Mystery

The Real Cool Killers

The Real Cool Killers

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  • Create Date：2021-09-05 07:53:01
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Chester Himes
  • ISBN：0241521114
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Summary

'The toughest crime stories in print' Sunday Times

The night's over for Ulysses Galen。 It started going bad for the big Greek when a knife was drawn， then there was an axe， then he was being chased and shot at。 Now Galen is lying dead in the middle of a Harlem street。 But the night's just beginning for detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson。 Because they have a smoking gun but it couldn't have killed Galen， and they had a suspect but a gang called the Real Cool Moslems took him。 And as patrol cars and search teams descend on the neighbourhood， their case threatens to take a turn for the personal。

The Real Cool Killers is loaded with grizzly comedy and with all the raucous， threatening energy of the streets it's set on。

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Reviews

Doug Noakes ，

A noir with comic overtones about two police detectives， Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones， investigating a bizarre murder in Harlem。 Himes' introduces a variety of characters to create a biting， satiric tale of racial tensions and urban attitudes。 Worth a read for noir fans。 A noir with comic overtones about two police detectives， Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones， investigating a bizarre murder in Harlem。 Himes' introduces a variety of characters to create a biting， satiric tale of racial tensions and urban attitudes。 Worth a read for noir fans。 。。。more

Patrick Al-de Lange ，

Mayhem， pure mayhem from start to finish。 Quinten Tarantino and Samuel L。 Jackson on speed。 A white man gets killed in Harlem and to find the killer the cops beat up and kill a few more people。 Gritty to the teeth。

Paul ，

This novel starts off as slapstick comedy， but takes on a more serious tone as it progresses。 The slang used by the author is uncomfortable at times， but in overall terms it is probably an accurate reflection of the language of the period。

Wes ，

The return of Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones！ Well， sort of。 Coffin Ed and Gravedigger were really just side characters from A Rage in Harlem， but here they start coming into their own and become the focal point for the Harlem Cycle series。 Gravedigger is in the driver's seat of this story while Coffin Ed is largely absent due to a suspension。 Digger's personality is on full display， showing a lot more development and rounding from the previous book。 One thing to note here is that A Rag The return of Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones！ Well， sort of。 Coffin Ed and Gravedigger were really just side characters from A Rage in Harlem， but here they start coming into their own and become the focal point for the Harlem Cycle series。 Gravedigger is in the driver's seat of this story while Coffin Ed is largely absent due to a suspension。 Digger's personality is on full display， showing a lot more development and rounding from the previous book。 One thing to note here is that A Rage In Harlem sits much more firmly in the dark comedy realm while this one trends closer to cop serials。 There's still a good grip of dark comedy/humor in here， but the main thrust of the story is NOT a dark comedy。 Himes is an author who is incredibly skilled at describing the grim， gritty and ugly of the world in a poetic and flowing manner。 The really neat thing is that even though he is able to do this， he's kind of like Hemingway in that his descriptions are pithy and impactful without ever bogging anything down。A fast read that's dense with great writing， I'm really looking forward to seeing Coffin Ed and Gravedigger develop further as I progress through the series。 。。。more

Sonny Peart ，

After reading "Rage in Harlem"， I thought of Himes as the black Chandler。 After reading The Real Cool Killers， I'm thinking of Chandler as the black Chester Himes。 After reading "Rage in Harlem"， I thought of Himes as the black Chandler。 After reading The Real Cool Killers， I'm thinking of Chandler as the black Chester Himes。 。。。more

