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Fiction. African American Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:With the powers of observation and richness of plot and character, the author of The Emperor of Ocean Park returns to the New England university town of Elm Harbor, where a murder begins to crack the veneer that has hidden the racial complications of the townâ??s past, the secrets of a prominent family, and the most hidden bastions of African-American political influence. And at the center: Lemaster Carlyle, the university president, and his wife, Julia Carlyle, a deputy dean at the divinity schoolâ??African Americans living in â??the heart of whiteness.â?ť Lemaster is an old friend of the president of the United States. Julia was the murdered manâ??s lover years ago. The meeting point of these connections forms the core of a mystery that deepens even as Julia closes in on the politically earth-shattering motive behind the murder. Relentlessly suspenseful, galvanizing in its exploration of the profound difference between allegiance to ideas and to people, NEW ENGLAND WHITE is a resounding confirmation of Stephen Carterâ??s gifts as a… (more)
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Julia’s ex-boyfriend Kellen Zant is the latest victim; murdered to keep him from revealing the previous killer. Is it the President of the US or just a Senator from a New England state? Maybe it’s Lemaster himself since he was roommate to both men in college. Along the way she meets suspicious townies, gossipy Sister Ladies, vicious dogs, corrupt lawyers and closed ranks of the rich and powerful.
Once again, there is an element of race, but no axe grinding away and no preaching. Again, these black folks are living in a most white area of the country; New England. They are accepted, but is it only because of guilt? Oh that lovely white guilt. But again, the racism cuts both ways and we have again the attitude of divisiveness for the sake of divisiveness on the part of many of the black characters in this novel. Racial harmony will not come easily until both sides are willing to cut the crap.
Full of interesting characters, this was a much more tightly plotted novel than the previous one. Julia’s motivations were shown and not tied up in a bunch of internal monologues and angst and I understood her more for it. It was much less an internal novel and much more external and once things started moving, they didn’t let up. An nice long story arc with a satisfying ending.
The Carlyle family is entangled with
Although Carter attempts to try to enlighten the reader with many examples that differentiate this group from others, the reality is that it appears minutely different from any other privileged class that functions in the Ivy-League world. In this regard, the novel rehashes familiar themes of privilege, abuse of power, and the fall-out from a have and have-not dichotomous society.
The framework that Carter creates for the murder-mystery is presented as a tightly interwoven series of puzzles that must be solved by a teamwork of people, particularly Julia Carlyle. Initially, the riddles are complex and reveal key plot elements. As the story unfolds, they are larger gaps between the clues and how the connections are drawn amongst the details of the dual murders. As the reader nears the conclusion of the novel, the pace picks up so quickly that it doesn't reflect the attention to detail that is present at the beginning.
This book is an enjoyable read as a suspense novel but it is not the social commentary that it has been touted as being.
I enjoyed reading this very much, although it had some of the same problems that his first novel, Emperor of Ocean Park did. The wife of an Ivy League college president gets caught up with investigating the murder of a faculty member (who also happens to be her
Grade: B+
Recommended: It's a good read if you are willing to let go of any realistic notions about crime solving. The action is good, the pace is swift, and the characters are deeply interesting. I've personally decided to treat the conspiracy itself like an medieval allegorical poem -- something that isn't supposed to make that much sense in the real world, but you just need to roll with it to get to the ideas behind it.
Julia becomes inadvertantly involved with the murder of a former lover and the long-ago death of a young girl. The book drags a bit
A fine book somewhat spoiled by an ending that seems to be completely from left field.