It’s been a while since I’ve read a hardboiled crime fiction novel (crime-writing with more realism, often set in an urban context, with sex, violence, and slang dialogue, is how I’ve seen it described). I don’t know if it was the last one, but in 2010, I read the great Chester Himes’ 1959 hardboiled crime fiction novel, The Real Cool Killers, and that’s the best comparison I can give to Gary Phillips’ 2022 book, One-Shot Harry. Gritty realism in an urban setting, with plenty of sex, violence, and slangy dialogue, One-Shot Harry is as hardboiled as it gets in the best way. Harry Ingram, the titular character, is a newspaper photographer and sometimes process server (the person who serves legal documents), and a Black man in 1963 Los Angeles, just trying to work through his memories of the Korean War, white racism and oppression, and prepare for the visit of Martin Luther King, Jr. to the city prior to his fabled March on Washington. Then, Harry’s white friend dies in a car crash that seems suspicious, and Harry turns his connections in the newspaper business into a hunt to unfurl the conspiracy that killed his friend.
I love unlikely “heroes,” especially set in such a realistic environment as a hardboiled detective story. Harry didn’t set out to be a detective. He’s only one guy with a camera, connections, and a brain. But he doesn’t take crap from anyone, including white people in a time when that could get you beaten, jailed, or killed. And like the best of the realistic heroes, he does get beaten a number of times throughout the novel, and doesn’t even ultimately get to the person at the top of the conspiracy (because that’s not realistic!), but because of his wits, determination, and the help of a socialist Black woman he’s doting on, he’s able to at least uncover the truth. That’s something.
Essentially, his friend took compromising photos of rich, powerful white men, and the rich, powerful white men killed him for it, and then started coming after Harry when he poked his nose around it. Phillips created some visually striking and fun violent encounters when two white henchman come after Harry, and where Harry ultimately is more than a “one-shot,” as he’s able to best both of them, killing them.
But there’s more going on here, too. As mentioned, Harry’s dealing with “shell-shock” from serving in the Korean War, a condition he doesn’t even want to reckon with, and the fact that he fought for democracy, supposedly, but returned to a country unwilling to give it to him. He also grapples with going so far out on a limb for a white friend, where one character wonders, if the roles were reversed, would that friend do it for him. Or his job as a photographer, he gets questioned why he a.) takes such grisly photos instead of more positive items and b.) in particular, shows the uglier side of Black life rather than the positive side; and his job as a process server, working for the “white man,” as some, like the Nation of Islam, claim.
Of course, there’s also wider discussions about race and the white man and system wanting Blacks to just wait their turn. In one poignant exchange Harry has with a character, they talk about if a Black man could ever or would ever be president:
“Black man as president, well, that fella would be living in a glass house. Every step he took, every sneeze he made would be a reason to find fault with him,” Harry says.
“But think of how that could mean we’ve turned a corner when it comes to race and race relations,” the other character retorts.
“Huh,” Harry says. “right around the corner will be another white wall. Taller and harder to get over than the last one.”
Some might think that’s overstating things, as applied to Obama’s two terms followed by Trump (and that’s how I’m interpreting this exchange, as being about those two), but I felt it was pretty apt! Obama clearly felt he had to operate as if presiding as president within a glass house, and there was clearly a backlash to him, which arguably led to Trump’s rise to the presidency and everything thereafter. Alas.
Heck, we even get a fun scene later where Harry takes photos of King directly and it’s implied, perhaps, he saved King from an assassination attempt (poisoning via beer). That was fun.
If you’re looking for a different pace than a usual crime fiction book, as hardboiled detective books tend to be, then I certainly recommend Phillips’ One-Shot Harry. You won’t soon forget Harry.
Milam's Musings 