Down the River Unto the Sea

Winner of the RBA Prize for Crime Writing

Joe King Oliver was one of the NYPD's finest investigators until, dispatched to arrest a well-heeled car thief, he is framed for assault, a charge that lands him in the notorious Rikers Island prison.

A decade later, King is a private detective, running his agency with the help of his teenage daughter, Aja-Denise. When he receives a card in the mail from the woman who admits she was paid by someone in the NYPD to frame him all those years ago, King realises that he has no choice but to take his own case: figuring out who on the force wanted him disposed of - and why.

At the same time, King must investigate the case of black radical journalist Leonard Compton, aka A Free Man, accused of killing two on-duty police officers who had been abusing their badges to traffic drugs and women into the city's poorest neighbourhoods.

In pursuit of justice, our hero must beat dirty cops and even dirtier bankers. All the while, two lives hang in the balance: Compton's, and King's own.

Short-listed for Edgar Award for Best Novel 2019 (UK)

“Rekindles some of the remarkable energy that drove the early Rawlins novels. . . . Mosley writes with great power here about themes that have permeated his work: institutional racism, political corruption, and the ways that both of these issues affect not only society at large but also the inner lives of individual men and women. And he has created a new hero in Joe Oliver with the depth and vulnerability to sustain what readers will hope becomes a new series . . . . It's the perfect moment for Mosley to unveil an exciting new hero and a series set in the present and confronting the issues that drive today's headlines - Booklist (starred review)An excellent standalone . . . The novel's dedication - to Malcolm, Medgar, and Martin - underlines the difference that one man can make in the fight for justice - Publishers Weekly (starred review)An engaging standalone . . . Mosley fans will welcome another imaginative page-turning from a mystery grand master - Library JournalExceptional. - The Daily Mail”

Rekindles some of the remarkable energy that drove the early Rawlins novels. . . . Mosley writes with great power here about themes that have permeated his work: institutional racism, political corruption, and the ways that both of these issues affect not only society at large but also the inner lives of individual men and women. And he has created a new hero in Joe Oliver with the depth and vulnerability to sustain what readers will hope becomes a new series. . . . It's the perfect moment for Mosley to unveil an exciting new hero and a series set in the present and confronting the issues that drive today's headlines - Booklist (starred review)

An excellent standalone . . . The novel's dedication - to Malcolm, Medgar, and Martin - underlines the difference that one man can make in the fight for justice - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

An engaging standalone . . . Mosley fans will welcome another imaginative page-turning from a mystery grand master - Library Journal

Exceptional. - The Daily Mail

Walter Mosley is one of America's best loved authors. He is the author of the internationally bestselling Easy Rawlins series, and his novels include DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS, which was made into the acclaimed film of the same name starring Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle. His books have been translated into 23 languages and have sold more than 3.5 million copies to date. He has also been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Foundation. He lives in New York City.

Winner of the RBA Prize for Crime Writing Joe King Oliver was one of the NYPD's finest investigators until, dispatched to arrest a well-heeled car thief, he is framed for assault, a charge that lands him in the notorious Rikers Island prison.A decade later, King is a private detective, running his agency with the help of his teenage daughter, Aja-Denise. When he receives a card in the mail from the woman who admits she was paid by someone in the NYPD to frame him all those years ago, King realises that he has no choice but to take his own case: figuring out who on the force wanted him disposed of - and why.At the same time, King must investigate the case of black radical journalist Leonard Compton, aka A Free Man, accused of killing two on-duty police officers who had been abusing their badges to traffic drugs and women into the city's poorest neighbourhoods.In pursuit of justice, our hero must beat dirty cops and even dirtier bankers. All the while, two lives hang in the balance: Compton's, and King's own.

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