Out of the Woodpile: Black Characters in Crime and Detective Fiction [Hardcover]

"I was very impressed by Out of the Woodpile. I found it engrossing, illuminating, insightful, impeccably researched, beautifully written and as a white reader more than a little painful. Congratulations and thanks to Frankie Y. Bailey for an important work of both sociohistory and crime-fiction scholarship."-Bill Pronzini Mystery writer and Co-Editor of The Ethnic Detectives

This first sociohistorical study of the evolution of black detectives and other African American characters in crime and detective fiction identifies stereotypical images of blacks and probes the implied values and collective fantasies found in this genre. Bailey argues that a "mythology of race" consisting of themes of sex and savagery exists in the U.S. and is perpetuated in popular culture. Additionally, fourteen crime and detective fiction writers present their views on creating black characters and a directory includes a sampling of cases featuring black characters, a list of black detectives, relevant works of fiction, film, television, and more.

FRANKIE Y. BAILEY is Visiting Assistant Professor/Research Fellow in the Michael J. Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center, School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York at Albany.