Jim Hardman & Hump Evans

Detective, Hall of Fame

Created by Ralph Dennis
(1931–88)

“…the most beloved obscure private eye writer who ever lived…”
–– Ed Gorman

JIM HARDMAN‘s not such a hard man, after all.

At least not physically. He’s actually a little overweight and out of shape, smoking too many Pall Malls and definitely drinking a little too much.

Still, he’s tough enough to get the job done. He’s a former Atlanta cop, kicked out for dating the wrong woman (that’s his story, anyway). He’s living in a small house that needs paint, currently working as an unlicensed private eye, assisted by his trusty (and far more formidable) black sidekick, HUMP EVANS, who’s not such a hump, either — he’s a 6’6″, 270 pound former pro football player who’s “black as coal,” and not afraid to put a little hurt on someone, if that’s what’s required.

Together, they roam the streets of Atlanta, kicking ass and taking down names — when they aren’t having a drink. Or two. Or three.

This was a really decent series, well-written, with great use of setting, fast-moving private eye action served straight up, no chaser. They’re more or less forgotten now, sadly, possibly due to the fact that the twelve novels in the series (each a taut, tight little gem) were packaged as “men’s adventures. You know–The Executioner, The Destroyer, The Eviscerator, et al.–all those numbered paperback odes to sex, violence and front-of-the-brain thinking that were all the rage, churned out by a cadre of writers often hiding behind corporate pen names. 

Fans of the genre, however, generally weren’t looking for what Dennis was dishing out, and mystery readers who might have appreciated them weren’t even aware of their existence. Those few who were aware—or were turned on to them years later—loved them for what they were: smart, compassionate private eye novels that could easily go fifteen rounds with any of their contemporaries.

But whatever the reason, the series faded away far too soon, no doubt too hip for the room. But they’re worth tracking down. One of the great lost private eye teams.

Dennis was a continuation of the Spillane school of hard-boiled writing (for example, the amount of drinking Jim and Hump do — apparently without any effect on their sobriety or their livers — is staggering), but he had more character development and tighter plotting than Spillane. The comparison and parallels to Robert B. Parker’s Spenser, a contemporary, are interesting as well, although there’s little evidence either ripped off the other. Sure, Spenser had Hawk, but by the time Hawk showed up in the series, Dennis had already cranked out seven or so books featuring Jim and Hump.

Dennis also started another series, based on a man named Kane, who finds himself working as a private eye in Atlanta.

GOOD NEWS!

  • In 2018, Lee Goldberg’s Brash Books announced plans to reprint the Hardman series in both print and digital, complete with introductions by Joe Lansdale who knows a few things about the shamus game.

EVEN GOODER NEWS!

  • After successfully bringing the Hardman series back into print, Brash Books head honcho Lee Goldberg discovered rough drafts of The Polish Wife, what was essentially an unpublished thirteenth Hardman book. There’s an interesting afterword by Goldberg on how he found it and transformed it into All Kinds of Ugly, a far more Hardman-like title, released in January 2020. Ugly’s a beauty, though; a pure distillation of Grade A Hard-Boiled Pulp that dares to reaches for more, and a fitting conclusion to a series that coulda/shoulda been a contender.

UNDER OATH

  • “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 Magazine

NOVELS

COLLECTIONS

  • Hardman Volume 1: The First Six Novels (2020) | Kindle it!
  • Hardman Volume 2: Seven Complete Novels (2020) | Kindle it!
  • The Complete Hardman: All 13 Novels (2020) | Kindle it!

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
Published

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