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Cotton Comes to Harlem

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Summary

'A bawdy, brazen rollercoaster of a novel . . . the wildest' The New York Times

A 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's brain matter flying - 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.

Cotton Comes to Harlem is a non-stop ride, with violence, sex, double-crosses, and the two baddest detectives ever to wear a badge in Harlem.

With an Introduction by Will Self

Reviews

  • The greatest find in American crime fiction since Raymond Chandler.
    Sunday Times

About the author

Chester Himes

Chester Himes was born in Missouri in 1909. Aged nineteen he was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to twenty-five years in jail, where he began to write short stories. Upon release, he took a variety of jobs while continuing to write fiction. He later moved to Paris where he wrote the first of his Harlem detective novels, A Rage in Harlem, which won the 1957 Grand prix de littérature policière. In 1969 Himes moved to Spain, where he died in 1984.
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