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Mystery Writer Walter Mosley Discusses "Black Betty."

Mystery writer Walter Mosley. He's written a new book in his series about gumshoe hero Easy Rawlins. It's called "Black Betty" (Norton). Betty's a shark of a woman who leaves dead men in her wake. Like the other books in the series, "Black Betty" has Easy in post-War, but pre-present South Central L.A.--this time the year is 1961. Mosley gained public attention when then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton said that Mosley was his favorite mystery writer. Mosley's earlier Easy Rawlins book "Devil in a Blue Dress" will be released as a movie this spring. Denzel Washington will play Easy.

22:18
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Other segments from the episode on May 25, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, May 26, 1994: Interview with Walter Mosely; Interview with John Dahl; Review of the film "The Flintstones."
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15:30

Film Director John Dahl.

Film Director John Dahl. His new film is a thriller called "Red Rock West." It takes place in a tough little town in Wyoming over a forty-eight hour period. It has a film noir feeling and plot that twists and turns. It stars Nicholas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle and J.T. Walsh.

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Mosley's 'Last Days' Restores Memory, But At A Cost

Novelist Walter Mosley explains how watching his mother's experience with dementia helped him craft his latest novel, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, which asks: Would you repair your failing memory if it meant your life span would also be significantly shortened?

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How Fiction Reflects the Reality of Crime

A broadcast of a panel held at New York University in April called "Cops and Writers: Crime and Punishment in Literature and Real Life." The panel, sponsored by the PEN American Center and The New York Review of Books, features police officials and writers, including crime writer Walter Mosley and author Joyce Carol Oates. The panel focuses on the fine line between crime fiction and crime reality. The writers talk about the fact that crime novelists generally draw on real criminals and real crimes to create their characters and plot.

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