{"title":"Chester Himes","description":"\u003cp\u003eDiscover the gripping world of Chester Himes, a brilliant author whose narratives span across the landscapes of \u003cem\u003egeneral fiction\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ecrime \u0026amp; thriller\u003c\/em\u003e genres. Himes is renowned for his vivid storytelling and keen insight into the human condition, making his works both thought-provoking and entertaining.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBorn in 1909, Chester Himes lived a life marked by adversity and resilience, which profoundly influenced his writing. He explores themes of race, identity, and survival with unflinching honesty and a touch of dark humour, offering readers a window into experiences that are as compelling today as they were when first published.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe collection includes \u003cstrong\u003e\"If He Hollers Let Him Go\"\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003e\"Yesterday Will Make You Cry\"\u003c\/strong\u003e, both delving into the complexities of race and social justice. Dive into the Harlem Detective series with titles like \u003cstrong\u003e\"A Rage in Harlem\"\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003e\"Cotton Comes to Harlem\"\u003c\/strong\u003e, where Himes' craft shines in fast-paced, intricate plots filled with sharp dialogue and richly drawn characters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHimes' unique voice and storytelling prowess make his novels an essential addition to any book lover's library, offering a profound reflection on society wrapped in engaging narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"all-shot-up-by-chester-himes-9780241521120","title":"All Shot Up","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA gritty, hilarious detective novel from Harlem's master crime writer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA golden Cadillac big enough to cross the ocean has been seen sailing along the streets of Harlem. A hit-and-run victim's been hit so hard she got embedded in the wall of a convent. A shootout with three heistmen dressed as cops has left an important politician in a coma—and a lot of money missing. And Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are the ones who have to piece it all together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAll Shot Up\u003c\/em\u003e is chaotic, bloody—and completely unforgettable. Chester Himes wrote detective fiction darker, dirtier and more extreme than anyone else dared.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46249837854956,"sku":"9780241521120","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241521120.jpg?v=1741562711"},{"product_id":"a-rage-in-harlem-by-chester-himes-9780241521083","title":"A Rage in Harlem","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'The greatest find in American crime fiction since Raymond Chandler'\u003c\/em\u003e — \u003cem\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJackson's woman has found him a foolproof way to make money—a technique for turning ten dollar bills into hundreds. But when the scheme somehow fails, Jackson is left broke, wanted by the police and desperately racing to get back both his money and his loving Imabelle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe first of Chester Himes's novels featuring the hardboiled Harlem detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, \u003cem\u003eA Rage in Harlem\u003c\/em\u003e has swagger, brutal humour, lurid violence, a hearse loaded with gold and a conman dressed as a Sister of Mercy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a new Introduction by Luc Sante.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46249851257068,"sku":"9780241521083","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241521083.jpg?v=1741562627"},{"product_id":"cotton-comes-to-harlem-by-chester-himes-9780241521090","title":"Cotton Comes to Harlem","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHe belongs with those great demented realists ... whose writing pitilessly exposes the ridiculousness of the human condition.\u003c\/em\u003e - Will Self\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA preacher called Deke O'Malley's been selling false hope — the promise of a glorious new life in Africa for just $1,000 a family. But when thieves with machine guns steal the proceeds — and send one man to the morgue — the con is up. Now Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed mean to bring the good people of Harlem back their $87,000, however many corpses they have to climb over to get it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCotton Comes to Harlem\u003c\/em\u003e is a non-stop ride, with violence, sex, double-crosses, and the two baddest detectives ever to wear a badge in Harlem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46249876259052,"sku":"9780241521090","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241521090.jpg?v=1741562152"},{"product_id":"the-heats-on-by-chester-himes-9780241521106","title":"The Heat's On","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'The greatest find in American crime fiction since Raymond Chandler' – Sunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetectives Coffin Ed and Grave Digger Jones have lost two criminals. Pinky ran off – but it shouldn't be hard to track down a giant albino in Harlem. Jake the drug dealer, though, isn't coming back – he died after Grave Digger punched him in the stomach. And his death might cost them both their badges. Unless they can track down the cause of all this mayhem – like the African with his throat slit and the dog the size of a lion with an open head wound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChester Himes's hardboiled tales of Harlem have a barely contained chaos and a visceral, macabre edge all their own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46250122051820,"sku":"9780241521106","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241521106.jpg?v=1741559918"},{"product_id":"the-real-cool-killers-by-chester-himes-9780241521113","title":"The Real Cool Killers","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOne of the towering figures of the black literary tradition.