Many people had reasons for killing Galen, a big Greek with too much money and too great a liking for young black girls. But there are complications--like a drug addict, a disappearing suspect, and the fact that Coffin Ed's daughter is up to her neck in the whole explosive business.
Read More
Many people had reasons for killing Galen, a big Greek with too much money and too great a liking for young black girls. But there are complications--like a drug addict, a disappearing suspect, and the fact that Coffin Ed's daughter is up to her neck in the whole explosive business.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Real Cool Killers to cart. $5.33, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hillsboro, OR, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Add this copy of The Real Cool Killers to cart. $5.49, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Real Cool Killers to cart. $5.49, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Real Cool Killers to cart. $5.84, very good condition, Sold by Magers and Quinn Booksellers rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Add this copy of The Real Cool Killers to cart. $9.18, fair condition, Sold by BooksRun rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Philadelphia, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Add this copy of The Real Cool Killers to cart. $9.58, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 160 p. Harlem Detectives, 2. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of The Real Cool Killers to cart. $10.15, very good condition, Sold by ZBK Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Woodland Park, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
No highlighting markings or writing. Pages and cover clean and intact. Used book in very good conditions. Minor cosmetic defects may be present. May include library marks.
Add this copy of The Real Cool Killers to cart. $10.56, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 160 p. Harlem Detectives, 2. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
From its beginnings in detective magazines and pulp fiction, American noir developed into literature of varied people and places. Chester Himes (1909 --1984) was one of the first African Americans to write noir. Imprisoned as a young man,Himes spent much of his life in France where he created a series involving two African American detectives, Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson, with a beat in Harlem. Some of the novels in the series were first published in French as Himes remained relatively unknown in his native land.
Published in 1959, "The Real Cool Killers" was the third of the series. Unlike some noir, the book is in part a who-done-it, as Jones and Johnson try to find the killer of one Ulysses Galen, a white salesman of a brand of soft drink, on a busy Harlem street. The plot becomes contrived with a number of surprising twists. The interest in the book lies much less in the plot than in the creation of atmosphere at the heart of noir writing. Himes understands and portrays Harlem and its people. The book frequently is sharply penetrating, descriptive, tragic, or bitingly funny. He is perceptive in developing his characters beyond sterotypes. And his writing is full of memorable passages and one-liners.
A good deal of the novel is set in a Harlem bar, the Dew Drop Inn, where Galen is a rare white patron. The bartender, Big Smiley, sets the tone of the establishment. The story opens with a large fight scene at the Dew Drop in involving Galen, Big Smiley, and a third individual who displays enormous and unexplained anger towards Galen. When Galen flees the establishment he is mysteriously gunned down on the street. The two detective heroes search for the killer.
The characters include a gang of teenagers led by "Shiek" who dress as Arabs together with Shiek's two young girlfriends. Among the other characters are several policemen, at all levels of the NYPD, a number of suspects, a madam, and a pimp.
As the novel develops, sadistic sex comes to play a major role. Yet, Himes portrays most of his characters with substantial care. With the exception of the villain, they are nuanced and not wholly good or evil. Jones and Johnson are shown as dedicated and intelligent law enforcement officers, but they often use violence, intimidation, and brutality to get their way. The white detectives and offices are likewise shown as varied human beings, with strong prejudices that accompany their virtues. In some comic scenes, the officers are almost unbelievably stupid. Yet things haltingly fall into place.
The main character of the book is Harlem which is portrayed realistically and unsentimenally in all its rawness. Himes captures Harlem's poverty, vice, and simmering rage, rather than a literary Harlem or a Harlem for visitors. The book also portrays sharp racial tension and oppression, with distrust and prejudice among both white and African American people. Sharp racial epithets and stereotyping occur throughout the book.
Himes' novel portrays a place and shows the effect of prejudice and poverty as well as telling a gripping story. It evocatively presents a Harlem noir. I was reminded of a contemporary African American writer of noir, Walter Mosley who has written several different series of crime novels, the most famous of which is the Easy Rawlins series, set in California. It includes the novel, "Devil in a Blue Dress" which in its setting bears some resemblance to "The Real Cool Killers". Himes' novel is available in the single edition I am reviewing here and in a compilation of American noir from the 1950s Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America) (Vol 2) published by the Library of America. It will be of interest to readers of African American literature and to readers of noir.
