. But Loretta revered Milo Sweet, and I do believe that she was the only person in the world he would have laid down his life for…
‘Hello, Paris,’ she said.
I felt something then. It was the feeling I’d had as a child when I returned home after a long day away. My mother would be there waiting for me, and I felt a joy I had not expected to feel. Loretta’s greeting was a delight. And I think that she saw my reaction.
She smiled and nodded by moving her head in an elegant semicircle.
‘Come on in, Paris,” she said…
When Milo told Loretta that they were moving offices again, the thirteenth time in nine years, she informed him that she would only go if he let her find the place and design and furnish it. What came of it was a thing of beauty…
Loretta’s desk was a simple plank of ebony wood on white ash legs. She had no drawers or doodads to obstruct the elegant lines…
No one would have expected this particular meeting of East and West in a third-floor office in black Los Angeles. It might be that no one, outside of Milo’s clients and friends, ever knew it was there. People from the style section at magazines went to see how John Wayne and Clark Gable lived. They wanted to see foreign queens’ plaaces when they should have been looking at that bailbondsman’s office on Slauson…
When I took a step and faltered, Loretta noticed my bare feet. A moment after that she saw that I was bleeding on her cherry floor…
‘What happened to you, Paris?’ Milo asked.
Looking at Milo you would have thought he was once tall but somewhere along the way he’d gotten jammed up in a compactor that had made him a shorter, broader specimen.
He had the big hands of a heavyweight and the shoulders of a bull. For all that, Milo was not a physical man. Nine times out of ten when I saw him he was sitting, and the only sport he excelled at was darts. He was most often the darkest man in the room, that is unless he was in the room with Fearless.
‘Cut myself runnin’ barefoot through an alley,’ I said.
I didn’t need to say any more.”
Most of the elements of this story are in place quickly. It starts with the gritty elements of being black in 1950s Los Angeles and trouble finds Paris right off the bat with a woman and with his “no-good” cousin, Ulysses S. Grant IV. This may be a minor addition to Mosley’s extensive exploration of being black at mid 20th century, but I found it worth reading a second time. 3.5*
June 27, 2025
If anyone out there has anything against Walter Mosley, you might want to un-follow me for a couple weeks. I’m on a Mosley bender these days, and I ain’t apologizing for it—mostly because Walter Mosley’s books are literary crack. But if you’re one of the cool kids, you know that already. I’m currently listening to his very first novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, and I plan to raid the local library for everything Mosley at the first opportunity. Right now, however, I’m all about another Mosley novel, Fear of the Dark.
It’s the third in the Fearless Jones line of mysteries, one of Mosley’s many [Insert main character here] novels series. Seems like he’s got a ton of those things. I’ve read three of his novels this year, and I still haven’t read two from the same series. The Fearless Jones novels are different in their narrative style, though. Like most of Mosley’s work, it’s told in first person; however, in this case the narrator isn’t the titular character. The narrator is Paris Minton, a short, skinny black man who owns a used bookshop in the Watts neighborhood of L.A. during the 1950s. He’s also scared of his own shadow. Paris’ friend Fearless Jones is his exact foil. Fearless is tall, strong, stalwart, and handsome. He’s universally respected by the black community, loved by women of all kinds, and—true to his name—utterly fearless. It would be a rather Holmesian narrative structure, except for the fact that in this case Dr. Watson is the protagonist of the story. It’s an interesting concept, though—naming a series after a supporting character. It takes a certain kind of balls to do that in today’s publishing world.
Anyhow, the book begins as Paris’ troublesome cousin Ulysses S. Grant IV (a.k.a., “Useless”) drops by his bookshop for a visit. The last time Useless dropped in for a social call, he stashed a bag of stolen jewelry in the tank of Paris’ toilet. Paris managed to find the goods and dispose of them just before the cops arrived to search the place, but he still learned a valuable lesson—that is, don’t trust Useless farther than you can throw him. That’s why he tells his cousin to get lost and goes back to reading his books. Minutes later, the white girl Paris has been messing with—a bag of rabid weasels named Jessa—swings by for a roll in the hay. She’s all hot and bothered ‘cos Paris has a big honking wang (it even says that in the book) and she needs money for the rent. Their exchange of services is interrupted by Jessa’s white boyfriend who busts through the door of his shop and goes after Paris. Being the craven soul that he is, Paris bolts, dashing out a window, through his back yard, and onto the street. He barely manages to escape and goes to find Fearless for help in reclaiming his store—you know, ‘cos Jessa’s boyfriend might still be waiting for him and all. When he and Fearless return, they find the boyfriend’s body lying in the foyer with a couple of neat holes in his forehead. Paris wants to run for the hills, but Fearless calms him down and helps him dispose of the body.
By the way, has anyone else noticed the Homeric parallels to these characters? I mean, Mosley’s Paris is weak, cowardly, and amorous just like Paris of The Iliad. To get out of trouble he depends on his friend Fearless, the allegorical representation of Paris’ older, warlike brother Hector. And wouldn’t you know it? In the original Greek, the name Hector means “anchor” or “steadfast”—or in other words, “fearless.” There’s even a character in the book named Ulysses. I could act like a real academic (rather than one of the armchair variety) and stretch the limits of time and space to make even more comparisons, but I don’t think that’s necessary. Suffice to say that Mosley infuses all of his novels—not just Fear of the Dark—with boatloads of references to classical literature, which is one of the many reasons I’m so gung-ho about Walter Mosley.
