A Case of Rape

by Chester Himes

Genres: General Fiction; African American; African American Mystery & Detective; Mystery; International Crime & Mystery

Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of the Harlem Detectives series, a brilliant, short novel about a tragic death and a wrongful conviction

Spare and powerful, A Case of Rape chronicles a tragic miscarriage of justice. Mrs. Elizabeth Hancock Brissard, a white woman, has died in Paris under mysterious circumstances. She had overdosed on an aphrodisiac, and there was evidence she had been sexually assaulted. A French couple witnessed four black men attempting to push her out a window before she died. The trial that followed was summary, and its verdict convicting the four men of rape was practically a foregone conclusion. But was it true? A riveting mystery but also a mordant critique of racism and sexism, and featuring an introduction by Calvin C. Hernton, A Case of Rape is the fablelike story of doomed love and justice.

Release date: October 8, 2024

Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard

Print pages: 112