The Big Timer

by Chris Holcombe

TOUGH. TRICKY. TREACHEROUS.
FINDING THE REAL KILLER CAN BE MURDER.El Train is Harlem's most infamous night club performer. And she's about to become Harlem's most infamous murder suspect. But what the police and the press don't know? She was married to the victim.

When Alice Holloway is found shot to death at her own family's factory, El throws herself into the dangerous world of sibling rivalries, union politics, ruthless racketeers, violent strike busters, midnight meetings, and career-ending secrets. Together with her best friend, her millionaire employer, and Harlem's own Baroness of Business, El must piece together the shards of Alice's life-and her own broken heart-so she can bring the real killer to justice.

A wrongfully accused mystery that shows what happens before the murder, before the arrest, before the trial-and what El is willing to do before she runs out of time...

361 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2025

About the author

Chris Holcombe is the author of the Hidden Gotham series, Queer noir that readers call “Honest-to-goodness pulp fiction at its gayest and most glamorous!”

Set in the LGBTQ+ clubs of 1920s NYC, Hidden Gotham exposes and explores that fabulous yet gritty life during The Decade That Roared.
Chris’s work features engaging characters, whip-smart dialogue, and page-turning plots. He also infuses real Queer history and at least one “seriously, WTF?!” Prohibition factoid into every book. All written in an immersive, atmospheric writing style.

He is currently hard at work on his next book, and he asks that you send gin and chocolate for encouragement.

Visit https://chrisholcombe.com to order your copies of the Hidden Gotham series.

And then join the Hidden Gotham Community on his Patreon: https://patreon.com/ChrisHolcombeAuthor.

Reviews

[John Mainieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Holcombe came up with a great premise several years ago with his Hidden Gotham series. Concentrating on gay life in the 20’s, he created a fascinating mix of denizens inhabiting New York City, with an emphasis on Greenwich Village. The locations are well-researched, in fact, many of the places his characters inhabit are still standing. The cherry Lane Theatre, for instance, on Commerce. There may be a fancy new restaurant in there today (as well as a theatre), but there were rooms for rent in that location at one time. Holcombe does his research immaculately; even his characters are often based on real people. The first three books concentrated on Dash Parker and his friends and enemies, however, the fourth in the series is something of a stand-alone, populated by some people in Dash’s orbit. “The Big Timer” is set primarily in Harlem, the boisterous, rowdy Harlem of the roaring 20’s. El Train is a lesbian night club performer renowned for her bawdy club act, in fact, many fight over the opportunity to feature her in their clubs. El dresses in men’s attire, and El is a lesbian, secretly married to a rich white woman from a prosperous family. But when the family business is suddenly hit with a strike, things get very messy, and El’s wife, Alice Holloway, is found shot to death outside the factory. The suspect? El, of course. So El must try to clear her name, while running afoul of strike breakers, phony aristocrats, numbers runners, devious hangers-on, and a cornucopia of Harlem’s best and worst. There’s some beautiful writing in this book, (one lovely and moving set piece, for instance, when El first sees Alice's body) many scenes so well rendered, you wish they would be brought to the screen. Holcombe has created a Harlem of the 20’s that feels too good not to be real.
It’s a fast-paced, rip-roaring adventure, alive with colorful language and peopled with priceless Harlem-ites. This is a terrific addition to the Hidden Gotham series and Holcombe pulls it off with aplomb. Well done, sir!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling murder mystery that keeps you at the edge of your seat and fully immersed in the colorful underbelly of Harlem in the 1920s. Great to see the women of Hidden Gotham front, center, and fully armed! Holcombe’s extensive research into the queer culture of the time shines in every detail of the vibrant world he creates — all the way down to some deliciously raunchy song lyrics.