Best known for his celebrated Easy Rawlins series, Walter Mosley is currently working on the latest novel featuring the hard-boiled Los Angeles detective who moonlights as a landlord.

Best known for his celebrated Easy Rawlins series, Walter Mosley is currently working on the latest novel featuring the hard-boiled Los Angeles detective who moonlights as a landlord.

Walter Mosley’s 1995 novel RL’s Dream features a photograph and dedication to his father, Leroy Mosley.

Mosley’s father, Leroy, took charge of maintaining the properties he owned. “If anything was wrong—the plumbing, the wiring, the flooring, the walls, the roof—he’d fix it. He was made for that job. I can’t paint a wall.”

Mosley’s writing spans multiple genres, including crime fiction, science fiction, erotica, and nonfiction. His writing often explores systemic issues including poverty and race.

Mosley recalls that his father, Leroy, chose not to handle rent collection himself: “My father discovered one day that he could hire people to collect the rent. He didn’t feel like being that tough guy.”