Book Overview
It's a typical ground-hog day in Harlem when a guy stealing a wheel off a car sees an old lady ? who's actually a man ? get hit by a solid-gold car in which a sailor, prostitute, & car salesman are riding. The man in drag turns out to be alright ? that is, until he's hit by a second car, a black Buick with three men dressed in police uniforms in it. The story only gains momentum from there as the nickel-plated .38-wielding police duo of Grave Digger Jones & Coffin Ed Johnson are put on the case. All Shot Up is one in a long series of violent, funny, & socially relevant crime thrillers by Chester Himes, who began his writing career while serving out a prison term for jewel theft in the early 1940s.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0451067177
ISBN13:9780451067173
Release Date:October 1975
Publisher:Signet Book
Weight:0.20 lbs.
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
my favourite Coffin Ed/Gravedigger Jones novel
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
I can't believe this weird, wonderful thriller is out of print; it's a scandal. This is my favourite of Himes' Harlem Cycle of thrillers. It's a fast-paced, surreal read, and thoroughly entertaining. It's also fascinating because it's set in part in and around the gay scene in Harlem of the 1940s/50s. Himes represents the gay characters with the same misanthropic zeal that he does all the other people in the novel, but is not homophobic - even having one gay character courageously outing himself to alibi his lover. Coffin Ed and Gravedigger were, Himes comments, 'not personal moralists.' Other than that, hardboiled fun laced with trenchant comments on the state of American race relations of the period.
Harlem murder mystery at its best.....
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
This book captures the pulse of Harlem. I was captivated by thee tough as nails detectives and the twists this book takes in its 170 odd pages. The ending is fabulous and unexpected. I would also highly recommend reading "The Conjure Man dies" by Rudolph Fisher, another excellent murder mystery based in Harlem.
This book was "da bomb"
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
Lots of action, lots of laughs and the 2 toughest detectives since Spencer & Hawk. If you like Harlem, if you like detective novels, if you like action, this is the book for you. A very quick read. Fans of Walter Mosely should read this book. I wonder if good ol' Bill Clinton is up on Mr. Himes. My only thought is why were there only 2 movies made from Mr. Himes books. And why did I just discover him after I saw one of the movies (A Rage In Harlem)
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