Tear the City Down

by Andre Hardy

For fans of S.A. Cosby and Walter Mosley, debut novelist and former NFL player Andre Hardy’s TEAR THE CITY DOWN is a hard-hitting, heart wrenching crime novel that brilliantly blends elements of jazz, football, and a gritty portrait of a city divided.

Coltrane Davis is at once a knight and a hustler. He has risen to wealth and success, graduating from San Diego's back alleys to the halls of power through his partnership with Saul Sollman, a crooked kingmaker among the city's elite. Running multimillion dollar scams with Saul, he has been Saul's fixer, but now he wants out of the hustle so that he can focus on his teenage daughter's burgeoning tennis career and finally be the dad he has always wanted to be.

But when the Los Angeles Chargers' star running back vanishes one evening before a big game, Coltrane is drawn into an investigation of what happened by Saul and his protégé, the player's agent; the stakes escalate with a gut-punch when the trail leads into San Diego’s underworld of drugs and prostitution and reveals clues to the disappearance of his daughter's best friend, whose loss has haunted him. Torn by the unreconcilable demands of the life he can't seem to quit and the fierce desire he has to protect his own, Coltrane brings himself and his loved ones to the brink of destruction in his quest to free himself once and for all of Saul's control – and focus on what really family.

432 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 1, 2026

Reviews

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this was good,the story kept you going and it had lots of suspense. I felt I connected with some of the characters but not all. I also felt a couple of times the story jumps and leaves you a little confused but it still had a lot going for it and I will still recommend it a good book,Contrane is a fixer working for a Jewish mobster who wants to get out of the business and is given his last case,save a NFL running back who has been framed for something ,he was drugged and doesn’t remember,With his cousin Bobby a walking time bomb Contrane discovers a underground club that deals with underage girls and many other devious acts,trying to save a underage girl,his has his work cut out for him and many life’s are at stake.

[Wendi Flint Rank (WendiReviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took this book with me on holiday, figuring I would rave about it.
I have been struggling to find a character to love, someone to
champion, to cheer for and love. Coltrane was just not enough,
even though he could have been. I found myself thinking about
things he might have done... something I seldom do when I read.
I can best describe how I felt by the ending as exhaustion and
a head shake at ell of the efforts made by Coltrane, and what
could have been but just isn't.
My thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the download copy
of the book for review purposes.

[Kate Hergott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Advice that shows up often in writing craft is saying as much as your entire story as you can in the first sentence. Obviously, that's not the case for every single book, but I love when a book comes out swinging, and Tear The City Down tells you everything you need to know about its gritty premise:

"Upward mobility needs a surgeon general’s warning label. Something to the effect of, “Brothas, best beware: Social climbing is dangerous. Known to infect us with greed, leading to the adoption of the lifted class’s behaviors and prejudices, resulting in delusion, moral dilemmas, neglect, identity crises, self-hatred, and, in extreme cases, death.”

So that's three sentences, but it sets the stage for Coltrane's conflicted hero's journey: a hustler who's been making bank as a fixer for a San Diego kingmaker, but wants to leave his old ways behind. But when a case is brought to him that starts to hit closer to home than he expected, he's reluctantly drawn back into the underworld of the city he loves, and is forced to reconsider what the best use of his skills is.

I almost can't believe this is Andre Hardy's debut novel; the prose is thematically beautiful, Coltranes inner journey is a heartwrenching character study, and in the midst of a dishy, dirty case involving a compromised Chargers running back, he also tackles class inequality, racism, sexism and misogynoir. Tear the City Down effortlessly balances its high stakes, layered mystery with vulnerable personal moments and insightful socioeconomic awareness.

Fans of S.A. Cosby's Blacktop Wasteland (and really most S.A. Cosby books) and Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper will love this morally gray noir.

4.5 stars rounded up

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andre’s writing commands attention. It’s poetic and gritty, sharp and thoughtful, with layers underneath layers. There’s the story itself, but there’s also race, culture, family, identity, Buddhism, sports, music, and the realities of moving through a world that doesn’t look the same depending on who’s doing the moving.

And somehow, so much of this book felt personal to me. My dad was a jazz musician, so I grew up with the music woven throughout these pages. I am decidedly not a sports fan, and Andre somehow managed to make even that interesting to me. As a practitioner, I loved the dharma influence especially!

I could go on and on about this one, but I’d rather you experience it yourself.

Trust me when I say that on September 1st, you need to either be standing in line to buy Tear the City Down or standing by your mailbox waiting for your preorder to arrive. This one deserves to be read.

[Greg Wands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coltrane Davis is struggling to balance his duties as a fixer for a well-connected San Diego gangster with becoming the family man he’s always aspired to be. The jazz-loving, philosophy-minded hustler is determined to leave the game behind in order to help nurture his daughter’s pro tennis dream and settle down with the love of his life. But when the disappearance of the L.A. Chargers’ star running back pulls Coltrane in for one last job, the case plunges him into a series of moral dilemmas and conjures ghosts he’ll need to exorcise if he’s to make a clean break with his soul intact. Debut author Hardy hits the noir notes beautifully—atmospheric prose, stylishly acerbic dialogue, the hard-nosed interrogation of power structures and entrenched systems of oppression—while grounding his story in emotional vulnerability and leaning into the power of familial and communal love.

[Munevver · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for an action-packed read with a gritty edge, Tear the City Down is worth checking out. The unique premise immediately grabbed my attention, and there was always something happening to keep the story moving. I also enjoyed following the characters, whose personal motivations added depth and made me curious to see how their journeys would play out. It’s the kind of book that keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an ARC copy. Publication date is August 4, 2026. Publication date is September 1, 2026.

[Lyrically Literally · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise immediately caught my attention: an NFL player suddenly disappears, leading to an investigation surrounding what happened to Saul. As someone who loves football and works within the world of professional and college athletes, it was exciting to explore a fictional story set within a different side of the professional football atmosphere.

There was plenty of suspense throughout the story. I also found myself continuing to turn the pages, because I wanted to see how everything would unfold. I often found myself trying to determine how the different pieces would eventually connect before they were connected.

I appreciated the creativity behind the premise and how the author blended professional football, mystery, and suspense.

Readers who enjoy layered mysteries with multiple storylines would enjoy this. 🤗

Thank you to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Andre Hardy for providing me with an advance copy.

Don’t forget to grab your copy!!
Release Date: Sept 1, 2026!

[Doug Yonce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas, but the story didn’t flow for me. Too many different sub-plots that didn’t all seem to be needed our needed to be “massaged into the storyline a bit better. Potential, but no polish. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and voluntarily provided an honest review.

[Pattyh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Tear the City Down.
I love football so this book was one I really wanted to read. When a NFL player suddenly disappears a down and out investigator is suddenly set out to find out what happened to him.
There are lots of characters to follow and sometimes slow pacing but I liked the is book and was very engaged in the plot.
3 stars

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave it 3 stars because I quit 40% in. The heavy use of vernacular keep interrupting the flow for me and the plot seemed to go round and round without getting anywhere fast. Maybe more stars if I had stuck with it? Read an advance copy, forthcoming 9/26

[Crystal Rojas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with this one. After reading the writing style to be similar to another author I love, I jumped on an advanced copy. I struggled through the first 20%, trying to get into the flow of the author and writing style. Im sure this author has his audience, but it was a miss for me.