The Conjure Man Dies A Harlem Mystery The First Ever African American Crime Novel

A unique crime classic: the very first detective novel written by an African-American, set in 1930s New York with only Black characters.

An African king with a degree from Harvard who set himself up as a "conjure-man", a fortune teller, is murdered in 1930s Harlem. This is the first known mystery novel written by an African American.

An unmissable entry in the esteemed Library of Congress Crime Classics, an exciting new classic mystery series created in exclusive partnership with the Library of Congress to highlight the best of American crime fiction When the body of N'Gana Frimbo, the African conjure-man, is discovered in his consultation room, Perry Dart, one of Harlem's ten Black police detectives, is called in to investigate. Together with Dr Archer, a physician from across the street, Dart is determined to solve the baffling mystery, helped and hindered by Bubber Brown and Jinx Jenkins, local boys keen to clear themselves of suspicion of murder and undertake their own investigations. This groundbreaking mystery is the first ever to feature a Black detective and all Black characters, written by Black author Rudolph Fisher, who was a principal writer of the Harlem Renaissance.

Originally published in 1932, this is the first known mystery novel to be written by a black American. It tells the story of a native African king who settles in Harlem in the 1930s. He becomes a 'conjure-man', a fortune teller, a mysterious figure who remains shrouded in darkness whilst his clients sit directly across from him bathed in light. A complex mystery begins when a client learns that he is in fact speaking to a dead man - the conjure-man has met his fate...

An African king with a degree from Harvard who set himself up as a "conjure-man", a fortune teller, is murdered in 1930s Harlem. This is the first known mystery novel written by an African American.

"Rudolph Fisher's outstanding debut novel explores race and class issues during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance through the lens of a Black lawyer who buys a home in a white neighborhood bordering Harlem"--