Murder is Not an Odd Job

Hardman #6

by Ralph Dennis

For years, original copies of Ralph Dennis' Hardman novels, one of the best crime fiction series ever written, were the Holy Grail for collectors because they were nearly impossible to find and very pricey. But those days are over. Hardman is back!"The Hardman books are by far the best of the men's action-adventure series." Mother Jones MagazineIt's Atlanta, 1974. Ex-cop Jim Hardman and his drinking buddy Hump Evans, an ex-NFL player, will do just about anything short of a felony to make a buck...but even that rule is flexible. "Among the best series books around." Philadelphia Daily NewsIn their sixth adventure, Hardman steps into the middle of a bar fight and stumbles into a deadly but lucrative job -- protecting a guy who is next-in-line for a massive inheritance from being murdered by professional assassins. But as the body count rises, and killers just keep on coming, it becomes clear to Hardman that the motive is more than money... and that he may be fighting an adversary who will never stop, even after death. "Ralph Dennis has mastered the genre and supplied top entertainment." The New York TimesThis new edition includes an Afterword from author Cynthia Williams, who was one of Ralph Dennis' students.

Genres: Crime

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Ralph Dennis was born in South Carolina and had a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina, where he also taught. For mystery fans, Dennis will always be associated with the City of Atlanta, the locale for the twelve novel series about Jim Hardman, former cop and unofficial private eye, all published by Popular Library between 1974 and 1977.

At the time of his death in 1988, he was working at a bookstore in Atlanta and had a file cabinet full of unpublished novels.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 6 in the Hardman series. I have read 8 books in the series and I am now reading the rest on Kindle Unlimited. I have enjoyed every one. This book has Hump Evans and Jim Hardman out drinking when they decide to find a place to eat. They see a bar sign "Sandwiches and beer". While sitting at the bar, Hardman sees a man getting ready to kill another man at the bar. Hardman clubs the killer with a heavy glass ash tray, but not soon enough to stop the knife attack. The wounded man survives. Hardman takes him back to (Hardman's) home when he refuses an offer of a ride to the hospital. He patches up the wounded man, who leaves in the morning. But he has left his wallet behind. Hardman places an ad in the newspaper, offering to return the wallet.
Instead, Hardman is asked to speak the father of the wounded man, who calls himself Ed Temple, but the wallet IDs him as Edward Templeton. The wealthy father hires Hardman to find his long lost son. There is a reason that the son has remained lost. Someone is trying to kill him. Hardman does find Ed and ends up trying to protect him. Unraveling why he is the target of professional killers is at the heart of a taut mystery. This book is written with Ralph Dennis trademark spare, lean prose. If you are a fan of Raymond Chandler, you will enjoy this series.
One quote: Hardman in the wealthy father's house: "We passed through the foyer and into a large living room. It was a room that didn't look lived in. It had as much personality as an airport toilet bowl. The sofa, the chairs, the tables looked untouched by human hands or rumps."
I devoured this book in 2 days.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adventure Ain't Easy But It Beats Working

With the Hardman series, Ralph Dennis offers us a tight, nasty series of novels that has as much in community n with the men's adventure series of the early Seventies as it does the Hardboiled detective world. These books are a blast to read, filled to the brim with action and intrigue. This one takes Jim Hardman and his partner in adventure Hump Evans from drunken sloppy bars on Atlanta's skid row to reclusive retreats of Howard Hughes type families with secrets do deep no one will ferret them out. And, in a battle that'll leave you clear out of breath, it may just be that he's finally been outsmarted and outgunned.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 6 in the series, hard to put them down

[Jim A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I read one of these "pulp action" novels from the 70's I'm surprised at Dennis' writing. His pairing of Hardman, ex cop and white man, and Hump Evans, black and ex NFL player, in 70's Atlanta is great. Some of the prejudices of the day show through in the novel. Places Hump can't go with Hardman and the places Hardman can't go with Hump.

This story involves the protection of a man who is marked for murder.

