Plan B

Grave Digger and Coffin Ed, Book 8

By: Chester Himes

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

The final, posthumous installment of the groundbreaking Harlem Detectives series, a novel of explosive, apocalyptic violence and a startling vision of the effects of racism in America.

The roots of racism and persecution in Tomsson Black's ancestry are deep and staggering. In his own lifetime, his misfortunes have become unbearable and, as they mount, serve as an impetus for a final and cataclysmic act of vengeance—the violent overthrow of white society.

When acclaimed crime writer Chester Himes died in Spain in 1984, it was rumored that an unfinished story in the Harlem Detective series existed that had all but extinguished his heroes and their fraught city in an explosive paroxysm of racial strife. Completed from his notes by Michel Fabre and Robert E. Skinner, Plan B is that harrowing story.

Includes an illuminating introduction by editors Michel Fabre and Robert E. Skinner.

©1993 Lesley Himes © 1993 by University Press of Mississippi (P)2024 Audible, Inc.

Trigger Warnings A Plenty

A fan of the Grave Digger & Coffin Ed series I went in expecting a hard boiled detective novel but what I got was.. You know that joke the Aristocrats where each commedian tries to out offend each other? it is a fascinating work of art that at this time and place seems ironic and completely on brand for America right now. There is some biting sarcasm and parody of behaviors thats had me scared, angry and laughing saying is he kidding me? There is a nice addendum at the end that talks about Himes creation of this unfinished story as well reactions of the French press. This book is fascinating on many levels and not for the easily offended. Check it out if you dare.

Poor End to Beloved Heroes

I don't want to disparage the talent and genius of Chester Himes. I rank him as one of the best writers of his time, and crime fiction in general. This book seemed like a radical departure from Harlem detective series. And yes, I know that Blind Man With a Pistol was in many ways a jumping off point for this book but whereas that book had a cohesive narrative, this one seemed to be a Frankenstein of book. I also realize that it Plan B wasn't exactly finished. And you can tell as characters seemed to be rushed to their end fates rather than studied on. Part of me refuses to accept this book as canon to the series, and I'll take it more as the result of some misanthropic fever dream Himes had towards the end of his life. It's the most brutal, eroticized and violent book in the series which really isn't the problem, it's just that those elements seem pointless and without meaning. Won't recommend this one, especially to newcomers to Chester Himes work.