{"product_id":"9781728263106","title":"Room to Swing","description":"\u003cstrong\u003e\"This 1958 Edgar Award winner for best novel from Lacy (1911–1968) masterfully combines a classic genre trope with a powerful depiction of the impact of racism in 1950s America.\"— \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly,\u003c\/em\u003e Starred Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Though private investigators were the most popular figures in crime writing, especially in the work of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Ellery Queen, and Rex Stout, no one had created a Black hard-boiled private eye in a noir setting until Ed Lacy's \u003cem\u003eRoom to Swing\u003c\/em\u003e.\"—Leslie Klinger, from Introduction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCollege-educated and decorated war-veteran Toussaint Moore, finds that his employment options are limited as a Black man in 1950s America. With little choice, he seeks out a living as a private eye, serving Black clients in his hometown of Harlem. When hired by the television producers of a reality show called \"You—Detective!\" Touie must keep tabs on the whereabouts of an accused child molester.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile waiting for the episode to air, Touie finds the man murdered and becomes the prime suspect in the investigation. Forced to flee, he goes to a small Ohio town where the deceased was wanted for his crime.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Lacy asks whether a Black man (in the late fifties) can go everywhere he needs to, with the freedom his job requires, in order to conduct the investigation necessary to crack a case.\"—\u003cem\u003eCriminal Element\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sourcebooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43336670675005,"sku":"9781728263106","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9781728263106_p0.jpg?v=1783802456","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.com\/products\/9781728263106","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}