In the Heat of the Night

A 50th anniversary edition of the classic crime novel that inspired the Oscar-winning film starring Sidney Poitier.

'They call me Mr Tibbs!'

A small southern town in the 1960s. A musician found dead on the highway. It's no surprise when white detectives arrest a black man for the murder. What is a surprise is that the black man - Virgil Tibbs - is himself a skilled homicide detective from California, whom inexperienced Chief Gillespie reluctantly recruits to help with the case. Faced with mounting local hostility and a police force that seems determined to see him fail, it isn't long before Tibbs - trained in karate and aikido - will have to fight not just for justice, but also for his own safety.

The inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film starring Sidney Poitier, this iconic crime novel is a psychologically astute examination of racial prejudice, an atmospheric depiction of the American South in the sixties, and a brilliant, suspense-filled read set in the sultry heat of the night.

John Ball (1911–1988) wrote more than thirty novels across numerous genres; his Virgil Tibbs series remains his best-known work. Born in Schenectady, New York, he grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked briefly as a part-time police officer in Los Angeles.

John Ridley (foreword) is an award-winning screenwriter, film director, and novelist. The creator of the acclaimed television series American Crime, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for 12 Years a Slave.