Anyway, back to the plot. The next day Paris is surprised by yet another visitor at his store. This time it’s his Auntie Three-Hearts, just off a bus all the way from Louisiana and looking for her son Useless. Unable to say no to the woman who practically raised him (and who is purported to possess an “evil eye” no man can cross and live), Paris agrees to help her look for her son. Along the way he enlists the help of Fearless, a bail bondsman named Milo, and a private detective named Whisper. What ensues is an odyssey in its own right, a days-long trek through the dregs of L.A. society, through beatings and murder and blackmail, all to find his worthless cousin. It quickly becomes obvious that Useless has gotten himself into some extra-serious trouble this time, and Paris has to overcome his own foibles to yank his cousin out of the fire.
I won’t go into what happens after that (wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, now would we?), but there is one thing I’d like to touch on. Throughout the novel, Mosley peppers the plot with little details and incidences depicting the racial atmosphere in 1950s Los Angeles. Someone with an axe to grind might say the racial bent of some of the scenes is off putting, or that Mosley concentrates overly much on race. But I would say such a person is full of crap. To write a novel from the Black perspective in the 1950s and ignore racial issues is like writing a physics textbook without including the concept of gravity. Part of the power and authenticity of the novel is that it deals with those uncomfortable issues, and I applaud Mosley for not softballing certain things to make the novel more palatable to the general public. Plus, it’s not as if the novel downs on white folks the whole time. There are multiple instances in which kindness passes between characters of varying race, almost as if to foreshadow the events of the years to come.
But again, I digress. Let’s carry on, shall we?
Mosley’s books are a litany of characters and personalities. It seems as though every scene introduces a new player who is simultaneously larger than life and tangibly real. But just as important as the characters are their relationships to the community, a web of interpersonal relationships that plays heavily into the plot and resolution of nearly every one of Mosley’s books. His setting and diction are excellent as well, and even though one might argue that the plot of the story has been done before (just not with characters living in Watts), it doesn’t bother me. The strongest point of his work, however, has to be his voice. The tone—both in dialogue and general narration—has a style and power unique to Mosley’s work. Part of it is African American twist on the whole Noir experience, but that’s not all of it. Merely putting a new spin on an old concept can’t make a work phenomenal. There has to be more too it than that, and Fear of the Dark has it. Mosley’s writing is a marriage of the sublime and the vulgar that makes me slack-jawed with awe.
Given all of that, I would be remiss in giving Fear of the Dark anything less than five stars. Mosley is a modern master of the Crime and neo-Noir genres. If you haven’t read anything by him, you need to get on that, and damn quick.
It’s the third in the Fearless Jones line of mysteries, one of Mosley’s many [Insert main character here] novels series. Seems like he’s got a ton of those things. I’ve read three of his novels this year, and I still haven’t read two from the same series. The Fearless Jones novels are different in their narrative style, though. Like most of Mosley’s work, it’s told in first person; however, in this case the narrator isn’t the titular character. The narrator is Paris Minton, a short, skinny black man who owns a used bookshop in the Watts neighborhood of L.A. during the 1950s. He’s also scared of his own shadow. Paris’ friend Fearless Jones is his exact foil. Fearless is tall, strong, stalwart, and handsome. He’s universally respected by the black community, loved by women of all kinds, and—true to his name—utterly fearless. It would be a rather Holmesian narrative structure, except for the fact that in this case Dr. Watson is the protagonist of the story. It’s an interesting concept, though—naming a series after a supporting character. It takes a certain kind of balls to do that in today’s publishing world.
Anyhow, the book begins as Paris’ troublesome cousin Ulysses S. Grant IV (a.k.a., “Useless”) drops by his bookshop for a visit. The last time Useless dropped in for a social call, he stashed a bag of stolen jewelry in the tank of Paris’ toilet. Paris managed to find the goods and dispose of them just before the cops arrived to search the place, but he still learned a valuable lesson—that is, don’t trust Useless farther than you can throw him. That’s why he tells his cousin to get lost and goes back to reading his books. Minutes later, the white girl Paris has been messing with—a bag of rabid weasels named Jessa—swings by for a roll in the hay. She’s all hot and bothered ‘cos Paris has a big honking wang (it even says that in the book) and she needs money for the rent. Their exchange of services is interrupted by Jessa’s white boyfriend who busts through the door of his shop and goes after Paris. Being the craven soul that he is, Paris bolts, dashing out a window, through his back yard, and onto the street. He barely manages to escape and goes to find Fearless for help in reclaiming his store—you know, ‘cos Jessa’s boyfriend might still be waiting for him and all. When he and Fearless return, they find the boyfriend’s body lying in the foyer with a couple of neat holes in his forehead. Paris wants to run for the hills, but Fearless calms him down and helps him dispose of the body.
