Receive The Charleston Knife Is Back In Town (Hardman Book 2) Authored By Ralph Dennis Available As Volume

Ralph Dennis began the 'Hardman' series inwith "Atlanta Deathwatch", The book would kickstart a belovedvolume run of detective novels, Dennis used racy Atlanta as the backdrop for his two crimefighters Jim Hardman and Hump Evans, Recently, author and genre enthusiast Lee Goldberg acquired the publishing rights to 'Hardman' for his imprint, Brash Books,

The second entry, “The Charleston Knife is Back in Town”, features an introduction by author Joe R.
Lansdale for its reprinting. It's the same intro used on the reprinting of the series debut, one where Lansdale clearly segregates the 'Hardman' series from what he considers a rather disposables men's actionadventure genre he has some disdain for adult westerns and his own work on the 'M.
I. A. Hunter' titles. Lansdale is a fan of Dennis and his opening remarks about the series are
spoton,  

The Charleston Knife is Back in Town” starts with the obligatory heist, This time Hump Evans is invited to a posh neighborhood for a little gambling party postprize fight, Once there, he's escorted by gunpoint to a dark room sans hisof WAM that's slang for Walk Around Money.
After the robbers leave and the cops arrive, Evans embarrassingly shows up at Hardman's house to explain his night's turn of bad luck.
It turns out that the gambling festivities involved many underworld honchos all taken for overK in assets, Heads will roll.  


Soon, Hardman and Hump are contacted by a friend's sister with a possible connection to the heist.
She fears that her young nephew was behind the robbery and may be a mob target, Our two detectives accept some payment and learn that the mob is coming down hard on the robbers, They have big money in place with a demand that the heist crew be taken down, . . real messy. The novel is a smooth and calculating read as Hardman and Hump navigate whore houses, strip clubs and dives to track down the robbers before the hired slasher.
  

This series, and its second installment, showcases this Atlanta author's penchant for the crime noir, Building the novel around the heist is a vintage staple, but the spin here is having the protagonist attempting to save the crook.
The sense of urgency increases with each chapter as the hired killer devours the clues, Ultimately, you know Hardman and this knifewielder will face off but it's how and where they meet that makes for an intriguing development.
Kudos to Ralph Dennis, and Lee Goldberg, for recognizing what makes the detective formula effectively click, This is a mandatory read,
It's a tragedy this book was marketed/packaged as a men's action adventure novel, Dennis was the real deal, . . these deserved to be recognized as straightup noir, These novels predate Robert B, Parker's SPENSER series and yet are strikingly similar, . . Makes me wonder if Parker might have read one of the Hardmans at some point and it was percolating in his subconscious when he created his own series.
Like Spenser, Hardman is an excop turned investigator/bodyguard who lives by his own moral code and teams up often with a rough, violent AfricanAmerican enforcer.
He's also got a steady, loving girlfriend who understands, if not totally accepts, who he is and what he does and isn't nearly as irritating as Susan Silverman, and a friend on the force ala Belson and Quirk who helps him out.
He's also deeply tied in with the local mob bosses who have an understanding with him again, like Spenser.
And Atlanta, the city where Hardman lives, is a vivid character in the books like Boston in the Spensers.
The tone of the Hardmans is very different than the Spensers, and Spenser is far more moralistic, physically capable, smartassy, and sure of himself than Hardman, but otherwise the franchise elements are almost identical.
Ralph Dennis has a great voice, a wicked sense of humor, and a very sharp eye for detail, It's a damn shame this man never broke out into the big leagues, I loved this book and I am eager to devour the rest of this series, This second outing for Hardman is even better than the first, A superior hardboiled private eye novel that is smoothly written, featuring nicely drawn characters, a vivid setting and a strong voice.
The second great book in this series, Typical action novel from the's, Sex, bodies and the search for the bad guy, Better than many of the novels of that time period, The second in the Hardman series is as good as the first! The duo of Hardman and Evans is on the trail of an elusive professional killer who in turn is after a bunch of kids who pulled off an audacious scam, leaving many big, bad people seething.
The novel is full of action, with hardly a wasted word, The chemistry between Hardman and Evans is hugely amusing, As mentioned earlier, I would love to follow through the entire series, I received this from AudioBookBoom and the publisher, Brash Books, in exchange for an honest review,

This really is an outstanding series, and is so much more than the "Men's Action Adventure" that is was marketed as back when it was first published in the mids.
So glad that Brash Books is rereleasing these longlost books!

Just like the first one, Jim Hardman and Hump Evans get wrapped up in some violent shenanigans, this time involving a group of kids who set up a robbery of some highrolling gamblers of course, it goes wrong, and they are hunted by the Atlanta gang bosses, along with a hired assassin.
Hardman and Hump are hired by the grandmother of one of the boys, and immediately run afowl of the assassin and an Italian mafioso.


As expected, Shawn Compton does an outstanding job narrating, and I can't wait to listen to the next one! The second novel in the unforgettable, long lost series by Ralph Dennis is finally back in print after being coveted for years by collectors of the very best in hardboiled fiction.
 

Jim Hardman was a mediocre Atlanta cop until he was wrongly accused of corruption and thrown off the force.
Now he works as an unlicensed PI, troubleshooter and bodyguardoften partnered with his drinking buddy Hump Evans, a black, exNFL 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 Atlantas 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.


This new edition includes an introduction by Joe R, Lansdale, the New York Times bestselling author of the Hap amp Leonard crime novels,

Praise for the HARDMAN novels

“His prose was muscular, swift and highly readable, Like Chandler and Hammett before him, Dennis was trying to do something different with what was thought of as throwaway literature.
” Joe R. Lansdale, from his introduction

“Expert writing, plus good plotting and an unusual degree of sensitivity, Ralph Dennis has mastered the genre and supplied top entertainment, ” The New York Times

“The Hardman books are by far the best of the mens actionadventure series.
” Mother Jones Magazine

"Ralph Dennis is an underappreciated master, His Hardman series is one of the finest in the P, I. genre. "
Robert Randisi, founder of the Private Eye Writers of America



“Among the best series books around.
The dialogue is marvelously realistic, ” Philadelphia Daily News


For thend in the series, a solid entry that has some great characters.
A good mix of action, mystery, and touch of horror in the form of a hit man that is brutal and psychotic.
I received this book for free, I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own,

This book was originally published in the's and has the vernacular of that era, This is the second book in the Hardman series, It is a standalone story with no cliffhanger ending, However, this series is great and thanks to Brasch Books is being rereleased, hopefully to the larger audience it deserves, so I highly recommend that you start with the first book.
You also gain some additional insight into the MCs their relationship and background by starting with the first book.


Here, Hump attends a party of high rollers where all of the partygoers are robbed, Hardman is hired by the grandmother of one of the robbers to find him before he is killed by a hitman seeking some retribution.
Hardman and Hump, loosely working with the Detective, work to right some wrongs in their own way,

This is so well written the investigation has some great twists and turns but the relationship between Hump and Hardman is absolutely worth the price of admission.
I really enjoy the humor both situational and in their conversations,

I listened to this book the narrator, Shawn Compton, does a great job, His tone and pace completely compliment this series, .