The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher
Published: 1932 | Series: Standalone
When a "conjure-man" or fortune-teller is discovered dead, his waiting room full of clients turn into suspects. Harlem detective Perry Dart is on the case.
About Rudolph Fisher
Rudolph John Chauncey Fisher (1897-1934) was a skilled physician, radiologist, musician, and influential writer during the Harlem Renaissance. His first novel, Walls of Jericho, was published in 1928. He was inspired by a friend's challenge to write a novel treating both the upper and lower classes of black Harlem equally. His second and final novel was published in 1932, and its this month’s book club read, The Conjure-Man Dies. It has long been considered the first novel with a black detective as well as the first detective novel with only black characters. Fisher’s literary career was cut short when he died at the age of 37 in 1934 from abdominal cancer likely caused by his own x-ray experimentation.
The Conjure-Man Dies is the primary work discussed in Detective Fiction As Time Travel episode.
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