The Right Mistake

From New York Times bestselling author Walter Mosley, the third collection of Socrates Fortlow tales, "a thought-provoking exploration of wickedness--and what's to be done about it" (Seattle Times).

Living in south central L.A., Socrates Fortlow is a sixty-year-old ex-convict still strong enough to kill men with his bare hands. Filled with profound guilt about his own crimes and disheartened by the chaos of the streets, Socrates calls together local people of all races and social stations and begins to conduct a Thinkers' Club, where all can discuss life's unanswerable questions. Infiltrated by undercover cops and threatened by strain from within, the Thinkers' Club doesn't have it easy. But simply by debating racial authenticity, street justice, and the possibility of mutual understanding, Socrates and his unlikely crew actually begin to make a difference.

The Right Mistake is Walter Mosley at his most incisive. In turns outraged and affectionate, it offers a profoundly literary and ultimately redemptive exploration of the possibility of moral action in a violent world.

Walter Mosley is one of America's most celebrated writers. He was given the National Book Award's 2020 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and honored with the Anisfield-Wolf Award, a Grammy, a PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award, the Robert Kirsch Award, numerous Edgars and several NAACP Image Awards. His work is translated into 25 languages. He has published fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker, Playboy, and The Nation. As an executive producer, he adapted his novel, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, for AppleTV+ and serves as a writer and executive producer for FX's "Snowfall."