Crook Manifesto

June 5, 2023
Whitehead returns with a colorful if haphazard sequel to Harlem Shuffle involving an interconnected series of misguided capers. In 1971, Harlem furniture dealer Art Carney hits up corrupt cop and fixer Detective Munson for Jackson 5 tickets for his daughter. Munson, in possession of some stolen diamonds, reels Carney back into the fence work he’d recently retired from in exchange for the tickets. The night takes a turn for the worse when Munson forces Carney at gunpoint to help with more dangerous errands, including a stickup of a neighborhood gangster’s poker game. The next and strongest section focuses on Pepper, Carney’s occasional associate in crime, who is moonlighting as hired muscle on a 1973 Blaxploitation film production. When actor Lucinda Cole goes missing, Pepper visits her drug dealer, a dangerous gangster, and others, spilling a fair amount of blood on Lucinda’s behalf. In the final act, Carney hires Pepper to find out who’s setting tenement fires at the same time as redevelopment schemes transform the dilapidated neighborhood. Unfortunately, the momentum is throttled by copious references to events in the previous book, while an explosive climax feels rushed. Still, almost every page has at least one great line (“A man has a hierarchy of crime, of what is morally acceptable and what is not”). There’s fun to be had, but it’s not Whitehead’s best.

June 10, 2024

Dion Graham returns to narrate another trifecta of stories featuring Ray Carney and company, spanning five years. In 1971, seven years after the events of Harlem Shuffle, Carney, who retired from fencing goods, finds himself back in the business so that he can buy his daughter tickets to the Jackson 5 concert. Meanwhile, Pepper, now a security guard for a film shoot, begrudgingly searches for a missing starlet. Later, Carney and Pepper investigate a string of arsons that have dire consequences for them. Underlying the tales is commentary about how Harlem has gone from promising to seedy over the years. As with the previous audiobook, Graham gives life to each character by using a variety of intonations and inflections. Most notably, Pepper sounds exactly as he's described: a gruff muscle man who has seen it all. The stories, while fine, however, have varying results. What Carney does to get the elusive concert tickets is the strongest of the three tales, as it harks back to the Whitehead's previous novel and is the least predictable. VERDICT Although listening to Harlem Shuffle isn't necessary, fans of that audiobook will enjoy this more. Also give to listeners who like the works of S.A. Cosby.--Anjelica Rufus-Barnes

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