• Black Betty

  • An Easy Rawlins Mystery
  • By: Walter Mosley
  • Narrated by: Michael Boatman
  • Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (699 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Black Betty  By  cover art

Black Betty

By: Walter Mosley
Narrated by: Michael Boatman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.95

Buy for $21.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Detective Easy Rawlins returns in a mystery set in 1961 Los Angeles as Easy accepts a job searching for a beautiful woman nicknamed Black Betty who works as a housekeeper in Beverly Hills.
Hear more of Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins mysteries.
©2002 Walter Mosley (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Mosley's distinctive black investigator, Easy Rawlins, has moved from Watts to West L.A. with his two adopted children, but trouble still follows him. Hired to locate a sultry female acquaintance from his early days in Houston, Easy searches for her gambler brother and questions her Beverly Hills employer, unwittingly provoking racist police harassment. Meanwhile, friend Raymond ("Mouse") has been released from prison and vows revenge on the snitch who put him there. Mosley, as usual, describes a historically correct ethos in deft, literate prose." ( Library Journal)

Featured Article: These Noir Listens Will Take You to the Dark Side of Fiction


What do you love most in your mystery listens? Is it dark, moody settings and gritty storylines? Is it morally ambiguous main characters with complex inner lives? If so, noir is your kind of fiction. As a literary genre, noir can be difficult to nail down because so much of it is based on a general feeling of darkness and danger. Noir fiction was inspired by film noir, and film noir traces its roots to hard-boiled detective novels. Check out the world of noir fiction audiobooks.

What listeners say about Black Betty

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    455
  • 4 Stars
    166
  • 3 Stars
    66
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    446
  • 4 Stars
    95
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    382
  • 4 Stars
    122
  • 3 Stars
    49
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good listen!

I liked the few Easy Rawlins' audiobooks I have purchased including Black Betty especially after the defect in the audio was fixed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Read

Boatman was incredible and the story was even better. Walter Mosley never disappoints. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Easy Evolves!!!!

Black Betty in its own way is one of the best of the "Easy Rawlings" stories that I have read so far! Keeping its mix of late fifties and early sixties insight into the makeup of African American Culture "Black Betty" keeps you on the move and ends up surprising you in the end. I am starting to believe that there is only one sure thing with Easy Rawlins and that is that "Mouse" got to kill somebody!! Michael Boatman is again masterful in his presentation!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Black Betty

Great book. The author takes you on a journey and you connect the dots together.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mosley does it again.

Ever wonder what it was like in post-war Los Angeles in the Black neighborhoods? Walter Mosley brings it to life in his Easy Rawlins series. Historical fiction, social commentary and hard-boiled detective fiction, these books invented a vivid new genre.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love Easy Rawlins

Michael Boatman is a great narrator. He really brings life to Easy. The book was excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

accidently found this book

I am very glad I did. I would highly recommend it. Hurt for the characters and cheered for them at the same time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Black Betty - Walter Moseley

Another great story by Moseley and again great narrator! Michael Boatman should narrate all of Moseley’s Easy Rawlings series. I would love to hear them all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

This was a good read. I love this series,very interesting and action filled. I cant wait to read the rest of the series. Love,love love, this series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

NEVER a disappointment

Walter Mosley books are ALWAYS entertaining. The narrator sounds a lot like Denzel Washington (who played EZ in “Devil In A Blue Dress”).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!