Sam Sattler ，

I first became aware of the books of Chester Himes from one of the thirty-six segments of the The Great Courses class on Mysteries and Thrillers。 I was already a fan of writers like Walter Mosley and Attica Locke， but the segment entitled “African-American Mysteries” introduced me to other writers like Himes， Barbara Neely， and Valerie Wilson Wesley whom I had never heard of。 Of the three， I was most fascinated by Himes’s personal story。Chester Himes was born in Missouri in 1909 and， although he I first became aware of the books of Chester Himes from one of the thirty-six segments of the The Great Courses class on Mysteries and Thrillers。 I was already a fan of writers like Walter Mosley and Attica Locke， but the segment entitled “African-American Mysteries” introduced me to other writers like Himes， Barbara Neely， and Valerie Wilson Wesley whom I had never heard of。 Of the three， I was most fascinated by Himes’s personal story。Chester Himes was born in Missouri in 1909 and， although he did not start writing stories until he was serving prison time for a jewel theft in the 1930s， he would eventually publish almost twenty novels before he died in 1984。 Fifteen or so years after being released from prison， Himes moved to Europe and became particularly well known in France， his new home country。 He is best known for his Harlem Detectives novels featuring black NYPD detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones。 The novels are set in the 1950s and 1960s， and The Real Cool Killers （published in 1959） is one from that series。 The gist of the plot is that a large white man has his life threatened by a knife-wielding black man who resents his presence in a Harlem bar in which everyone else inside is black。 The white man is rescued by the bartender only to end up being chased down the street by a second black man firing shots at him from a pistol。 After the white man learns the hard way that he can’t outrun bullets， Coffin Ed and Gravedigger are called to the scene of the crime to see what they can figure out — and all hell breaks loose。 The result is that Coffin Ed is suspended from duty pending investigation of what he did after he arrived on the scene。 Now， it is up to Gravedigger Jones not only to find the white man’s killer， but to justify his best friend’s behavior at the scene of the crime so that he can be reinstated to duty on the NYPD。 If The Real Cool Killers is any indication， the Harlem Detective novels are an over-the-top， almost surrealistic representation of the Harlem of the fifties and sixties， but they still accurately portray the tone of how blacks and whites most often saw each other during those decades。 In describing his black characters， Himes uses every racial stereotype in the book — many， if not most of them， so derogatory that even a back author would be unlikely to get away with using them in today’s politically correct world。 That allows Himes， I think， to rather subtly slip in observations about how easy it is for Harlem’s residents to fool and manipulate the whites they encounter every day in their neighborhood， including the cops。 （I should mention， too， that a key element of the plot is a simplistic and insulting view of the Muslim faith as seen through the eyes of one of the story’s villains。） Bottom Line: The Real Cool Killers is surely to be appreciated by fans of noire crime fiction because it doesn’t get much darker than this， and it's easy to see the influence that Chester Himes had on African-American crime writers， especially Walter Mosley， who followed him。 Coffin Ed and Gravedigger are two characters I want to get to know better， so this will not be the last Chester Himes novel that I read。 The work of Chester Himes compares favorably， I think， with two of his contemporaries: Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler。 Fans of those two should definitely take a look at Himes。 。。。more

Christopher ，

Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson confront murder and mayhem in 1950s Harlem in this noir thriller。

Newly Wardell ，

This is quality pulp fiction。 The mystery is who killed a white man in Harlem and you won't figure it out。 Dude was almost stabbed in the club。 He leaves the club only to be chased by somebody shooting at him！ Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire。 Chester Himes writes at a breakneck speed and doesn't let up。 It's violent。 It's cruel and fantastic This is quality pulp fiction。 The mystery is who killed a white man in Harlem and you won't figure it out。 Dude was almost stabbed in the club。 He leaves the club only to be chased by somebody shooting at him！ Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire。 Chester Himes writes at a breakneck speed and doesn't let up。 It's violent。 It's cruel and fantastic 。。。more

Jim Dooley ，

I very seriously doubt that THE REAL COOL KILLERS is a book that would be written today。 Even maverick filmmaker， Quentin Tarantino， might find it to be too stringent for “optioning。” It’s not that it is simply “politically incorrect。” It would be the recipient of enraged criticism， even though it is set in era far removed from protest marches against racial injustice。I had first heard of the writer， Chester Himes， in a Great Courses Plus series of lectures about the history of the mystery genr I very seriously doubt that THE REAL COOL KILLERS is a book that would be written today。 Even maverick filmmaker， Quentin Tarantino， might find it to be too stringent for “optioning。” It’s not that it is simply “politically incorrect。” It would be the recipient of enraged criticism， even though it is set in era far removed from protest marches against racial injustice。I had first heard of the writer， Chester Himes， in a Great Courses Plus series of lectures about the history of the mystery genre and the detective novel。 Himes had been in prison， and eventually moved from the United States to live in Paris。 There， among the many books he wrote， he created a series of crime novels set in Harlem 。。。 not a frequently used location for mystery fiction。 Himes wanted to reveal a culture that was located in one of the world’s largest cities， but that was not really understood by those living outside of it。In A RAGE IN HARLEM， he brought to life the characters of police detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones， black members of a mostly white police force who have insights into the Harlem community not shared by their fellow officers。 They are also a ruthless law unto themselves。 That is especially apparent in the second novel featuring them， THE REAL COOL KILLERS。For about the first third of the book， there are crimes of passion committed， but there doesn’t appear to be any mystery at all。 Soon though， the Reader is following the key members of a teenage street gang who kidnap a young fugitive from an arrest。 Saying much more would lead to Spoilers。 However， it is safe to say that as little bits of information increase to a veritable flood， an unexpected and intriguing mystery arrives， resulting in a climax that I suspected and a resolution that I didn’t see coming at all。 THE REAL COOL KILLERS may have seemed like a hard-edged “slice of life” novel at the beginning， but it races to an intriguing and satisfying conclusion。In the early 1970’s， Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones were highly sanitized for edgy appearances in the movies。 Still， as enjoyable as those films may be， they in no way prepare the Reader for encountering the characters in these first two books。 It is quite an unexpected trip。 。。。more