By the way, has anyone else noticed the Homeric parallels to these characters? I mean, Mosley’s Paris is weak, cowardly, and amorous just like Paris of The Iliad. To get out of trouble he depends on his friend Fearless, the allegorical representation of Paris’ older, warlike brother Hector. And wouldn’t you know it? In the original Greek, the name Hector means “anchor” or “steadfast”—or in other words, “fearless.” There’s even a character in the book named Ulysses. I could act like a real academic (rather than one of the armchair variety) and stretch the limits of time and space to make even more comparisons, but I don’t think that’s necessary. Suffice to say that Mosley infuses all of his novels—not just Fear of the Dark—with boatloads of references to classical literature, which is one of the many reasons I’m so gung-ho about Walter Mosley.
Anyway, back to the plot. The next day Paris is surprised by yet another visitor at his store. This time it’s his Auntie Three-Hearts, just off a bus all the way from Louisiana and looking for her son Useless. Unable to say no to the woman who practically raised him (and who is purported to possess an “evil eye” no man can cross and live), Paris agrees to help her look for her son. Along the way he enlists the help of Fearless, a bail bondsman named Milo, and a private detective named Whisper. What ensues is an odyssey in its own right, a days-long trek through the dregs of L.A. society, through beatings and murder and blackmail, all to find his worthless cousin. It quickly becomes obvious that Useless has gotten himself into some extra-serious trouble this time, and Paris has to overcome his own foibles to yank his cousin out of the fire.
I won’t go into what happens after that (wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, now would we?), but there is one thing I’d like to touch on. Throughout the novel, Mosley peppers the plot with little details and incidences depicting the racial atmosphere in 1950s Los Angeles. Someone with an axe to grind might say the racial bent of some of the scenes is off putting, or that Mosley concentrates overly much on race. But I would say such a person is full of crap. To write a novel from the Black perspective in the 1950s and ignore racial issues is like writing a physics textbook without including the concept of gravity. Part of the power and authenticity of the novel is that it deals with those uncomfortable issues, and I applaud Mosley for not softballing certain things to make the novel more palatable to the general public. Plus, it’s not as if the novel downs on white folks the whole time. There are multiple instances in which kindness passes between characters of varying race, almost as if to foreshadow the events of the years to come.
But again, I digress. Let’s carry on, shall we?
Mosley’s books are a litany of characters and personalities. It seems as though every scene introduces a new player who is simultaneously larger than life and tangibly real. But just as important as the characters are their relationships to the community, a web of interpersonal relationships that plays heavily into the plot and resolution of nearly every one of Mosley’s books. His setting and diction are excellent as well, and even though one might argue that the plot of the story has been done before (just not with characters living in Watts), it doesn’t bother me. The strongest point of his work, however, has to be his voice. The tone—both in dialogue and general narration—has a style and power unique to Mosley’s work. Part of it is African American twist on the whole Noir experience, but that’s not all of it. Merely putting a new spin on an old concept can’t make a work phenomenal. There has to be more too it than that, and Fear of the Dark has it. Mosley’s writing is a marriage of the sublime and the vulgar that makes me slack-jawed with awe.
Given all of that, I would be remiss in giving Fear of the Dark anything less than five stars. Mosley is a modern master of the Crime and neo-Noir genres. If you haven’t read anything by him, you need to get on that, and damn quick.
November 6, 2018
A black man seeking answers in Watts/LA in the '50s. It's what Walter Mosley does quite well. I'd read his books any day, all day.
I prefer his Easy Rawlins series over the Fearless Jones one though. Fearless is actually a side character. In the Jones series, a frightened weakling of a bookstore owner named Paris Minton is the "hero". It's hard to like Paris. He's always running away or trying to weasel his way out of things. It's not an appealing trait. Eventually, and inevitably, he does make a stand and is redeemed to an extent, but it never fully erases his cowardice.
Regardless of what I see as this series' shortcomings, Fear of the Dark was an engaging read. There's an intricate plot of deception in which bodies are dropping left and right. Paris is losing his shit, but his cool and collected buddy Fearless is there to save the day.
I prefer his Easy Rawlins series over the Fearless Jones one though. Fearless is actually a side character. In the Jones series, a frightened weakling of a bookstore owner named Paris Minton is the "hero". It's hard to like Paris. He's always running away or trying to weasel his way out of things. It's not an appealing trait. Eventually, and inevitably, he does make a stand and is redeemed to an extent, but it never fully erases his cowardice.
Regardless of what I see as this series' shortcomings, Fear of the Dark was an engaging read. There's an intricate plot of deception in which bodies are dropping left and right. Paris is losing his shit, but his cool and collected buddy Fearless is there to save the day.
February 12, 2019
i just loved it. i loved the language, the characters, the easy way Mosley build the plot. and most i enjoyed the main character Paris who is a real underdog and antihero in so clever way: funny, sensitive. and there is love of humanity even lust for humanity which is so rare. it is the first of Mosley books i read and not the last.
