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MacTaggart's war

Dennis, Ralph

HOLT. RINEHART AND WINSTON

The Charleston Knife's Back in Town

Pinnacle Books

The first novel in the unforgettable, ground-breaking series of crime novels by Ralph DennisIt's Atlanta, 1974. Ex-cop Jim Hardman works as an unlicensed PI, trouble-shooter and bodyguard…often partnered with his drinking buddy Hump Evans, a black, ex-NFL player who supports his playboy lifestyle by working as hired muscle. 
Hardman is hired by The Man, the "Black Godfather," to investigate the murder of his white girlfriend, a college student. It’s a case that plunges Hardman and Evans into the center of a violent street war that stretches from Atlanta’s seedy back alleys to the marbled corridors of power.
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:
""Exceptional characterization, strong and vigorous prose, and a glimpse into a place and time that has long since disappeared." Mystery Scene Magazine
"Gritty writing? Tough talk? Gripping action? Yes, yes and yes." The Daily Oklahoman 
“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
"It's gritty, it's grounded, and it's also strong on character. The writing is a cut above and then there's the social realism, the piercing look at racism, corruption and the underbelly of the city." NB Magazine UK
“The Hardman books are by far the best of the men’s action-adventure 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
"Ralph Dennis and his Hardman series are finally getting the respect many readers and collectors feel they deserve... Hardman is not your typical PI. He is not that good looking; a bit on the pudgy side in fact. His methods are unorthodox, and he often plays both sides of the law when working a case. But these and several other genre-defying characteristics are what captures and holds our fascination with Hardman." Bookgasm

Atlanta Deathwatch (Hardman)

Literature & Fiction

United States

Brash Books

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, trouble-shooter and bodyguard…often partnered with his drinking buddy Hump Evans, a black, ex-NFL 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 Atlanta’s 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 & 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 men’s action-adventure 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

The Charleston Knife is Back in Town (Hardman)

The third novel in Ralph Dennis’ great, but hard-to-find 1970s detective series that’s been sought-after for decades by readers of the very best in crime fiction.
Jim Hardman was an Atlanta cop until he was wrongly accused of corruption and thrown off the force. Now he works as an unlicensed PI, trouble-shooter and bodyguard…often partnered with his drinking buddy Hump Evans, a black, ex-NFL player who supports his playboy lifestyle by working as hired muscle.
Hardman is hired to find Peggy Holt, a drug dealer, stripper, and serial seductress who has kidnapped her six-year-old daughter from her ex-husband. Peggy has disappeared into an Atlanta underworld populated by the dirty cops, crooked lawyers and violent mobsters that she’s bedded and betrayed…and who keep coming back for more. 
The only way Hardman can find her is to follow the trail of corpses that she’s left in her wake… without becoming one himself. 
This edition includes an introduction by New York Times bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale and an afterword by Richard A. Moore.
Praise for the HARDMAN novels:"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
"Among the best series books around. The dialogue is marvelously realistic." Philadelphia Daily News

The Golden Girl and All (Hardman)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

“A superb thriller!” Jack Higgins, author of The Eagle Has Landed It’s June 1940. War is raging in Europe. France is about to collapse to the Nazis. England is bracing for a devastating German invasion…and the fall of the British empire. In desperation, Winston Churchill sends the kingdom’s wealth in gold bullion and securities to Canada for safekeeping. The first of these top secret shipments, traveling by sea to North America and then by train to Montreal, is worth over $500 million. A group of American soldiers are plotting to steal it… and only one man, a lowly agent for the Bank of England, stands in their way. “A sweeping adventure spectacle.” Kirkus Reviews “The action highballs along.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch “A first-rate novel of suspense.” Edward L. Beach, author of Run Silent, Run Deep A substantially different version of this book was previously published under the title MacTaggart's War.

The War Heist

“Dennis wrote with assurance. His prose was muscular, swift, and highly readable.” Joe R. Lansdale, from his introduction 
Jim Hardman was an Atlanta cop until he was wrongly accused of corruption and thrown off the force. Now he works as an unlicensed PI, trouble-shooter and bodyguard…often partnered with his drinking buddy Hump Evans, a black, ex-NFL player who supports his playboy lifestyle by working as hired muscle. A small-town farmer hires Hardman to find his teenage daughter who ran off to Atlanta to become a model…and ended up a hooker. It’s fast work for Hardman, but she’s gunned down minutes after he finds her. To hunt her killer, Hardman and Hump Evans take a deep dive into a bottomless cesspool of vice and greed that could drown them. 
This new edition includes an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale, author of the Hap &amp; Leonard novels, and an afterword by Paul Bishop, author and retired LAPD homicide detective.
Praise for the HARDMAN novels by Ralph Dennis:
"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.” Philadelphia Daily News
“Expert writing, plus good plotting and an unusual degree of sensitivity." New York Times

