All Shot Up

By Chester Himes

Book Overview

In this gripping installment of the maverick Harlem Detectives series, Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones investigate a series of seemingly unrelated, brutal crimes.

Bodies are dropping in the streets of Harlem, but in the bitter winter cold, they won't spoil. A witness sees a Cadillac that looks as though it's made of solid gold hurl an old woman to the street before peeling off. A shoot-out in front of a bar kills two and puts a politician in a coma. Not to mention that a whole lot of money has vanished into thin air. Now detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson have to squeeze the surprising truth out of sparse facts and get to the bottom of this explosive mystery. All Shot Up is an exhilarating ride through hard-boiled Harlem that only Chester Himes could have accomplished.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 059368611X
• ISBN13: 9780593686119
• Release Date: February 2024
• Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

my favourite Coffin Ed/Gravedigger Jones novel

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.....

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"

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)