THE CHARLESTON KNIFE IS BACK IN TOWN (1974) ****
by Ralph Dennis
This paperback edition published by Brash Books, 2018, 178pp
First published in 1974
Introduction by Joe R. Lansdale
© Adventures in Television, Inc., 2018
ISBN: 978-1-73-206567-3
Blurb: Jim Hardman is an ex-cop in Atlanta Atlanta cop who 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. Five kids rip off a gambling party attended by Hump Evans and some of Atlanta’s criminal and political elite. Hardman is hired to recover the loot and find the kids before they are caught and butchered by a hitman from Charleston with a very sharp knife.
Comment: The second of Ralph Dennis’ Hardman & Hump books maintains the high standard set by Atlanta Deathwatch. Written with confidence and no little style, the plot is lean and the story is efficiently told, and Dennis’ ear for witty dialogue is much in evidence. The page count is shorter this time out, and whilst the plot is a seemingly straightforward search for five kids and their haul of stolen loot, you can add to the mix that they are also being sought by a vicious knife-wielding hitman. Hardman and Hump are great creations in the bantering buddy tradition and Ralph Dennis is an under-appreciated writer in the classic tradition.
