From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Mosley (Known to Evil) plays out an intriguing premise in his powerful latest: a man is given a second shot at life, but at the price of a hastened death. Ptolemy Grey is a 91-year-old man, suffering from dementia and living as a recluse in his Los Angeles apartment. With one foot in the past and the other in the grave, Ptolemy begins to open up when Robyn Small, a 17-year-old family friend, appears and helps clean up his apartment and straighten out his life. A reinvigorated Ptolemy volunteers for an experimental medical program that will restore his mind, but at hazardous cost: he won't live to see 92. With the clock ticking, Ptolemy uses his rejuvenated mental abilities to delve into the mystery of the recent drive-by shooting death of his great-nephew, Reggie, and to render justice the only way he knows how, goaded and guided by the memory of his murdered childhood mentor, Coydog McCann. Though the details of the experimental procedure are less than convincing, Mosley's depiction of the indignities of old age is heartbreaking, and Ptolemy's grace and decency make for a wonderful character and a moving novel. (Nov.) (c)
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From Bookmarks Magazine
Critics described The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey as a remarkable blend of literary fiction, mystery, and fantasy. Most were moved by this story of a man slowly losing himself to dementia and his friendship with the compassionate and pragmatic Robyn. The only exception came from the Entertainment Weekly reviewer, who found the novel too convoluted and bizarre to be enjoyable. And though Mosleyβs latest is a pretty big departure from his private detective series featuring Easy Rawlins, the novel stands on its own as an original tale of aging, family, love, and loss.