Orson Welles? The Orson Welles? In a novel about a 1930’s PI and Harlem? My first question was ‘How in the heck did Orson Welles get involved with a group of Harlem amateur actors involved in a murder mystery?" It didn’t take long for author Steven Philip Jones to give me an answer, one that kept me turning the pages.

The Federal Theatre Project, offering government-sponsored jobs to unemployed Americans, established a unit in Harlem, allowing Negroes a chance to become professional actors.

Enter Orson Welles, a twenty-year-old, untried director from New York. Welles is given the task of directing these untrained actors in Shakespeare’s MacBeth. Problems arise when a local chapter of the Communist Worker’s Party decides the play is a good way to stir up racial discord in Harlem.

Enter our hero, "Sassafrass" Winters, ex-Chicago Cubs baseball player turned Private Investigator. Canada Lee, an old friend of Winter’s and an ex-jockey, now an actor in Welle’s troupe, calls from New York. Lee asks Winters to hire on as Welles’ bodyguard until the play is completed. Winters accepts and quickly finds himself embroiled in solving a murder that involves several members of the play.

Jones’ novel is a very pleasant blend of a classic 1930’s style PI novel, along with historical curiosities. Anyone who admires Orson Welles’ work will enjoy this glimpse into his earlier days. Added to the allure of a well-known name, is a good look at the Harlem of the 1930’s, the African Americans that called it home and the various cultural clashes that began there.

I would recommend this book to any aficionado of Mickey Spillane, Dashiell Hammet or Ellery Queen. You won’t be sorry to add The King of Harlem to your reading list.