May 15, 2020
All I can say is that I loved this series and I'm so glad that I was able to just binge straight through the first three books. If you are like me and are late to this series-get on it! In my humble opinion these stories are Mosley at his best.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
August 13, 2023
The Fearless Jones series is really about the narrator, an average sized person who reads books. He gets scared, he loses fights, and he doesn’t always know what to do. He gets so scared that he freezes up. But he tries to do right. He memorizes Homer. These novels are interesting, with fairly solid plots, but it’s the world as seen by the narrator and the characters that make it so enjoyable. It’s a world that you see, too, but you never see what this narrator sees. There’s another, parallel world and a parallel understanding of it that you just can’t see.
July 16, 2011
I love Walter Mosley, the characters he creates are people I would love to meet, Paris Minton is no exception.
His descriptions are rich, he describes Cousin "Useless" as "a petty thief, a liar, a malingerer and just plain bad luck", don't we all know this person?
On top of that, his language is extensive, who else would say "errant eructation" rather than belching?
I'm 1/2 way through, and reading slowly, savouring this book. Paris is in a room with his friend Fearless, his aunt Three Hearts and a beautiful woman, he describes it as "There I was, a mortal man flanked by Venus, Mars, and Juno." I love this description!
Wow, I loved this book. My only complaint would be the group of women who are always willing to jump into bed with the hero and other male characters, doesn't anyone ever say no? Characters in this book are motivated by realistic, understandable reasons. Nearly all of the characters are described so well, and most I immediate compare to someone I know.
I believe that I will love Paris and Fearless as much as I love Easy Rawlins and Mouse.
His descriptions are rich, he describes Cousin "Useless" as "a petty thief, a liar, a malingerer and just plain bad luck", don't we all know this person?
On top of that, his language is extensive, who else would say "errant eructation" rather than belching?
I'm 1/2 way through, and reading slowly, savouring this book. Paris is in a room with his friend Fearless, his aunt Three Hearts and a beautiful woman, he describes it as "There I was, a mortal man flanked by Venus, Mars, and Juno." I love this description!
Wow, I loved this book. My only complaint would be the group of women who are always willing to jump into bed with the hero and other male characters, doesn't anyone ever say no? Characters in this book are motivated by realistic, understandable reasons. Nearly all of the characters are described so well, and most I immediate compare to someone I know.
I believe that I will love Paris and Fearless as much as I love Easy Rawlins and Mouse.
July 6, 2017
Walter Mosley’s Fear of the Dark follows Fear Itself main characters, Fearless Jones, and Paris Minton. As in the prior book, Paris Minton remains the point-of-view character. What I like best about this book is Minton's interior monolog. I love his insights about life, women, Fearless and his brushes with danger. In relation to a confrontation with a white man who he believes misplaces his anger, Minton opines: “There he was working with someone who had committed all kinds of crimes and all he could think about was that he hadn’t come into work. He was a fool in baseball stripes, nameless in my mind but as American as the hot dog.” Here's another one about Van 'Killer' Cleave, “…the living legend of Watts.” “…Van Cleave was as oblivious to danger as was Fearless, but on top of that he was flamboyant and dangerous—just the kind of man our dark manhood needed to maintain our dignity.”
As usual, Mosley paints Los Angeles in all its racially charged tension in the 1950s. Paris’ ne’er-do-well cousin, Ulysses S. Grant IV, who most refer to as Useless, sets the story in motion. Seems Useless gets himself in too deep with a series of blackmail schemes that involve some rich and not-so-rich black and white folks by stealing tens of thousands of dollars. Numerous pursuers want their money back and will kill to get it.
What a cast of characters! Mad Anthony, Tiny Bobchek, Hector LaTiara, Albert Rive, Milo Sweet, Jerry Twist, and Van ‘Killer’ Cleave. Mosley didn't shortchange the ladies either with Auntie Three Hearts, Jessa Brown, Nadine Grant, Mona, Loretta Kuroko, Angel Allmont, and Mum. From sugar and spice and everything nice to pistol packing and motive tracking. Minton and Jones have their work cut out for themselves in this character labyrinth.
Entertaining and never boring, Fear of the Dark isn’t a deep mystery tale, but take the journey with Paris Minton and Fearless Jones. Rated R for violence and language.
As usual, Mosley paints Los Angeles in all its racially charged tension in the 1950s. Paris’ ne’er-do-well cousin, Ulysses S. Grant IV, who most refer to as Useless, sets the story in motion. Seems Useless gets himself in too deep with a series of blackmail schemes that involve some rich and not-so-rich black and white folks by stealing tens of thousands of dollars. Numerous pursuers want their money back and will kill to get it.
What a cast of characters! Mad Anthony, Tiny Bobchek, Hector LaTiara, Albert Rive, Milo Sweet, Jerry Twist, and Van ‘Killer’ Cleave. Mosley didn't shortchange the ladies either with Auntie Three Hearts, Jessa Brown, Nadine Grant, Mona, Loretta Kuroko, Angel Allmont, and Mum. From sugar and spice and everything nice to pistol packing and motive tracking. Minton and Jones have their work cut out for themselves in this character labyrinth.
