I was wondering if any of the members here was aware of the works of the black detective author Chester Himes (1909-1984) (described as the most hard-boiled author since Raymond Chandler) as I recently purchased one of his books, The Heat's On (1966) and was interested in the connection/influence that it may have had on Kingsley Amis' Colonel Sun, which he was writing some time after this in 1967. I'd be interested in hearing from any fans of his work that could recommend some of his titles.
More details here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Himes
http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-book-you-have-to-read-rage-in.html