Rich。dion ，

pulpy， dark， wild setting。

Dawn ，

I don't know what exactly it is about this author that I like so much， but his writing style has got me hooked。 There's a great deal of sadness wrapped up in "it stinks/it's horrible， but what are you gonna do？" humor - made me laugh， and sad at the same time。 The writing - and mystery itself - is refreshingly NOT overdone and drawn out for 600 pages。 Although there are misdirects and clever twists， it's clean， clear and fairly quickly resolved。 I don't know what exactly it is about this author that I like so much， but his writing style has got me hooked。 There's a great deal of sadness wrapped up in "it stinks/it's horrible， but what are you gonna do？" humor - made me laugh， and sad at the same time。 The writing - and mystery itself - is refreshingly NOT overdone and drawn out for 600 pages。 Although there are misdirects and clever twists， it's clean， clear and fairly quickly resolved。 。。。more

Patricia ，

Possibly the most violent book I have read so far。 What a story。

Jason ，

“The cops stared at him from blank shuttered faces。” Hand-to-hand combat with the Great American Satan， or Maya or whatever， set in a Harlem hardboiled-hoodoo-grisly but rollicking funny， by the ex-convict who had never so much as visited Harlem （purportedly） and had to himself Maya it with his nervous system's own program。 High-on-grass gunman Aesop “Sonny” Pickens and his accomplices， Rubberlips Wilson and Lowtop Brown。 Sissieratta Hamilton residing at 2702 Seventh Avenue with her aunt and unc “The cops stared at him from blank shuttered faces。” Hand-to-hand combat with the Great American Satan， or Maya or whatever， set in a Harlem hardboiled-hoodoo-grisly but rollicking funny， by the ex-convict who had never so much as visited Harlem （purportedly） and had to himself Maya it with his nervous system's own program。 High-on-grass gunman Aesop “Sonny” Pickens and his accomplices， Rubberlips Wilson and Lowtop Brown。 Sissieratta Hamilton residing at 2702 Seventh Avenue with her aunt and uncle， Mr。 and Mrs。 Coolie Dunbar。 “A deep bass laugh accompanied chain rattling and the door swung inward。” Where are we？ Harlem， right？ “Nothing but his black，” quoth the professor。 “Grave Digger gripped his nickel-plated thirty-eight by the long barrel， making a club out of the butt。 The muscles were corded in his rage-swollen neck and his face was distorted with violence。 Looking at him， the others were suspended in motion as though turned to stone。" Style， or you might not make it。 。。。more

Rubén Vilaplana ，

Una serie que comencé a leer hace un par de años， este es el segundo volumen de nuestros dos protagonistas， policías negros en Harlem， un caso más que resolver， donde nos encontramos con partes bastante truculentas y otras divertidas， es curioso en este tipo de genero。 Recomendada a todos aquellos amantes de la novela negra。

Howard Eisman ，

This starts off with a barroom brawl which gets bloody， very bloody， and then there is milling about with police and street gangs。 Where is this going， and will I be able to continue？ But then， a solid story and befuddling murder mystery kick in and the book grabs you。 The despair of the people of Harlem and the humanity of the characters shows through a fast moving storyIs this the lowest level of great literature or the highest level of pulp fiction？

