All I Did Was Shoot My Man by Walter MosleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
There is a heaviness throughout this book. It is the weight of the past and the present and how the past is constantly there in the present. McGill is trying to fix his past, out run it, make amends for it, and yet it hangs there on him, pushing him down, tripping up his present. Many of the other characters are also weighed down by their past and how it is shaping their present. This heaviness of the past underlies a lot of the plot and character motives. Some of the characters are able, seemingly, to move into the future despite (or because) of their past, while this weight crushes others.
The relationship between fathers and sons is a theme in all the McGill books, and it is touched on here as well. McGill is seeing his sons in new ways here. I expect that with Twill now working with McGill, as well as another revelation (no spoilers); this theme will continue to be explored more deeply in the series.
Like the previous books in the series, the plot is not always clear; I often lost the flow of the underlying whodunit part of the story. That’s a weakness to the series, but the characters and dialogue are so captivating, and Mosely’s style and language is so beautiful, it doesn’t really bother me too much.
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