Crook Manifesto: ‘Fast, fun, ribald’ Sunday Times (Ray Carney, 2) - Softcover

Whitehead, Colson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 034972766X ISBN 13: 9780349727660

Publisher: Fleet, 2024

Synopsis

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER: a powerful and hugely-entertaining novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory.

'Glorious' New York Times Book Review

'The compelling energy of a crime thriller and the sharp wit of social satire' Guardian

'Whitehead's crime series is one of the most enjoyable streaks in recent fiction' Telegraph

'This novel has it all' Mail on Sunday

1971, New York City. Trash piles up on the streets, crime is at an all-time high, the city is going bankrupt, and a shooting war has broken out between the NYPD and the Black Liberation Army. Furniture store owner and ex-fence Ray Carney is trying to keep his head down, his business up and his life straight. But then he needs Jackson 5 tickets for his daughter May and he decides to hit up an old police contact, who wants favours in return. For Ray, staying out of the game gets a lot more complicated - and deadly.

1973. The old ways are being overthrown by the thriving counterculture, but Pepper, Carney's enduringly violent partner in crime, is a constant. In these difficult times, Pepper takes on a side gig doing security on a Blaxploitation shoot in Harlem, finding himself in a world of Hollywood stars and celebrity drug dealers, in addition to the usual cast of hustlers, mobsters and hit men. These adversaries underestimate the seasoned crook - to their regret.

1976. Harlem is burning, while the country gears up for the Bicentennial. Carney is trying to come up with a celebratory July 4th advertisement he can actually live with, while his wife Elizabeth is campaigning for her childhood friend, rising politician Alexander Oakes. When a fire seriously injures one of Carney's tenants, he enlists Pepper to look into who may be behind it, navigating a crumbling metropolis run by the shady, the violent and the utterly corrupt.

'Fast, fun, ribald... with a touch of Quentin Tarantino' Sunday Times

'A delight' Financial Times

'Hugely enticing' Independent

About this title

About the Author

Colson Whitehead is a multi-award winning and bestselling author whose works include The Nickel Boys, The Underground Railroad, The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt and a collection of essays, The Colossus of New York. He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice and is a recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships. For The Underground Railroad, Whitehead won the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Fiction, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for a second time for The Nickel Boys, which also won the George Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and The Kirkus Prize. The Underground Railroad has been adapted as an Amazon Prime TV series, produced and directed by the Academy Award winning director Barry Jenkins, and was broadcast in 2021. He lives with his family in New York City.

From the Back Cover

TWO-TIME WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

A powerful, entertaining novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory.

1971, New York City. Trash piles up on the streets, crime is at an all-time high, the city is going bankrupt. Ray Carney, furniture store owner and ex-fence, tries to keep his head down, his business up and his life straight. When he needs Jackson 5 tickets for his daughter May, he hits up Munson, an old police contact. But Munson has his own favours to ask of Carney and staying out of the game gets a lot more complicated - and deadly.
1973. As a thriving counterculture overthrows old ways, Pepper - seasoned crook, and Carney's partner in crime - is a constant. He takes on a side gig doing security on a Blaxploitation shoot and finds himself in a world of Hollywood stars and celebrity drug dealers, along with the usual cast of hustlers, mobsters and hit men.

1976. Harlem is burning while the country gears up for the Bicentennial. When a fire seriously injures one of Carney's tenants, he enlists Pepper to look into who may be behind it, navigating a crumbling metropolis run by the shady, the violent and the utterly corrupted.

'Fast, fun, ribald... with a touch of Quentin Tarantino' Sunday Times

'Whitehead's crime series is one of the most enjoyable streaks in recent fiction' Telegraph
'This novel has it all' Mail on Sunday
'A delight' Financial Times
'Hugely enticing' Independent


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thumbnail of HARLEM SHUFFLE cover

Edition details

• Publisher: Fleet
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 034972766X
• ISBN 13: 9780349727660
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336