Atlanta Deathwatch
by Ralph Dennis
Popular Library 1974
Jim Hardman is a disgraced former cop who operates as an unlicensed private detective, along with other minor criminal hustles. He's teamed up with former NFL player Hump Evans, more than a sidekick but doesn't get full co-billing.
Hardman is hired by The Man, a godfather in the Black gangs of Atlanta, to find the killer of his secret white collage-aged girlfriend. This leads Hardman and Evans from the Black bars of Atlanta to rural redneck drinking holes to high priced lawyers and politicians.
The vibe sits nicely between Parker and Hap & Leonard, and the ride along the way works better than the plot, which for me kind of went off the rails a bit towards the end.
The language won't work for some modern audiences. Some of it falls in the category of "reflecting the gritty realities of 1970s Atlanta criminal underworld" while some is just outdated language. When half your characters are African American, using "the black" as a generic pronoun isn't very helpful. Mostly has its heart in the right place, but definitely from a White perspective.
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