'Black Betty' by Walter Mosley, number 4 in the Easy Rawlins mystery series, is very complex and very good. However, it is also very very dark. Innocence cannot be preserved on any level. Easy Rawlins is so smart but he is full of uncontrolled demons. Only his children save him from his worst impulses. He seems to pursue justice to spite the universe rather than to help, especially since for him victory against bad guys is temporary and the saved are rarely deserving except for perhaps in possessing charm, beauty or bruised trustfulness.