Marc Gerstein ，

This book。the second in Chester Himes’ Harlem Cycle （following A Rage In Harlem） is another winner。 It’s not as crazy as the first book， but it’s a page turner， especially beyond the halfway point。 It all starts when a well-to-do white guy is chased out of a。 Harlem bar and eventually killed。 What was he chased？ Why was he even there？ Who killed him？ And what’s up with the ever-present street gang known as the Real Cool Moslems？ Easy obvious answers come quickly， especially when one black man is This book。the second in Chester Himes’ Harlem Cycle （following A Rage In Harlem） is another winner。 It’s not as crazy as the first book， but it’s a page turner， especially beyond the halfway point。 It all starts when a well-to-do white guy is chased out of a。 Harlem bar and eventually killed。 What was he chased？ Why was he even there？ Who killed him？ And what’s up with the ever-present street gang known as the Real Cool Moslems？ Easy obvious answers come quickly， especially when one black man is seen shooting in his direction just before he falls down dead。 One problem: It turns out that was a starter’s pistol and couldn’t kill anybody。 OK。 Next theory。 And so it goes as one straightforward answer after another falls apart。 For the reader， trying to chase down the ultimate correct answer feels a lot like chasing a person who always eludes you just as it seems you finally caught up to him。 。。。more

Paul ，

Such a good writer。

Joel Atella ，

Good story， well-crafted。

Cat Jenkins ，

I wouldn't have chosen this for myself。 It was included in a library grab bag thanks to the restrictions that COVID has placed on us all。 No more browsing through the stacks。 So I requested a bag of mysteries and this was in it。I left it until last。 I read everything else first。 I finally opened Killers， already bemoaning my lack of interest in gangsta style and especially something mired in street-pop from as far back as 1959。 But Mr。 Himes could write。 That's obvious from the first couple of p I wouldn't have chosen this for myself。 It was included in a library grab bag thanks to the restrictions that COVID has placed on us all。 No more browsing through the stacks。 So I requested a bag of mysteries and this was in it。I left it until last。 I read everything else first。 I finally opened Killers， already bemoaning my lack of interest in gangsta style and especially something mired in street-pop from as far back as 1959。 But Mr。 Himes could write。 That's obvious from the first couple of pages。 So I continued。And now， I'd say I agree with some critics who call this an "important" piece of work。 Culturally， educationally， as a barometer of how far we haven't traveled from brutality and anger and racism。Disturbing， yes。 But important。I would have loved and have dreaded to read what this author would have written if he were alive today。 。。。more

Brandon ，

This is the second Himes book I've read。 He is able to do in 157 pages what some writes can't do in 300。 It's a whirlwind of a story that reveals the depth of Grave Digger's and Coffin Ed's humanity。 And exposes the racism faced by African Americans。 There are twist and turns down to the last sentence。 This is the second Himes book I've read。 He is able to do in 157 pages what some writes can't do in 300。 It's a whirlwind of a story that reveals the depth of Grave Digger's and Coffin Ed's humanity。 And exposes the racism faced by African Americans。 There are twist and turns down to the last sentence。 。。。more

Donald Cobb ，

Another Himes classic！I love Chester Himes books because they give you the feel of old Harlem。 With two hard nosed detectives written in classic pulp。fiction style。 It is entertaining while showing the real， unapologetic racism of the day。 I love the main characters Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones。 After one chapter I couldn't put it down。 A fast and enjoyable read。 I can't wait to read the next one。 Another Himes classic！I love Chester Himes books because they give you the feel of old Harlem。 With two hard nosed detectives written in classic pulp。fiction style。 It is entertaining while showing the real， unapologetic racism of the day。 I love the main characters Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones。 After one chapter I couldn't put it down。 A fast and enjoyable read。 I can't wait to read the next one。 。。。more

