Pimp for the Dead

Pimp for the Dead by Ralph Dennis

The compelling fourth novel by Ralph Dennis in his brilliant, 1970s-era Hardman series.

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 & Leonard novels, and an afterword by Paul Bishop, author and retired LAPD homicide detective.


Books by Ralph Dennis

Hoop Noir

Hoop Noir

Two gritty, fast-moving novels set in the world of basketball by legendary crime writer Ralph Dennis.

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Tales of a Sad, Fat Wordman

Tales of a Sad, Fat Wordman

This collection of some of Ralph's early short stories and poetry, framed with excerpts from articles about him and by essays from authors who knew him well.

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Dust in the Heart

Dust in the Heart

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

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All Kinds of Ugly

All Kinds of Ugly

The recently discovered, long-lost, 13th and final Hardman adventure sends the unlicensed PI to London to find a missing man...where he becomes embroiled in an ugly case of embezzlement and murder.

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Reviews For Pimp for the Dead

Pimp for the Dead 5.0

Dennis wrote with assurance. His prose was muscular, swift, and highly readable

Joe Lansdale

Pimp for the Dead 5.0

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

Pimp for the Dead 5.0

Among the best series books around

Philadelphia Daily News

Pimp for the Dead 5.0

Some of the finest paperback originals I have ever read were part of Ralph Dennis' HARDMAN series. The books were well-written, hard-hitting, unsentimental, but still full of heart.

Mystery Scene Magazine