It’s 1963 and African American Korean war vet, Harry Ingram, is living in Los Angeles and working as a news photographer and part-time process server. It’s a volatile time, as racial tensions run high and the city anticipates a visit from Martin Luther King, Jr. Meanwhile, when Harry learns that a friend and former army buddy has died in an automobile accident, he isn’t convinced that it was just an accident. Soon Harry finds himself knee-deep in the seamier side of LA.

One-Shot Harry is a book that has a lot going on. There is a myriad of characters, each with his or her own story, and several different storylines. The number of characters alone creates a somewhat uneven pace and it sometimes feels clumsy, as the story transitions from the backstories to the current timeline.

The mystery is well-developed, especially as it’s told from Harry’s viewpoint and how he tackles the various threads that eventually lead him to the book’s conclusion. Some of the most interesting aspects of the book are the stories surrounding the city, culture, and people of Los Angeles. The author provides a glimpse of the city in the early 1960s and this makes the book sparkle.

I suspect that Gary Phillips has more plans for Harry and I am looking forward to his future adventures.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Part historical fiction and part hard-boiled mystery, One-Shot Harry features a black photographer/process server in 1960s Los Angeles. When Harry hears of an accident on his police scanner, he recognizes the car of his white army buddy, who is found dead at the scene. Harry suspects foul play, and soon finds himself fending off hired goons who'd like to see him dead.
What was his friend into, that got him killed off, and how can Harry avoid a similar fate?

Hope this turns into another great series, because Philips has done it again. Delighted to include this title in the April edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for Zoomer magazine. (at link)

A couple of observations to start: This novel is obviously to be the first in a series so don’t expect all loose ends to be tied; and it seems the author gives every person, place, and thing a backstory so there are lots little interludes with some being more interesting and relevant to the story than others. Since the time period written about are the months before MLK is assassinated, the topics are interesting and the situations ring true. I liked the two main characters very much.

Thanks to NetGalley and Soho Crime for the ARC to read and review.

One-Shot Harry
by Gary Phillips
Pub Date: April 12, 2022
Soho Crime
Thanks to the author, Soho Crime, and NetGalley for the ARC.
Race and civil rights in 1963 Los Angeles provide a powerful backdrop in Gary Phillips’s riveting historical crime novel about an African American forensic photographer seeking justice for a friend—perfect for fans of Walter Mosley, James Ellroy, and George Pelecanos.
I found it difficult to keep up with the pace of the writer. There were a lot of characters introduced within the first 50 pages or so, and it was hard to keep track of who was who at first. There was also a LOT going on. I think that one of the subplots could have been dropped or minimized in favor of giving more detail and attention to the main storyline. Not one of my favorite books of the year, but an OK read.
3 stars

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Soho Press for an advanced copy of this mystery novel.

One thing as I reader I have always enjoyed about mysteries is that an author, especially a skilled one, can teach and show more about an era, more about a system that people had to live with and live under, while presenting a murder to be solved. Fiction readers might complain about a book being preachy, science fiction writers might complain about a book being to Star Trek-y. Mysteries though, add a body and a good puzzle with characters readers care about, and a lot of educating can be done. And being a very good writer like Gary Phillips helps.

One-Shot Harry introduces Harry Ingram , an African- American Korean War veteran who tries to break even by working as a newspaper photographer and a process server in the Los Angeles are in 1963. Which is difficult with antagonistic cops, sundown towns and the usual people not wanting to be served for court by anybody. A late night accident involving the death of a war buddy involves Harry in a case that no one wants investigated, in a town that is starting to boil over in racial tension.

The story is very good. The atmosphere is noir, but with a lot of race tossed in. Mike Hammer wouldn't have near the problems that Harry Ingram does investigating the death of his friend, dealing with racial politics and his outsider status. Mr. Phillips does beautiful job of describing life in Los Angeles, with its unstated codes of how people were treated and where they could go. There are numerous cameos from real people, and many small details that really set the stage for the story, and where it is going. Harry Ingram has seen a lot of things in his time on Earth, which makes him a character you want to root for, even when nothing seems to go his way.

Not just a good mystery, but a very good story. Definitely for fans of Walter Mosley, with its setting and its use of small details to make everything seem real. Los Angeles is portrayed as the the dirty racist town it was, and in many ways continues to be. Mystery stories can teach and show quite a lot about history, life and the human condition. One of the biggest mysteries is why we treat each other the way we do.

Los Angeles, 1963. Harry Ingram, a Korean War vet, makes his living as a photojournalist, always keeping an ear on the police scanner to find subjects for his camera. It's not easy for a Black man to make ends meet as a photographer, so he moonlights as a process server. When a jazz musician he knows dies in road accident, he captures some photos before the police run him off, and what he sees when he develops his film makes him suspicious that it wasn't an accident after all. But untangling everything won't come easy.

Gary Phillips does a great job of evoking the time and place - L.A. just as the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. is due in town to speak - adding to our catalog of Los Angeles crime fiction a memorable African American protagonist who knows his way around the mean streets.

I have requested this book for a possible future review, so I am not prepared to offer comments it this tone. I will do so, or provide a link to my review, if that comes to pass.

Thanks so much for your understanding and patience!

Many thanks,

Paula L. Woods