Larger	Walkin' the Dog (Socrates Fortlow, Bk 2) Author: Walter Mosley
	Book Information Publisher: Back Bay Books Book Type: Paperback Rating: 6 ISBN-13: 9780316881715 - ISBN-10: 0316881716 Publication Date: 10/10/2000 Pages: 288 Book Reviews

Bestselling novelist Walter Mosley brings back Socrates Fortlow, the widely praised hero of Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, in this powerful new book exploring life outside the law in modern-day Los Angeles.

The introduction of Socrates Fortlow, an ex-convict forced to define his own morality in a lawless world, was hailed as "astonishing" by the Los Angeles Times. In this new book about the man with "rock-breaking hands," Socrates confronts wrongs that most people would rather ignore and comes face-to-face with the most dangerous emotion: hope. It has been nine years since his release from prison, and he still makes his home in a two-room shack in a Watts alley. But he has a girlfriend now, a steady job, and he is even caring for a pet, the two-legged dog he calls Killer. These responsibilities make finding the right path even harder-especially when the police make Socrates their first suspect in every crime within six blocks.

In each chapter of Walkin' the Dog, Socrates challenges a different conundrum of modern life. In Blue Lightning, he is offered a better-paying job but has to consider whether the extra pay is worth the freedom he would have to give up. In Promise, he keeps a vow made long ago to a dying friend, and learns that a promise to one person can mean damage to another. In Mookie Kid he gets a telephone and learns that the price of being able to reach others is that others can contact him-whether he wants to be reached or not. Walkin' the Dog builds to a stunning climax as Socrates takes on a rogue cop who has terrorized his neighborhood. Writing with the same lyricism and insight that have made bestsellers of his Easy Rawlins mysteries, Walter Mosley has brought us a brilliant new book and one of the most enduring fictional characters to come along in years.