Richard Coles reassesses the work of Chester Himes on the first British publication of his posthumous story Plan B. Himes learned his craft behind bars - he was given a 20-year sentence in 1928 for armed robbery and began writing in prison. Though he later emigrated to Europe, it was his series of Harlem-based thrillers with black detective heroes Coffin Ed
Johnson and Grave Digger Jones that secured him a place among the world's great crime writers. Producer Erika Wright