carol。*not getting comment notifications* ，

I think this will be a pass。Written in 1958， there's much here that will feel a lot like sad， horrible， violent 2020。 Some blurbs call it 'action-filled' and 'over-the-top，' but I'd call it scathing social commentary。 Dress it up and make it 'funny，' but wow， there's desperation， heartbreak， addiction， violence， cycles， inequity， and enough 'ism to destroy a character。 Which is， indeed， the point。 How can you even blame Coffin Ed for （view spoiler）[killing the kid that threw perfume on him， （hi I think this will be a pass。Written in 1958， there's much here that will feel a lot like sad， horrible， violent 2020。 Some blurbs call it 'action-filled' and 'over-the-top，' but I'd call it scathing social commentary。 Dress it up and make it 'funny，' but wow， there's desperation， heartbreak， addiction， violence， cycles， inequity， and enough 'ism to destroy a character。 Which is， indeed， the point。 How can you even blame Coffin Ed for （view spoiler）[killing the kid that threw perfume on him， （hide spoiler）]when he has a history of someone tossing acid in his face？ Or blame the cops for covering it up？The story begins with a white man in a bar， accused of fooling around with someone's wife。 The accuser is exceedingly drunk and is working himself up towards attacking with a knife when the bartender gets involved with a machete。 The white guy escapes and is watching the ensuing chaos from the outside when yet another intoxicated black man approaches from behind and accuses him of the same thing。 The white guy runs and the accuser chases through the streets of Harlem， attracting hecklers and bystanders， including a suspicious group of young black men called the 'Real Cool Moslems' （s。i。c。） who run around dressing as 'Arabs。' The young men hide out in a local tenement and during their discussion， I lost my interest。"The other front windows were jammed with colored faces， looking like clusters of strange purple fruit in the stark white light。The first book in this series was amazing， as read by the incomparable Samuel M。F。 Jackson， and perhaps he could save this， but I think between the relentless amorality of the youngsters and the relentlessly aggressive amorality of black detectives Grave Digger and Coffin Ed， the 1950w era racism and the police corruption， it's just not going to work for me right now。 They looked like big-shouldered plowhands in Sunday suits at a Saturday night jamboree。"Note: quit at chapter 7/p。60 。。。more

Drew ，

The second of Himes' Harlem detective novels disappointingly extracts cop Coffin Ed Johnson from most of the action and focuses on less vivid white police officers alongside Ed's partner/buddy Grave Digger Jones。 Without the repartee of the two expected crime-solvers， "The Real Cool Killers" is solid noir -- violent， perverse， mean -- just less fun。 The constant redefining of who did it in this whodunit gets a bit much but considering Himes' other work， I'd return to this series again。 The second of Himes' Harlem detective novels disappointingly extracts cop Coffin Ed Johnson from most of the action and focuses on less vivid white police officers alongside Ed's partner/buddy Grave Digger Jones。 Without the repartee of the two expected crime-solvers， "The Real Cool Killers" is solid noir -- violent， perverse， mean -- just less fun。 The constant redefining of who did it in this whodunit gets a bit much but considering Himes' other work， I'd return to this series again。 。。。more

S。J。 Carter ，

One star higher than originally planned because of the ending。 Overall， it wasn't my favourite but it did keep me interested in what happened next。 One star higher than originally planned because of the ending。 Overall， it wasn't my favourite but it did keep me interested in what happened next。 。。。more

Tom Mooney ，

Absolutely my favourite of Himes's Harlem cycle， of the ones I've read so far （I have read them in totally random order as I've found them）。It starts with a knife fight， the swing of an axe and a chase down a packed Harlem street， and proceeds through a madcap manhunt to it's violent conclusion。 The writing is so hot in The Real Cool Killers， there are so many awesome passages you just want to share with everyone。 He had an amazing ability to nail people or places in just a savage line or two。 A Absolutely my favourite of Himes's Harlem cycle， of the ones I've read so far （I have read them in totally random order as I've found them）。It starts with a knife fight， the swing of an axe and a chase down a packed Harlem street， and proceeds through a madcap manhunt to it's violent conclusion。 The writing is so hot in The Real Cool Killers， there are so many awesome passages you just want to share with everyone。 He had an amazing ability to nail people or places in just a savage line or two。 Absolute genius。 And his view of Harlem is brilliantly realised - something Himes was never matched in， except maybe by Ralph Ellison。A supremely tough， violent and very funny thriller that carves itself a hole somewhere between Ed Mcbain's police procedurals and Elmore Leonard's cool capers。 Pure class。 。。。more

Liam ，

4。5*

Josh ，

Oh， you’re looking for “hard boiled，” are you？ You won’t find many crime novels tougher， leaner， less unsentimental than this one。 It tells the story of a white man who’s murdered by a black gang member on the streets of Harlem。 The locals， so used to seeing black blood spilled by white oppressors， find it hard to care。 A pair of black detectives half-heartedly take the case， and leave their own trail of violence and abuse。 The murder plot is plenty sordid; our protagonists unflinching in their Oh， you’re looking for “hard boiled，” are you？ You won’t find many crime novels tougher， leaner， less unsentimental than this one。 It tells the story of a white man who’s murdered by a black gang member on the streets of Harlem。 The locals， so used to seeing black blood spilled by white oppressors， find it hard to care。 A pair of black detectives half-heartedly take the case， and leave their own trail of violence and abuse。 The murder plot is plenty sordid; our protagonists unflinching in their brutality; the ending coldly nihilistic。 Himes is seldom mentioned among the great African American writers， but should be: His style is economical， vivid， and ribald。 This feels like a platonic ideal of what really uncompromising， hard-edged crime fiction can be。 。。。more

