Every Man a King - (King Oliver) by Walter Mosley (Paperback)

About the Book

"When friend of the family and multi-billionaire Roger Ferris comes to Joe with an assignment, he's got no choice but to accept, even if the case is a tough one to stomach. White nationalist Alfred Xavier Quiller has been accused of murder and the sale of sensitive information to the Russians. Ferris has reason to believe Quiller's been set up and he needs King to see if the charges hold. This linear assignment becomes a winding quest to uncover the extent of Quiller's dealings, to understand Ferris' skin in the game, and to get to the bottom of who is working for whom. Even with the help of bodyguard and mercenary Oliya Ruez--no regular girl Friday--the machine King's up against proves relentless and unsparing. As King gets closer to exposing the truth, he and his loved ones barrel towards grave danger."--

Book Synopsis

In this highly anticipated sequel from Edgar Award-winning "master of craft and narrative," Walter Mosley, Joe King Oliver is entangled in a dangerous case when he's asked to investigate whether a white nationalist is being unjustly set up (National Book Foundation).

When friend of the family and multi-billionaire Roger Ferris comes to Joe with an assignment, he's got no choice but to accept, even if the case is a tough one to stomach. White nationalist Alfred Xavier Quiller has been accused of murder and the sale of sensitive information to the Russians. Ferris has reason to believe Quiller's been set up and he needs King to see if the charges hold.

This linear assignment becomes a winding quest to uncover the extent of Quiller's dealings, to understand Ferris' skin in the game, and to get to the bottom of who is working for whom. Even with the help of bodyguard and mercenary Oliya Ruez--no regular girl Friday--the machine King's up against proves relentless and unsparing. As King gets closer to exposing the truth, he and his loved ones barrel towards grave danger.

Mosley once again proves himself a "master of craft and narrative" (National Book Foundation) in this carefully plotted mystery that is at once a classic caper, a family saga and an examination of fealty, pride and how deep debt can go.

A NYTBR Editors' Choice Selection

Review Quotes

"Coiled-spring-of-a-PI King Oliver--a cop until he was unjustly incarcerated on Rikers--is almost relieved when his latest case, involving the Musk-like figure Alfred X. Quiller, drops him into the clutches of a white-supremacist gang. His reasoning: As a Black man, 'you would always lose against the system, ' but against these punks, he's 'got a shot.' Guess who comes out on top in Walter Mosley'scompelling novel?"--NY Mag

"Mosley again shows his talent for character building, not only in the many-sided Joe, as vulnerable as he is resilient, but also in a superb supporting cast, including Joe's daughter, Aja, and mercenary Oliya, who could easily front her own series... The second King Oliver novel lives up to the excitement generated by its Edgar-winning predecessor."--Booklist

"Mosley, a modern master of the noir form, brings readers a worthy follow-upto Down the River Unto the Sea. This time, Joe King Oliver is asked for a favor from a friend he can't refuse, a case that forces him to look into the unsavory connections between white nationalists, Russians, and high finance. Mosley knows exactly how to craft a mystery that keeps you at the edge of your seat all the while forcing you to reckon with sinister forces at the heart of American society."--Dwyer Murphy, Crimereads

"Mosley's characteristic writing style is on full display, including his love of unusual similes ("The window gazed upon New Jersey but it was a misty day, making the Garden State look like a half-formed idea"). Joe continues to fascinate as a protagonist, and the secondary characters enrich the storywhether they figure into the main action or not...a worthy successor."
--Publishers Weekly

"Readers are treated along the way to the evocative prose and astute observations about human nature, race relations and family bonds that have distinguished Mosley's writing for some 30 years."--Paula Woods, Los Angeles Times

"Skitters across the spectrum between orthodox and radical like a polygraph needle wired to a nervy accomplice. . . Fans of his Easy Rawlins and Leonid McGill series will not be disappointed, for we remain in the realm of deliciously gritty noir."--Daniel Nieh, New York Times Book Review

"There's no writer like Walter Mosley and no protagonists like his creations: Easy Rawlins, Leonid McGill, and now Joe King, returning in a new era noir, facing tough moral choices, and pulling the reader -- you -- up close and into every fraught moment."--Powell's Books Blog

"When a PI novel is written noir and gritty, in the style of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Chester Himes, but without the tropes that have become cliched, you can bet the author is Walter Mosley. . . Mosley's writing is so rich, and his characters are not like anyone else's, anywhere. It's noir with a social conscience, noir with its thinking cap on."--Washington Post

About the Author

WALTER MOSLEY is one of America's most celebrated writers. He was given the National Book Award's 2020 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and honored with the Anisfield-Wolf Award, a Grammy, a PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award, the Robert Kirsch Award, numerous Edgars and several NAACP Image Awards. His work is translated into 25 languages. He has published fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker, Playboy, and The Nation. As an executive producer, he adapted his novel, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, for AppleTV+ and serves as a writer and executive producer for FX's "Snowfall."