Published by Doubleday Genres: Crime, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Format: ARC, eBook
A love letter to Harlem.
“Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked…”
Ray Carney wants to go straight. He really does but when he opens a furniture store and money gets tight so when his cousin Freddy drops off a ring or two, Ray doesn’t ask questions. Neither does the jeweler downtown. But it doesn’t stop there, good ole Cousin Freddy and his crew plan to rob the “Waldorf of Harlem” Guess what? It doesn’t go as planned. Now Ray who hoped to go straight, to provide for his wife and family has a new shadier clientele. Now Ray is walking a straight rope so to speak between being a bad guy/crook and being a hard worker running a business.
“I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
Set in the 1950’s and 1960’s, Colson Whitehead gives readers a glimpse into Harlem during that time. Harlem is very much a character in this book as well.
Colson Whitehead first caught my attention with The Underground Railroad and I was curious about this book. While this one did not grab me or leave me thinking as The Underground Railroad did. I found this book slow to start and it took some time for it to grab my attention. But it eventually grabbed my attention and I found this to be enjoyable. He is a gifted writer and storyteller. He does a little humor here and if you are looking for this book to be like his other books you will either be disappointed or pleasantly surprised. While I enjoyed this one, I wasn’t blown away.
Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.