On the family tree of African American crime fiction, there is a direct genealogical link from Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones to Easy Rawlins and John Shaft, to Aaron Gunner, to Blanche White, to Marti MacAlister, to Larry Cole, to Cass Raines and Dayna Anderson.
~ S.A. Cosby via The New York Times
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I had never encountered anything like the world or the words of Chester Himes. But I knew I wanted more. The next book I devoured was “Blind Man With a Pistol,” a deeply twisted and morally ambiguous novel about the senseless nature of violence. A work that is both terrifying and philosophical, it was a watershed moment for this young wannabe writer that also just happens to have one of the most fearless endings in crime fiction history.
~ S.A. Cosby via The New York Times
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If Raymond Chandler is considered the poet of crime fiction and Samuel Dashiell Hammett its great journalist, then Chester Himes is the songwriter of the downtrodden. His stories sing with a fire and light that comes from a simmering sense of loss. A loss of respect, of humanity, of honor.
~ S.A. Cosby via The New York Times
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Black cops and con men, Black madams and Black ministers — this unapologetic zenith of Black identity was a revelation in every sense of the word. It felt both spiritual and inspirational. In short, it changed my life. Even though I was a poor boy from rural Virginia who had never stepped foot in Harlem, Chester Himes spoke to me with the kind of wild and powerful clarion call that can only be heard when an elder speaks.
~ S.A. Cosby via The New York Times
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