The Big Gold Dream

By Chester Himes

Book Overview

In this page-turning installment of the classic Harlem Detectives series, a woman dies at a con man's religious street revival, and her massive, secret pile of cash vanishes

The charismatic con man Sweet Prophet is delivering an electrifying street sermon when Alberta Wright, a true believer who dreams of pies bursting with hundred-dollar bills, drops dead. Her partner rushes home only to find her apartment looted--and a stash of cash she was trying to keep a secret long gone. But that kind of money can't be kept secret. It isn't in the thief's hands long before he gets knocked off. And then the killer faces lethal competition of his own. As the missing pile of money changes hands, it leaves behind a string of cold-blooded murders that shows no sign of slowing down. Detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones must move fast to stop the killings in this gripping crime thriller from a master of the genre.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593686098
• ISBN13: 9780593686096
• Release Date: February 2024
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A guilty pleasure

How good is Himes? I keep reading his books despite all the recurring flaws such as anti-Semitism, weak endings, and one-dimensional female characters. The storytelling keeps me coming back for more.

Above and beyond with Grave Digger and Coffin Ed!

From start to finish Chester takes you up, down and around Harlem with a rollicking hunger for action and mahem that no other writer can match. No one can beat Himes for his quick and pungent study of character and personality. He possesses a gift for weaving details into a break-neck romp of action and interaction that no other writer can touch. Starting with the exaulted voice of Sweet Prophet Brown on steamy 117th Street in Harlem searching for the truth and the money through an astonishing series of events that allows us a slice of history we will only find with this gifted writer. He'll make you laugh when you know you shouldn't and introduce you to people you'll never meet. Follow his lead. You won't forget or regret!