Entertaining and never boring, Fear of the Dark isn’t a deep mystery tale, but take the journey with Paris Minton and Fearless Jones. Rated R for violence and language.
March 11, 2011
This is the second book I have read from Walter Mosley and it won't be the last. His characters are very real (even if their names seem overdone). This book is written in first person and although most of the characters in the story are larger than life, Paris, the one telling the story, is just an ordinary (even slightly cowardly) character that finds himself in extraordinary circumstance. It's the kind of story that most people can not necessarily picture themselves in, but possible imagine having the same reactions as Paris does. He is (as most of us would be) frozen with fear half the time, but with the help of his good friend "Fearless" Jones, his pushes himself to act and make his way through.
It's the kind of story that you wish, just once, one of your friends would sit down and share with you (not that you would want to see anyone go through this) instead of telling you about the cool car they want to buy or how great their kids are. It had that feel to it, like a friend sitting and telling you a really crazy thing that once happened to him.
It's the kind of story that you wish, just once, one of your friends would sit down and share with you (not that you would want to see anyone go through this) instead of telling you about the cool car they want to buy or how great their kids are. It had that feel to it, like a friend sitting and telling you a really crazy thing that once happened to him.
April 19, 2019
I found myself mildly more interested in this episode of Paris Minton and Fearless Jones than the previous two. The entanglement of family ties, the evil eye, and the continual namecalling of cousin “Useless” was kind of funny. The plot was similar to others in the series, and the book contains interesting descriptions of the times and place – post-WWII LA. Lots of knocking on doors. And some of the action occurs off-stage and is related to the protagonists through a long story. But this felt more polished than the earlier ones in the series, like Mosley is optimizing his writing for the Minton/Jones pair as time goes on. The story, on reflection, was less of-its-time, and more character/personality driven.
December 13, 2019
Walter Mosley is perhaps best known for his “Easy Rawlings” mystery series. This series, featuring Paris Minton and Fearless Jones is well-written and contains a cleverly plotted mystery. A plethora of intriguing characters is cast for the reader, but the lead characters offered me the most interest.
It’s 1950’s Los Angeles, and it seems as if everybody in the black community knows everybody else, especially this on the seamier side of life. Paris is a bookseller who finds himself embroiled in trouble when his cousin, nicknamed Useless, shows up on his doorstep. Paris knows that trouble tends to follow Useless and as usual he is right. But it isn’t just Useless bringing trouble, his sexual Congress with a White woman ignites the fuse that Useless placed. Paris just wants to read his books, after all he loves the classics.
Well-plotted and even fun in places. The main thing I had problems with was the idea that everyone knows everyone and where they hang out all the time.
It’s 1950’s Los Angeles, and it seems as if everybody in the black community knows everybody else, especially this on the seamier side of life. Paris is a bookseller who finds himself embroiled in trouble when his cousin, nicknamed Useless, shows up on his doorstep. Paris knows that trouble tends to follow Useless and as usual he is right. But it isn’t just Useless bringing trouble, his sexual Congress with a White woman ignites the fuse that Useless placed. Paris just wants to read his books, after all he loves the classics.
Well-plotted and even fun in places. The main thing I had problems with was the idea that everyone knows everyone and where they hang out all the time.
July 11, 2021
I found my first Walter Mosley in my local thrift store used book area. He is one hell of a writer. This was a Fearless Jones story. To me it was a Paris Minton story. Paris owes a bookstore and is best friends with Fearless Jones. It is 1956 Los Angeles, where a wrong look could get a black man killed.
July 25, 2018
I really enjoyed this mystery set in 1956 Los Angeles. All of the characters were interesting, and I especially liked the relationship between Paris Minton and Fearless Jones. The mystery held my interest and the story was fast-paced. I will be reading more of this series.
August 12, 2021
Fearless Jones is the opposite of is friend, Paris Minton, who seems to be afraid of everything, and I always getting himself into a situation where he needs Fearless to help him out, and being a good friend, he does. Good fun read.
March 12, 2021
GreatRead!!
Great story about passion money and treachery in Los Angeles. Highly recommended. Lots of tension and Noir! Vintage Walter Mosley
Great story about passion money and treachery in Los Angeles. Highly recommended. Lots of tension and Noir! Vintage Walter Mosley
November 10, 2015
Fearless Jones...gotta love him!!!
February 19, 2023
Between 2 and 3 stars. I picked this up for $2 at one of my favorite book stores and figured I'd give it a try. I've never read any of Walter Mosely's work before and hoped that it would be a fun page-turner. Unfortunately it wasn't - the plot is pretty convoluted, didn't really pull me in, and took a while to get to its unsatisfying conclusion. This novel, which I hoped to get through in a week or two while traveling, took me over a month to finally finish.
The things I liked about the book surprised me though. There are a ton of characters, and most of the book sees the protagonist, a Black book-store owner named Paris Minton, moving through 1950s L.A. from one person to another. Some of the development and flavor Mosely gives to these supporting figures, and the social commentary he infuses, is pretty good, and in general I liked the landscape he paints of the different, mostly non-white communities Paris moves through as he tries to solve his mystery.
