Phillips’ knack for making the past feel immediate is on point in the well-plotted One-Shot Harry, his first novel about Harry Ingram ... Phillips vividly depicts 1963 L.A ... Phillips’ insight into racism, attitudes toward Black veterans, the Civil Rights movement, Black press and politics of the 1960s elevates One-Shot Harry. Readers will look forward to more camera work from Harry, and Phillips.
... an edgy time travel ride back to L.A. in the spring of 1963 ... Phillips has conjured up the best of all possible guides to this watershed moment ... fast-paced, tough, wry and smart, but what makes this novel a singular sensation is the diverse cityscape of mid-century L.A. that Phillips summons up. More than simply scattering cosmetic references to African American newspapers or notables like Dorothy Dandridge, and (eventual) Mayor Tom Bradley, Phillips takes readers deep into another world and time: its jokes, home furnishings, baloney-meatloaf-and-hot-dog-heavy meals; its hateful slurs, 'invisible' racial boundaries and cautiously hopeful possibilities.
n addition to the rich history here, Phillips vividly captures the sights and sounds of the era (jazz and blues on Central Avenue) as well as the ubiquitous racism and police brutality that threatened everyone in the Black community. Ingram emerges as a particularly satisfying, no-nonsense hero whose bullshit detector spares no one. Happily, the open-ended conclusion suggests there’s more to come.
Terrific ... With close attention to period detail and precise prose, Phillips brings the era vividly to life. Crime fiction fans won’t want to miss this one.
Phillips roots his hero’s adventures in a densely woven web of real-life local history that emphasizes both Black Angelenos’ historic oppression and the moment for resistance crystallized in the Freedom Rally King plans en route to the demonstration in D.C. whose approach signals the possibility of historic change for both haves and have-nots ... Like Walter Mosley in his stories about Easy Rawlins, Phillips presents a powerfully history-driven mystery.
