How Many Pages Does 'Black Betty' Have?

I just finished reading 'Black Betty' last week and was surprised by how compact it felt. The edition I had ran about 320 pages, which made for a perfect weekend read. What's impressive is how much punch Walter Mosley packs into those pages - every chapter moves like lightning while still developing complex characters. The paperback version from Vintage Crime/Black Lizard is the one you'll commonly find in stores, and it keeps that tight page count while delivering all the gritty 1960s LA atmosphere Mosley is famous for. If you're looking for more hardboiled detective fiction with similar length, try 'Devil in a Blue Dress' - another Mosley gem that clocks in around 230 pages.

As someone who collects mystery novels, I've handled multiple editions of 'Black Betty' over the years. The original 1994 hardcover release sat at 289 pages, but modern reprints vary slightly based on font size and formatting. The 2002 paperback I own stretches to 336 pages thanks to added discussion questions and an author interview.

Page count isn't everything though - Mosley's writing style makes the book feel denser than it appears. His trademark first-person narration from Easy Rawlins' perspective creates such immersive scenes that you'll remember entire neighborhoods in vivid detail after just a few paragraphs. The dialogue crackles with period-accurate slang that transports you straight to 1961 Los Angeles.

For readers who enjoy this length of crime fiction, I'd suggest branching out to Chester Himes' 'Cotton Comes to Harlem' at 224 pages or James Sallis' 'Drive' at a lean 158 pages. Both deliver that same punchy, atmospheric storytelling where every page carries weight.

Digging through my reading logs, I see my Kindle edition of 'Black Betty' showed 294 pages, but ebook lengths always feel deceptive. What matters is how Mosley uses those pages - he builds entire worlds through street-level details. A single page might contain a bar fight, a jazz reference, and racial commentary without ever slowing the detective plot.

The physical copies I've seen in libraries average around 300-330 pages depending on the publisher. Signet's mass market version leans shorter at 304 pages but keeps all the tension as Easy untangles another impossible case. If you like this blend of social commentary and crime drama at this length, don't miss 'The Long Fall' by Lynn Kostoff - it's 288 pages of similarly sharp writing about a washed-up detective.