Pimp for the Dead (Hardman)

There's a killer stalking children in a small, North Carolina town...and the only one who can stop him is the local Sheriff, a man crippled physically and emotionally by a war that he's still fighting within himself. The haunting, powerful new thriller by Ralph Dennis, author of the legendary Hardman series of crime novels Wilton Drake's hip was shattered by a sniper's bullet in Lebanon...and his heart was ripped apart by the wife who left him as lay in a military hospital. Now, after fiteen years in the Navy, he's returned to Edgefield, North Carolina a broken man, looking for a way to hold himself together. He finds it in a bottle...and behind a badge as Webster County's newly elected Sheriff...but his forbidden attraction to a mysterious stripper and his harrowing investigation into a horrific string of child murders might destroy what's left of him, body and soul. "Ralph Dennis has mastered the genre and supplied top entertainment." New York Times "His prose is muscular, swift and highly readable." Joe R. Lansdale, author of the Hap &amp; Leonard novels, the basis for the hit TV series. "Exceptional characterization, strong and vigorous prose, and a glimpse into a place and time that has long since disappeared."Mystery Scene Magazine "An underappreciated master." Robert J. Randisi, founder of the Private Eye Writers of America. "Straight-up, hardboiled crime fiction, written in a tight, evocative voice with a wicked, dark sense of humor." Lee Goldberg, #1 New York Times bestselling author of True Fiction and Lost Hills.

Dust in the Heart

LONG BEFORE JASON BOURNE, THERE WAS KANE. Kane was a top CIA assassin until he suffered traumatic physical and psychological injuries in a mission that went horribly wrong. The Agency wiped his memory, gave him a new identity, and retired him to a life of mundane, anonymous domesticity. But his training, and his talent for kiling, came back with a vengeance. He created a new life for himself as a killer-for-hire, righting wrongs for people who can't find peace or justice any other way. He doesn't know that his memories are fiction, or that he is always being watched, or that he's been targeted for death by a rogue faction within the Agency.In this brutal, fast-moving thriller from Ralph Dennis, the author of the legendary Hardman series of crime novels, Kane finds himself caught between the mob, Cuban revolutionaries, and his own government as he seeks retribution for a man murdered for uncovering small-town corruption...and justice for another man on death row, falsely convicted of raping and murdering a child.Praise for Ralph Dennis"Like Chandler and Hammett before him, Dennis was trying to do something different with what was thought of as throwaway literature." Joe R. Lansdale"Ralph Dennis has mastered the genre and supplied top entertainment." New York Times"Exceptional characterization, strong and vigorous prose." Mystery Scene MagazineA portion of this book was previously published in 1976 under the title "Deadman's Game"

A Talent for Killing

“Ralph Dennis has mastered the genre and supplied top entertainment.” The New York Times
Before Spenser &amp; Hawk, Elvis Cole &amp; Joe Pike, and Hap &amp; Leonard, there was Jim Hardman &amp; Hump Evans, author Ralph Dennis' legendary 1970s PI team. They're back in the fifth adventure in the beloved and acclaimed series that influenced generations of crime writers.Retired pro football star Ed Cross did most of his scoring between bed posts with other player's women, including Hump's ex-girlfriend. That was bad enough. But, just to rub it in, Cross sends Hump an x-rated birthday skin flick of him celebrating in bed with two women. Hump goes looking for blood... and finds it. Cross is murdered and Hump becomes the prime suspect. Hardman works to clear Hump and discovers there's plenty of murderous hate for Cross out there...from the top of the sports world to the pits of Atlanta's illegal gambling scene... and revealing it could get them both killed. 
This new edition includes an Afterword from Ben Jones, the Dukes of Hazzard actor and former U.S. Congressman from Georgia.
PRAISE FOR THE HARDMAN NOVELS
“Like Chandler and Hammett before him, Dennis was trying to do something different with what was thought of as throwaway literature.” Joe R. Lansdale, New York Times bestselling author of the Hap &amp; Leonard series
“The Hardman books are by far the best of the men’s action-adventure series.” Mother Jones Magazine
“Among the best series books around.” Philadelphia Daily News

Down Among the Jocks (Hardman)

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