This is the first African American mystery novel, originally published in 1932, and much celebrated by Walter Mosley, the most successful African American writer of mystery novels. (This book preceded Chester Himes's Coffin Ed and Grave Digger novels by more than a third of a century.)

W. E. B. DuBois castigated the group of younger writers of which Fisher was a part for sensationalizing low life rather than celebrating the "talented tenth" of which they were presumably a part. I don't know if Fisher was stung by this, but the protagonists include a physician (like Fisher himself), a policeman who is the only black who has risen to the rank of detective, and an African prince with a princely sense of noblesse oblige. Also an critically important part is played by a mortician, a kind of professional.

The main lower-status participants, who liven things up with a running game of the dozens, are not debauched, and the "conjure man" turns out not to be the wacko many thought him to be.

The middle of the novel sags. Unfortunately, Fisher did not live to hone his craft, leaving only this and _The Walls of Jericho_ and a few stories.

I read this book on a flight from Philadelphia to Seattle and just couldn't put it down. The characters come alive, the plot thickens with each passing page and the ending is fabulous.

A MUST READ!!!

This book transports you into the Harlem streets of the 1930s. It has the vernacular, the attitude, the mystique, and the community values of residents of 1930 Harlem down pat. I found the narrative very inviting. This book has detectives, criminals, lawmen, africans, and mystics. Once you read the first chapter, you will not be able to put the book down. It is a shame that the author did not live long enough to produce much more in this detective series.

There is only one word I can use to describe this and that is fantastic. This book is very well written and contains a good message about peoples personalities. Not only is this book interesting but it is funny as well. If you read any book in the next few months, read this one.

The pulse of The Walls of Jericho beats to the music of the characters' intelligence, self-reliance, commitment,and friendship. Although the sting of racism is a central theme, Fisher shines a greater light on the plague of "colorism" and its implications in the African-American culture. Ruldoph Fisher has authored a work that affords me the opportunity to teach high school students a novel that does not weigh its reality on the scales of profanity and promiscuity.What a delight! Finally, to help readers with the melodious dialect and slang used by the ever emerging characters, an index of "possible" unfamilar terms is provided.