An important aspect of Mosley's fiction is its realism, enhanced by first person narration and tough language.

Easy is a unique, creatively conceived hard-boiled detective character based upon real people, as many of Mosley's characters are. Easy particularly reflects the storytelling and people Mosley knew in childhood. Easy's status as a disillusioned World War II veteran echoes that of Mosley's father Leroy Mosley, who returned proudly from service abroad to confront racism.

Critics praise Mosley's realistic characterizations and dialogue, with its shifts from dialect to "white English," as well as the cadence of the word flow.

Mosley effectively utilizes imagery and symbolism. Easy's desolate feelings in a jail cell are enhanced, for example, through his observation of a line of black ants traveling some distance to a corner containing the crushed corpse of a mouse. The rodent's appearance provokes a comparison between the time of its death and...