About this item
In this knockout standalone crime novel from the acclaimed author of the Harlem Detectives series, a white cop's murderous outburst leads to a pulse-pounding chase to silence a witness. It's early morning in New York, a few days after Christmas and bitter cold. A white detective named Walker accuses the black workers at a luncheonette on 37th Street and Fifth Avenue of stealing his car. He's been drinking - a lot. By the time he corners Fat Sam in the refrigeration room, he's raving mad, and his .32-caliber revolver goes off. But who would believe it was an accident? Two other men work in the luncheonette, and in his fuming, psychotic state, Walker is determined to take out these witnesses. One of them, Luke, he kills in cold blood. But the other, Jimmy, gets away by the skin of his teeth.
About the Author
Chester Bomar Himes began writing in the early 1930s while serving a prison sentence for armed robbery. From there, he produced short stories for periodicals such as Esquire and Abbott's Monthly. When released, he focussed on semi-autobiographical protest novels. In 1953, Himes emigrated to France, where he was approached by Marcel Duhamel of Gallimard to write a detective series for , which had published works from the likes of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Jim Thompson. Himes would be the first black author included in the series. The resulting Harlem Cycle gained him celebrity when he won France's Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for (now known in English as ) in 1958. Three of these novels have been adapted into movies: , directed by Ossie Davis in 1970; (based on ) in 1972; and , starring Gregory Hines and Danny Glover in 1991. In 1968, Himes moved to Spain where he made his home until his death.