Here's one example I liked, when Paris visits a real estate office mostly staffed by white, white collar workers:
"One of the things I love about America is that if you are a potential customer almost everyone is nice to you. They might hate your guts and wish you dead, but face-to-face they smile and nod and talk about the weather in a neighborly cadence." (131)
I also appreciated the way Paris, and his bad-ass friend, Fearless Jones, go about trying to solve this mystery without police. As two non-wealthy Black men in L.A. in the 1950s, it is a given that the cops do not care about helping them, and there are a few scenes that make this abundantly clear in a way that could have been set today.
So while this book didn't give me what I was looking for (a fun, suspenseful mystery), I did find some other things in it worthwhile. I'll probably give some of Mosely's other work a chance some day, but I won't be rushing out to read all 0f his stuff.
The things I liked about the book surprised me though. There are a ton of characters, and most of the book sees the protagonist, a Black book-store owner named Paris Minton, moving through 1950s L.A. from one person to another. Some of the development and flavor Mosely gives to these supporting figures, and the social commentary he infuses, is pretty good, and in general I liked the landscape he paints of the different, mostly non-white communities Paris moves through as he tries to solve his mystery.
Here's one example I liked, when Paris visits a real estate office mostly staffed by white, white collar workers:
"One of the things I love about America is that if you are a potential customer almost everyone is nice to you. They might hate your guts and wish you dead, but face-to-face they smile and nod and talk about the weather in a neighborly cadence." (131)
I also appreciated the way Paris, and his bad-ass friend, Fearless Jones, go about trying to solve this mystery without police. As two non-wealthy Black men in L.A. in the 1950s, it is a given that the cops do not care about helping them, and there are a few scenes that make this abundantly clear in a way that could have been set today.
So while this book didn't give me what I was looking for (a fun, suspenseful mystery), I did find some other things in it worthwhile. I'll probably give some of Mosely's other work a chance some day, but I won't be rushing out to read all 0f his stuff.
May 16, 2017
This was such a good crime mystery. It reminds a lot of other hard boiled crime I've read, but it's not about a middle class white (either completely honest or slightly crooked) detective, like it usually is. The narrator is a black bookshop owner who keeps on getting into trouble, doesn't think much of himself, but proves to be incrediby resourceful and clever, together with his friend Fearless. Great, interesting characters,
What I loved especially were the female characters, who were all distinctly different from each other, had their own fears, dreams, and emotions (even though the story wasn't told through their perspective, or necessarily about them, Mosley managed to paint their pictures vibrant and real with just a few sentences) which I find usually lacks in crime stories written by men.
The book was published fairly recently, but the writing style still reminds me of those older crime novels. He manages to paint such a vivid picture of the 50s, of that particular part of the city, how life was like for black people then and there, that I thought at first he must have witnessed it all himself. But he was only born in 52', so most of his knowledge of that time and that place was second hand, which stresses how great a storyteller he is! I loved it!
I'll be reading more of Mosley's books!
What I loved especially were the female characters, who were all distinctly different from each other, had their own fears, dreams, and emotions (even though the story wasn't told through their perspective, or necessarily about them, Mosley managed to paint their pictures vibrant and real with just a few sentences) which I find usually lacks in crime stories written by men.
The book was published fairly recently, but the writing style still reminds me of those older crime novels. He manages to paint such a vivid picture of the 50s, of that particular part of the city, how life was like for black people then and there, that I thought at first he must have witnessed it all himself. But he was only born in 52', so most of his knowledge of that time and that place was second hand, which stresses how great a storyteller he is! I loved it!
I'll be reading more of Mosley's books!
March 23, 2022
Paris Minton serves as narrator of stories about Fearless Jones here, including his own part in Fearless's exploits. Owner of a small used bookstore, Paris is happy to sit among his books and entertain the occasional visitor. But it is not to be. His cousin Ulysses calls on him for help and Paris gets caught in "Useless"'s world. He reaches out to friend Fearless to explore what can be done when Paris is faced with a dead body.
The search for Useless takes many turns and many altercations with bad guys. Fearless is always up to the challenge, while Paris tries to avoid it or, instead, go to bed with some babe.
The adventures of the two pals take place in the fifties, when just being negro (Mosley uses the term that was current then) is practically a death sentence at times, and the tales dwell in Noir-land. Consistent with the pulp novels of that time, these feature female bombshells whose main reason for being is to be decorative and to fall all over the leading men.
I found this aspect of these novels depressing and annoying. Paris, while small and cowardly, somehow holds a fascination for women sexually. Tiresome, honestly. I have read several of Mosley's novels and while I appreciate the humor and the change in skin color of the heroes, this is one of their features that I am done with.
The search for Useless takes many turns and many altercations with bad guys. Fearless is always up to the challenge, while Paris tries to avoid it or, instead, go to bed with some babe.
The adventures of the two pals take place in the fifties, when just being negro (Mosley uses the term that was current then) is practically a death sentence at times, and the tales dwell in Noir-land. Consistent with the pulp novels of that time, these feature female bombshells whose main reason for being is to be decorative and to fall all over the leading men.