\u003c\/em\u003e - Henry Louis Gates, Jr\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe night's over for Ulysses Galen. It started going bad for the big Greek when a knife was drawn, then there was an axe, then he was being chased and shot at. Now Galen is lying dead in the middle of a Harlem street. But the night's just beginning for detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. Because they have a smoking gun but it couldn't have killed Galen, and they had a suspect but a gang called the Real Cool Moslems took him. And as patrol cars and search teams descend on the neighbourhood, their case threatens to take a turn for the personal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Real Cool Killers\u003c\/em\u003e is loaded with grizzly comedy and with all the raucous, threatening energy of the streets it's set on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46298799079660,"sku":"9780241521113","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/27010463482273.jpg?v=1743042648"},{"product_id":"all-gods-chillun-got-pride-by-chester-himes-9780241752104","title":"All God's Chillun Got Pride","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBest known for his hardboiled Harlem Detective series, Chester Himes was also a superb literary writer, beginning his creative life by writing short stories in the 1930s while serving jail time for armed robbery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSelected here are some of his best stories—from a satirical tale about a student bet that purportedly disproves the existence of racism in Los Angeles to a chilling drama in which a snake invades a family home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAll God's Chillun Got Pride\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46463292604652,"sku":"9780241752104","price":17.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241752104.jpg?v=1747865802"},{"product_id":"cotton-comes-to-harlem-by-chester-himes-9780241639221","title":"Cotton Comes to Harlem","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScams, heists, and murders abound in a high-energy caper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA preacher called Deke O'Malley's been selling false hope — the promise of a glorious new life in Africa for just $1,000 a family. But when thieves with machine guns steal the proceeds and send one man to the morgue, the con is up. Now Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed, highly unorthodox and gun-happy detectives, mean to bring the good people of Harlem back their $87,000, however many corpses they have to climb over to get it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCotton Comes to Harlem\u003c\/em\u003e is a non-stop ride, with violence, sex, double-crosses, and the two baddest detectives ever to wear a badge in Harlem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46529933377772,"sku":"9780241639221","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/105753482274.jpg?v=1749240893"},{"product_id":"if-he-hollers-let-him-go-by-chester-himes-9781781255667","title":"If He Hollers Let Him Go","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobert Jones is a crew leader in a naval shipyard in Los Angeles in the 1940s. He should have a lot going for him, being educated, with a steady job and a steady relationship. But in the four days covered in this novel, the impossibility of life as a black man in a white world is made devastatingly clear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJones is surrounded by prejudice, suspicion, and paranoia, and his daily experiences influence his thoughts, dreams, and behaviour. Immediately recognised as a masterful expose of racism in everyday life, \u003ci\u003eIf He Hollers Let Him Go\u003c\/i\u003e is Chester Himes' first book, originally published in 1945.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46531466297580,"sku":"9781781255667","price":23.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5257293482822.jpg?v=1749277477"},{"product_id":"if-he-hollers-let-him-go-by-chester-himes-9780241692424","title":"If He Hollers, Let Him Go","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe searing debut novel by Chester Himes, \u003cem\u003ewritten with youthful panache and a bellyful of anger\u003c\/em\u003e (Observer).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRobert 'Bob' Jones—crew leader, shipyard worker, educated, employed—is finding life impossible. Though he has recently been promoted to supervisor at the Los Angeles shipyard where he works, he is disrespected and resented by white colleagues; and despite his relationship with the high-class Alice, he is crudely baited by white woman Madge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver the course of four fraught days, he is plagued with increasingly violent urges as the bigotry and cruelty he faces in day-to-day interactions mounts. A masterful reckoning with the poisonous effects of racism and a monumental classic in the protest novel tradition, this 1945 novel is as shattering and trenchant today as it was on first publication.