Time for Frankie Coolin tells the story of a plasterer turned landlord in Chicago who, in the late 1970s, buys abandoned buildings and makes them just habitable enough that he can charge minimal rent to his mostly black tenants. Frankie – both a tough guy in the trades and a family man – has done well by his wife and kids, moving them to a house in the suburbs. But a casual favor for his wife’s cousin brings on a pair of G-men and the threat of prison if Frankie doesn’t talk. Since talking has never been one of Frankie’s strengths, he copes as he always has by trying to tough it out on his own. This novel is both a psychological thriller and a ’70s period piece that shines a surprisingly sympathetic light on the often-ignored stories of the people who lived, worked and died at the city’s margins. Bill Granger (1941-2012) was a Chicago journalist who wrote for the UPI Chicago bureau, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times. He published more than twenty novels and lived most of his life in Chicago, on the city's South Side. Bill Savage is a professor of American Literature at Northwestern University. He also gives seminars at the Newberry Library and writes articles and essays for the Chicago Reader. Savage’s most recent book-length project is an introduction to and annotation of George Ade’s 1931 book, The Old-Time Saloon: Not Wet, Not Dry—Just History. Savage is a lifelong resident of Rogers Park.