I found this aspect of these novels depressing and annoying. Paris, while small and cowardly, somehow holds a fascination for women sexually. Tiresome, honestly. I have read several of Mosley's novels and while I appreciate the humor and the change in skin color of the heroes, this is one of their features that I am done with.
November 25, 2024
When I am reading other books and not really getting anywhere and feeling like I don't want to keep reading, I switch to a Walter Mosley book. His books are feel-good and always have so many little insight gems throughout the book. As I just finished Fear of the Dark, I realized that I actually don't care about the detective story and the complicated plot. I pretty much just care to hang out with the protagonists as they make their way through New York or Los Angeles with its racism and corruption, and then see the moments of perceptive commentary as they go by.
A few snippets from this book:
"...as the setting sun ignited the pollutants in the evening sky, making a fiery red sunset that had all of the ecstasy and terror of a heart attack."
"In [Fearless'] world there were no absolute victors or complete victims, just movement between everything, all the time."
"Sometimes I was like the big brother who could read complex documents and decipher the logical knots that faced my simpleminded friend. At other times he was like the ideal father that had never abandoned me, protecting me from danger. On that particular evening he was this selfsame father who saw my troubles and only said that he believed in me and that I would see my way through in time.
Maybe all true friendships are like that: like rolling rivers rather than edifices of stone. I don’t know."
A few snippets from this book:
"...as the setting sun ignited the pollutants in the evening sky, making a fiery red sunset that had all of the ecstasy and terror of a heart attack."
"In [Fearless'] world there were no absolute victors or complete victims, just movement between everything, all the time."
"Sometimes I was like the big brother who could read complex documents and decipher the logical knots that faced my simpleminded friend. At other times he was like the ideal father that had never abandoned me, protecting me from danger. On that particular evening he was this selfsame father who saw my troubles and only said that he believed in me and that I would see my way through in time.
Maybe all true friendships are like that: like rolling rivers rather than edifices of stone. I don’t know."
July 6, 2024
Two close friends, Paris Minton and Tristan “Fearless” Jones, team up, again, in Walter Mosley’s 3rd and final Fearless Jones novel, “Fear Of The Dark”. Minton is still the owner of the Florence Avenue Used Bookstore and is, once again, the colorful and incisive narrator and main amateur gumshoe, with Fearless Jones dropping into the storyline occasionally. The scene is 1956 in LA and Paris, at the behest of his aunt “Three Hearts” Grant. is reluctantly pulled into a dangerous, no-holds-barred investigation that concerns a relative, “Useless” US Grant, IV. The colorful cast of characters occasionally speak in the descriptive but completely understandable black vernacular of the day. Mosley keeps the twists and turns and people coming in this entertaining and puzzling plot that takes us through some of the darkest areas of the human heart. Fearless and Paris move through differing social strata on both sides of the Los Angeles color line, homing in on their elusive main targets, as Paris shows a surprising amount of self-deprecation. Along the way, he and Fearless discover they need to find more people to connect the dots, as they sidestep the law. Highly Recommended. Five INTRIGUING Stars! Kindle. 321 pages.
March 11, 2023
The further adventures of Paris Minton, a meek and mild-mannered book seller, and Fearless Jones, a man who's nickname says it all, demonstrate the author's command of the genre. Paris's cousin Ulysses Grant, aka Useless, arrives at his door. Paris, knowing trouble follows in Useless' shadow, turns him away. It mattered not, as Paris is soon involved in blackmail schemes and murder.
As always, Mosely describes the gritty and racially charged atmosphere of 1950's Los Angeles with incisive style and observations. Near the end of the novel, Mosely through Minton elevates the struggle of African-Americans to mythological levels:
Bufinch's Mythology came to me then. It seemed to me that this tableau belonged in those pages. Fearless was the hero, I was the hero's companion, Useless was the mischievous trickster, and Bubba was the ogre or giant. We were playing out roles in a history that went back before anyone could remember. The river Styx might have lain to our left, and this was just a step in our journey.
As always, Mosely describes the gritty and racially charged atmosphere of 1950's Los Angeles with incisive style and observations. Near the end of the novel, Mosely through Minton elevates the struggle of African-Americans to mythological levels:
Bufinch's Mythology came to me then. It seemed to me that this tableau belonged in those pages. Fearless was the hero, I was the hero's companion, Useless was the mischievous trickster, and Bubba was the ogre or giant. We were playing out roles in a history that went back before anyone could remember. The river Styx might have lain to our left, and this was just a step in our journey.
February 19, 2021
I started reading Walter Mosley with the Easy Rawlins series. I read the first ten of them and came across the Fearless Jones series and read the first two of them. The books are set in the same time period and geographic location as the Easy Rawlins books. We also have two main characters although they play more equal parts in this series than Rawlins and Mouse. In this novel Paris has become the main protagonist and I think it made for a better story. All the characters have been well developed with their own brand of personal quirks. I am white and was born in 1947 in a housing project in south Philly that was a mixed neighborhood with a large number of blacks living there. I had a larger exposure to black culture growing up than did most of my peers that I worked with later in life. I don't know if that makes it easier to lose myself in the story and characters but for whatever reason I enjoy everything Mosley writes.