Trying to stretch out reading of these old novels as long as possible. The series is going to come to an end soon.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

While drinking in a dive bar, Hardman stops a stabbing in progress. He finds the victim's wallet. What should have been a low life bum turns out to be next in line to inherit a fortune. Seems he don't want the money, but his family believes that someone will try to kill him again, so she hires Hardman to protect him.

This was yet another great book in this series. This goes from dive bar to fat camp to high rise buildings and back. More of a "Shoot 'Em Up" at the end. Loads more gun play and violence than I remember from previous books.

[PulpMonkey (Chompa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm halfway through the Hardman books. They continue to be solid. Jim Hardman is a great character. He's flawed, but tenacious.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best in the series

Impossible not to get involved in the story.
Big money, violence, tragic family back story.
Taunt chapters with fingers on triggers tension.
Interesting characters with possibly unfinished storylines foreshadowing all kinds of crazy ...

[Connie Hamby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book

if you like good books with half private eye and some action you will really like these books Ralph Dennis does a really good job

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my 7th book in the Hardman series, and while it is pretty good, it is unlike the others in some respects and not quite as strong. This series was marketed as pulp novels in the 1970's when they were written, and this is the first Hardman I have read which fits that definition.

The plot is okay, a bit complicated, but it can't get all the intricate in this novella-length volume. I did find the motive for the attacks on Edward's life to be somewhat unconvincing. All the usual characters are here, though it is a cameo for Jim's girlfriend, Marcy, and a much larger role than usual for policeman Art Maloney.

It seems to me that there are a lot of departures from how the characters have usually behaved in this series. This strikes me as the first one where Jim is unfaithful to Marcy (and while it is not clear, Marcy may have done the same thing during a trip to the West Coast). Jim also flirts with Beth Fanzia. Jim gets very drunk in this book, which is uncommon. Hump smokes hash. There also seem to be an awful lot of dead bodies in this one, but perhaps that is generally true in the series.

There is a fascinating essay in this edition from a female writer who knew Ralph Dennis when she was a college student and for some years after that. Dennis does not come off well in this short essay, but, to me at least, neither does the writer, who seems to have helped cause the situation she complains about. It's difficult to believe that a 28 year old divorcee could be as naïve as the writer claims she was. Something about her anger with Dennis after all these years struck me as odd.

[Aravind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixth in the Hardman series, Murder is Not an Odd Job is another solid entertainer by Ralph Dennis. The duo of Hardman and Hump Evans land a typically strange and dangerous job of keeping alive a reticent man in line to inherit a huge fortune - motive enough for the attempt on his life. However, the happenings hint on a motive stronger than money and, to do the job successfully, the pair has to figure out who is targeting their client and why. As they succeed in this task, all that remains is to stop the adversaries once and for all.
Filled with all things the reader has become accustomed to with this series - interesting characters, sharp dialogues and fast paced action - this one is a complete entertainer. My only complaint is with the amount of words spent in describing food that could have been used for better purposes. Also, I found Hardman's amorous pursuits to be contrary to his commitment towards Marcy, as conveyed by the previous novels in the series. Still, I had a good time reading this breezy action thriller.

[Crisman Strunk · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you haven't discovered Ralph Dennis yet, do so now. His books are always a great read. He wrote in the world of cheap, formulaic paperbacks but his work is anything but a formula. In some of his novels, you can tell he was in a bit of a hurry (like Black Mask writers he was paid for output), but his best work is up there with the greats. Like James Crumley, Dennis deserves to be a household name.

Murder is not an Odd Job is the latest entry in the Hardman series I've read. Once again, Dennis gives you terrific characterization and a great sense of place in Atlanta of the seventies. Not the best of the Hardman series so far, but still very good.

[K. Counihan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hardman #6 Very Good Story

Hardman episode 6: Hardman and Hump Evans save a mysterious man in a bar fight. The Man disappears, but his wallet is found with a stack of cash inside. The name in the wallet is not the same as the man gave them. They try to return it and he is worth millions. They agree to be his body guards. Now his rivals are hunting him and Hardman + Hump Evans. Good pacing and tense action.

[Tj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exceptional action adventure. Hardman gets himself involved in dire situations, and toughs his way out yet again with Hump and Art. Great.

[Sergiu S. Dobre · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best so far!