‘They call me Mr Tibbs!’ — one of crime fiction’s most iconic lines, and the defiant introduction of Virgil Tibbs, a skilled homicide detective from California who finds himself in entirely the wrong place at entirely the wrong time. This 50th anniversary edition of the classic novel that inspired the Oscar-winning film starring Sidney Poitier brings John Ball’s gripping story back into sharp focus. Set in a small southern town in the 1960s, the plot is sparked by a musician found dead on the highway — and a white police force all too ready to pin the crime on the nearest Black man. When that man turns out to be a seasoned detective, the inexperienced Chief Gillespie has little choice but to reluctantly enlist his help. Trained in karate and aikido, Tibbs will need more than investigative skill to navigate mounting local hostility and a department seemingly set on his failure — his fight is not just for justice, but for his own survival. Psychologically astute, atmospherically rich, and genuinely suspenseful, this is an iconic examination of racial prejudice set in the sultry heat of the American South.
ISBN 13: 9780241238622
Author: John Ball
