“Blonde Faith” by Walter Mosley (Little, Brown and Company, $25.99, 308 pages, www.HatchetteBookGroupUSA.com)

This is the 10th Easy Rawlins “thriller” by Mosley.

First, an aside – when did detective books become thrillers? – And why? Do they pay more for thrillers? Do you get bigger movie contracts? Hey publishers, GOOD GRIEF this is a detective book. You can paint an outhouse pink and call it a “Vintage Victorian” but ain’t anyone going to believe you. Your loyal readers have been buying your books off the shelves in mystery and detectives. They aren’t looking for Mosley or Vachss or Spenser or Eddie Dancer or anyone else in “Thrillers.” Exactly where in the bookstore/library is the “Thrillers Shelf”?

After a calming moment of introspective yoga and two legally prescribed pills, we now attempt to complete the column you readers so clearly deserve.

Mosley’s writing makes you think.

“My daughter looked at me, feeling for the first time what it must be like to be in my mind. It was a curse I wouldn’t have wished on my worst enemy.”

Or:

“Jackson tells me that you are the most dangerous man he knows.”

“More dangerous than Mouse?”…

… “He said that Monsieur Mouse was … how do you call it? The most deadly, oui, yes, the most deadly man he knows.”

“He’s right about Mouse,” I said releasing the surprisingly strong handshake. “But I don’t see how I could be more dangerous than that.”

“Raymond (Mouse) just take your life,” Jackson said with a deadly grin on his dark face. “Easy take your soul.”

Easy Rawlins covers growing up and being a black man in LA. Mosley touches tough issues in an enlightening and entertaining way. Worth every penny of the cover price.

And now the good news. The pile of books labeled “read and good enough to review” is still full of outstanding tough guy “thrillers” – RETCH – ready and waiting to fill next month’s exciting bullet, corpse and damsel-in-distress filled column.