A hardboiled detective novel published in 1959, I read this book a while ago but loved it. Its been controversial because of the depiction of African Americans in the book and for the corruption and violence. There’s no mistaking Himes’ voice or the actin of these novels and they represent a moment in time … worth a read. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Cool_Killers

Here’s some background on the novelist, Chester Himes:

http://aalbc.com/authors/chesterhimes.htm

Other books by Chester Himes

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=chester+himes