The Harlem Cycle: A Rage in Harlem; The Real Cool Killers; The Crazy Kill

Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, Harlem’s toughest pair of cops, are Chester Himes’s most memorable fictional creations.

Renowned for their meanness and always armed with their legendary nickel-plated Colts, they patrol the streets of Harlem and attempt to keep some semblance of law and order, gathered together for the first time are the first three novels in what Himes described as his domestic thrillers – otherwise known as the Harlem cycle. Combining fantastic plots with blood-soaked realism, Himes produced some of the greatest crime novels ever. This, the first of three compendium volumes, gives a whole generation of new readers the chance to appreciate the black humour, gripping storylines and social awareness that justify his description as the father of black American crime writing.