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A review by mcf
Atlanta Deathwatch by Ralph Dennis
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5
I'm glad these are back in print, because it's a pleasure to get to dive into a new 1970s detective series that is way better than those who dismiss such things as pulpy nonsense would ever guess. Ross Thomas and John D. MacDonald set the bar very high in this world and, while Dennis has a ways to go before approaching their levels, his main characters are engaging, and his detective (Jim Hardman) is comfortably three dimensional and very far from being tough or infallible. In addition, despite using racial language that's hard to read with 2019 eyes, the relationship Dennis paints between Hardman and Hump Evans, his Black sometimes-partner, is a compelling one, as is the fact that Hardman knows the world treats him and Hump differently, and sometimes takes uncomfortable advantage of it.
And the second book is free to borrow on Kindle!
I'm glad these are back in print, because it's a pleasure to get to dive into a new 1970s detective series that is way better than those who dismiss such things as pulpy nonsense would ever guess. Ross Thomas and John D. MacDonald set the bar very high in this world and, while Dennis has a ways to go before approaching their levels, his main characters are engaging, and his detective (Jim Hardman) is comfortably three dimensional and very far from being tough or infallible. In addition, despite using racial language that's hard to read with 2019 eyes, the relationship Dennis paints between Hardman and Hump Evans, his Black sometimes-partner, is a compelling one, as is the fact that Hardman knows the world treats him and Hump differently, and sometimes takes uncomfortable advantage of it.
And the second book is free to borrow on Kindle!