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46531469476076,"sku":"9780241692424","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/637783482274.jpg?v=1749277529"},{"product_id":"blind-man-with-a-pistol-by-chester-himes-9780241692615","title":"Blind Man with a Pistol","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe final novel in the trailblazing Harlem Detective series, set in a New York City at boiling point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBawdy and tough-talking, wickedly funny and wantonly sensual, \u003cem\u003eBlind Man with a Pistol\u003c\/em\u003e is a surreal joyride through Harlem in a heatwave. Detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are side-tracked from investigating a series of organised race riots when a white man with a cut throat and no trousers falls dead at their feet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTold in a thrilling chaos of impressions over the course of one day and one night, this case will take Jones and Johnson into the pounding heart of Harlem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46543106310380,"sku":"9780241692615","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241692615.jpg?v=1749765380"},{"product_id":"the-crazy-kill-by-chester-himes-9780241692639","title":"The Crazy Kill","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Crazy Kill\u003c\/i\u003e is a classic thriller from the Harlem Detective series, where love, jealousy, and many-peopled mayhem abound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBig Joe Pullen is dead, and his wake is becoming increasingly boozy. During the wake, the opium-addicted Reverend Short falls out of a window while trying to see a thief fleeing the robbed store opposite. Remarkably, his life is saved when he lands in a bread basket, cushioned by the corpse of Valentine Haines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt falls to detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson to uncover who stabbed Valentine. However, no one at the wake is eager to speak much to the police.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShot through with dry, dark humour, this is Chester Himes at his hardboiled noir best.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46552831033580,"sku":"9780241692639","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/639933482274.jpg?v=1750057826"},{"product_id":"the-big-gold-dream-by-chester-himes-9780241692622","title":"The Big Gold Dream","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFast-paced and hard-boiled, this Harlem Detectives novel follows a pile of stolen money—or it would if anyone could find it...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlberta Wright drops dead on the street during a sermon by the charismatic con man Sweet Prophet. Her partner rushes home to avoid the cops, only to find her apartment looted by someone looking for her stash of cash. But soon it becomes apparent that there are a number of players in the race for Alberta's dough. Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones are called in to investigate, but they know full well the bodies haven't stopped dropping yet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Big Gold Dream\u003c\/em\u003e is a gripping journey through the turbulent world of Harlem, where everyone is on the hunt for the elusive fortune.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46675085787372,"sku":"9780241692622","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/639763482274.jpg?v=1752926796"},{"product_id":"the-essential-harlem-detectives-by-chester-himes-9781841594170","title":"The Essential Harlem Detectives","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Essential Harlem Detectives\u003c\/em\u003e is a one-volume selection of four scintillating stories from the legendary Harlem Detectives series. This blistering, ground-breaking satire of Harlem's criminal underworld is penned by master crime-writer Chester Himes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA friend and contemporary of Richard Wright and James Baldwin—and every bit their equal—Chester Himes was the acclaimed author of literary novels, stories, and essays. He is best known for the classic crime fiction series featuring detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHimes wrote nine novels in the Harlem Detectives series. In these four popular, accomplished instalments, his cold, wise-cracking sleuths are thrust into a brutal, murderous world inhabited by conniving con men, gun-toting gangsters, and opium-smoking preachers. Himes's vision of Harlem's criminal underground, enriched by deft plotting and scintillating dialogue, offers both riotous entertainment and a penetrating enquiry into the fraught tensions of race in postwar America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46675261489388,"sku":"9781841594170","price":50.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781841594170.jpg?v=1752960803"},{"product_id":"yesterday-will-make-you-cry-by-chester-himes-9780241692646","title":"Yesterday Will Make You Cry","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA masterful novel about the injustices of the prison system and the humanity that flourishes despite it, by the author of the acclaimed Harlem Detective series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrill-seeking white teenager Jimmy Monroe is serving a twenty-year sentence for robbery. The penitentiary is a place where terror and chaos reign, where corrupt guards inflict casual and insidious violence, where men isolated from the outside world must preserve their dignity and find fulfilment through years of boredom and uncertainty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen a fire breaks out, setting hell and mayhem loose, it seems as though Jimmy's entire world is unravelling. But, in the aftermath, as he develops a tender relationship with fellow convict Rico, hope begins to glimmer, and his eventual foray into writing channels the confusion of his experience into something finally resembling redemption.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOriginally published in 1952, in an expurgated version, as \u003cem\u003eCast the First Stone\u003c\/em\u003e, this unsparing, intense yet affirming novel draws on Chester Himes' own life—including his youthful imprisonment, his path to writing, and his experience of the devastating Ohio Penitentiary fire in 1930. \u003cem\u003eYesterday Will Make You Cry\u003c\/em\u003e faces down the scouring truths of harm and love and demonstrates the astonishing lyric range of Himes' prose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46675871858924,"sku":"9780241692646","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/640003482274.jpg?v=1752948481"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/chester-himes.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}