Himes is the songwriter of the downtrodden

‘If Chandler is considered the poet of crime fiction and Hammett its great journalist, then Himes is the songwriter of the downtrodden. His stories sing with a fire and light that comes from a simmering sense of loss. A loss of respect, of humanity, of honor.’

— S.A. Cosby, ‘The Crime Novelist Who Was Also a Great American Novelist’