ATLANTA DEATHWATCH (1974) ****
by Ralph Dennis
This paperback edition published by Brash Books, 2018, 217pp
First published in 1974
Introduction by Joe R. Lansdale
© Adventures in Television, Inc., 2018
ISBN: 978-1-73-206566-6
Blurb: It’s Atlanta, 1974. Ex-cop Jim Hardman works as an unlicensed PI, trouble-shooter and bodyguard…often partnered with his drinking buddy Hump Evans, a black, ex-NFL player who supports his playboy lifestyle by working as hired muscle. Hardman is hired by The Man, the “Black Godfather,” to investigate the murder of his white girlfriend, a college student. It’s a case that plunges Hardman and Evans into the centre of a violent street war that stretches from Atlanta’s seedy back alleys to the marbled corridors of power.
Comment: Ralph Dennis’ Hardman & Hump books have established a strong reputation in recent years, having disappeared from the scene for a long time following their 1970s heyday. Championed by author, Lee Goldberg, the series returned to print via Brash Books, including a 13th, previously unpublished, novel. Atlanta Deathwatch is the first in the series and introduces us to former white cop Jim Hardman and his black partner, former NFL star, Hump Evans. Hardman has left the force under a cloud having been, wrongly, implicated in corruption. He now works as an unlicensed PI, helping. Here, working for a black crime lord, he looks to uncover the mystery surrounding the death of his white girlfriend. Whilst the Hardman books were a numbered series, similar to many men’s adventure novels of the time, they carry much more weight in their writing, dialogue and plots. They can easily be seen as a precursor of Robert Crais’ Cole and Pike series, for example, and the Spenser/Hawk novels of Robert B. Parker, with the Hawk character introduced once Dennis was a few books into his series. This story sets the tone for the series admirably – a fast-moving, page-turning, plot; a great buddy relationship between its heroes; crackling dialogue; and tight prose. The word is out and PI/mystery fans are finally beginning to laud a great series with the praise it deserves.