Mitch ，

Some teenage boys who call themselves the Real Cool Moslems get themselves embroiled in a murder。 See they're just standing around on the Harlem streets wearing fake beards， dressed as arabs when a white man is suddenly murdered in broad daylight。 But the trouble really escalates when one of the Real Cool Moslems farts on a cop。 Turns out the white guy was a diddler and he was after Coffin Ed's daughter。 A lot of people have to get shot because of the farting and diddling。 This book was great。 Some teenage boys who call themselves the Real Cool Moslems get themselves embroiled in a murder。 See they're just standing around on the Harlem streets wearing fake beards， dressed as arabs when a white man is suddenly murdered in broad daylight。 But the trouble really escalates when one of the Real Cool Moslems farts on a cop。 Turns out the white guy was a diddler and he was after Coffin Ed's daughter。 A lot of people have to get shot because of the farting and diddling。 This book was great。 。。。more

Librat ，

vibrant pulsatile cinematic writing。 Two police officers chase down criminals throughout Harlem， full of action， colorful characters， not surprised to learn these two are seen again in other stories by same author

Bill Kerwin ，

This second novel by the first great African-American writer of mystery stories is a classic， deserving a place in the pantheon， right up there with The Maltese Falcon， The Big Sleep， and The Big Chill。The story is set in Harlem in the ‘50s， and begins with the shooting of a white man and the arrest of a member of a small local gang called “The Real Cool Moslems。” At first the case seems open-and-shut， for the chase and shooting is witnessed by a score of people on a busy Harlem street。 But ther This second novel by the first great African-American writer of mystery stories is a classic， deserving a place in the pantheon， right up there with The Maltese Falcon， The Big Sleep， and The Big Chill。The story is set in Harlem in the ‘50s， and begins with the shooting of a white man and the arrest of a member of a small local gang called “The Real Cool Moslems。” At first the case seems open-and-shut， for the chase and shooting is witnessed by a score of people on a busy Harlem street。 But there’s a problem: the bullet the killed the man couldn’t have come from from the teenager’s gun。The plot and the characters are both very good—particularly our two heros， the black Harlem detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones—but the real beauty of the book lies in the extraordinary liveliness of the prose， the way it conveys movement， and the color and richness of the imagery too—all of which adds up to a vivid portrait of Harlem。 Hime’s prose makes me think not of writers but of caricaturists， painters， movie-makers: Daumier， Grosz; Brueghel， Rivera; Fellini， Scorsese。 Himes makes memorable images， but he knows how to “move his camera” too。Here’s a vivid passage from the beginning of the novel。 In the Harlem Dew Drop Inn， a little guy pulls a knife on the white man who will soon end up dead in the street。 But first he has to deal with the bartender， Big Smiley: Big Smiley leaned across the bar and grabbed the red-eyed knifeman by the lapels of his mackinaw and lifted him from the floor。“Gimme that chiv， shorty， ‘fore I makes you eat it，” he said lazily， smiling as though it were a joke。The knifeman twisted in his grip and slashed him across the arm。 The white fabric of his jacket slevve parted like a burst balloon and his black-skinned muscles opened like the Red Sea …。Big Smiley draw back and reached beneath the bar counter with his right hand。 He came up with a short-handled fireman’s axe。 It had a red handle and a honed， razor-sharp blade。The little knifeman jumped into the air and slashed at Big Smiley again， matching his knife against Big Smiley’s axe。Big Smiley countered with a right cross with the r5ed-handled axse。 The blade met the knifeman’s arm in the middle of its stroke and cut it off just below the elbow as though it had been guillotined。The severed arm in its coat sleeve， still clutching the knife， sailed through the air， sprinkling the nearby spectators with drops of blood， landed on the linoleum tile floor， and skidded beneath the table of a booth。The little knifeman landed on his feet， still making cutting motions with his half arm。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Real Cool Killers

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Real Cool Killers&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Real Cool Killers&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0