July 24, 2018
My favorite aspect of Walter Moseley's novels is the matter-of-factly way that they are set in a time period. The stories don't feel at all like historical dramas. It's as if, instead of 2006, Mr. Mosley's Fearless Jones books were actually penned in 1956 and shelved newly published next to Rex Stout's novels.
The atmosphere Mosley creates isn't just nostalgic. The narrative conveys a "present tense". There is a cadence in Paris Minton's speech that simply sounds like the 50's and Michael Boatman's voice acting captures this.
This is a good story, but the story is secondary to your immersion into this place and time.
The atmosphere Mosley creates isn't just nostalgic. The narrative conveys a "present tense". There is a cadence in Paris Minton's speech that simply sounds like the 50's and Michael Boatman's voice acting captures this.
This is a good story, but the story is secondary to your immersion into this place and time.
February 27, 2018
Love Mosley and now adding Fearless Jones series to my list of his books I'll find time for anytime. While the "good guys" always win, there's so much more that Mosley gives besides his characters wit and wisdom, that you're missing out if you don't grab a novel or two three of his. A statement I love:
"Sometimes in literature I'd come across the term 'exquisite pain.' I never understood it before. My nature being such as it is, I have always shied away from any kind of suffering. But I could see where the ache in Jessa's life needed attention and Hector was the perfect mate for her."
Sweet.
"Sometimes in literature I'd come across the term 'exquisite pain.' I never understood it before. My nature being such as it is, I have always shied away from any kind of suffering. But I could see where the ache in Jessa's life needed attention and Hector was the perfect mate for her."
Sweet.
May 1, 2022
Paris Minton’s cousin Ulysses S. Grant IV — known with good reason to everyone in Watts but his mama as “Useless” — is turned away by Paris from his door and then goes missing. A lot of folks come looking for him, none with benevolent intent, and their bodies start to pile up. Useless’s mama comes from Louisiana to ask Paris to help find him, and when Paris is confronted with such a dangerous challenge, he turns for help to his friend Fearless Jones. This is a thrilling story laced with equal parts humor and horror and a complex plot with fascinating characters. One of Mosley’s best, and that’s saying a lot.
June 17, 2020
Mosley is one of the best crime writers. His Easy Rawlings and Mouse are his best characters. I like Fearless Jones but the narrator and protagonist of this series, Paris Minton, is not my favorite. His shifts from sniveling coward to resolute tough guy and back again are frustrating.
The plot is complex and often confusing , especially since some of the many characters use fake names. The body count is high in this one and I have a feeling that female readers will find the portrayal of most or all of the women quite objectionable
I couldn’t quite go the usual 4 stars with this one.
The plot is complex and often confusing , especially since some of the many characters use fake names. The body count is high in this one and I have a feeling that female readers will find the portrayal of most or all of the women quite objectionable
I couldn’t quite go the usual 4 stars with this one.
January 31, 2021
Four and a half stars. Paris Hilton and Fearless Jones are featured in this third of a series, taking place in Los Angeles. This time it is the timid Paris who gets into trouble both from an attractive woman and his no good cousin Useless. The first problem occurs when the woman's large boyfriend finds Paris in bed with his girlfriend. The second is when Usless's mother comes to town and wants Paris's help in finding Useless. Paris turns to Fearless for help and things get rough. Mosely really has his finger on race relations. Highly recommended.
April 10, 2022
Fear or Survival
I would recommend to all who enjoy insightful characters and writing that informs the reader and makes them learn to empathize and bond with a character. I gave this a five star rating for the depth and superb quality of writing. Lastly, Mosley's development and unveiling of the mind, intellect, fear, courage and instinct to survive in a black/white world, where danger can come to your door without invitation - was Paris Minton life. Afraid because, fear was a reality but survival took courage even if your name was Fearless.
I would recommend to all who enjoy insightful characters and writing that informs the reader and makes them learn to empathize and bond with a character. I gave this a five star rating for the depth and superb quality of writing. Lastly, Mosley's development and unveiling of the mind, intellect, fear, courage and instinct to survive in a black/white world, where danger can come to your door without invitation - was Paris Minton life. Afraid because, fear was a reality but survival took courage even if your name was Fearless.
October 27, 2022
Mosley is a master story teller
A wonderfully complex plot that is not only plausible but buoyed by interesting characters who never fail to deliver on wisdom, humor, and sometimes common sense. Mosleys comments on race and social issues make me reflect on my childhood and the many people and circumstances I remember as isolated events occurring in a world carved by racial, economic, and educational disparities. His insights and shadowed/nuanced visions open my mind to what culture and society creates particularly in the context of the African American traditions.
A wonderfully complex plot that is not only plausible but buoyed by interesting characters who never fail to deliver on wisdom, humor, and sometimes common sense. Mosleys comments on race and social issues make me reflect on my childhood and the many people and circumstances I remember as isolated events occurring in a world carved by racial, economic, and educational disparities. His insights and shadowed/nuanced visions open my mind to what culture and society creates particularly in the context of the African American traditions.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews