Crook Manifesto * Colson Whitehead * Ray Carney #2

The Gripping, Rhythmic Symphony of Criminal Codes and a Crumbling Metropolis. Step directly into the garish, neon-lit grit of 1970s Harlem, where a city careening toward bankruptcy serves as the ultimate test of human survival. Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, this sensational second installment of the Harlem Trilogy strips away standard gangster cliches to deliver a darkly funny, kaleidoscopic epic of institutional corruption and family devotion. The narrative unfolds as a masterful triptych spanning three distinct flashpoints—1971, 1973, and 1976—following upscale furniture store owner and reluctant ex-fence Ray Carney.

Though Carney has spent years walking the straight-and-narrow path, a seemingly innocent quest to secure elusive Jackson 5 concert tickets for his teenage daughter forces him to call upon a crooked police fixer, instantly plunging his domestic life back into the dangerous underworld. As the timeline leaps forward, the plot weaves through the bizarre, high-stakes environments of local Blaxploitation Hollywood film shoots, political smear campaigns, and a rash of suspicious, block-by-block arson fires. Moving fluidly alongside Carney's endearingly violent partner in crime, Pepper, the story functions as a brilliant evaluation of personal morality and systemic struggle. Fusing punchy, memorable prose with deep psychological nuance, this landmark novel stands as an indispensable reference piece and library centerpiece for readers capturing the raw, authentic pulse of mid-century urban America.

First published on July 18, 2023 by Doubleday / Penguin Random House