A quasi sequel of Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto continues to follow the escapades of Ray Carney and associates. The book again is more about Harlem in different eras than anything else. As a result, people don't have to worry about reading the titles out of order, as each novella- of which there are three -acts as an independent story arc that loosely connects to a larger whole, but a reader can tackle any of the stories in the two books out of order with little harm to their understanding or enjoyment of the exploits therein. The stories in this book involve Ray needing Jackson 5 tickets, an associate, Pepper, and his exploits in the film industry, and a vengeful story of crows coming home to roost. Very enjoyable, but that was expected with the steady hand of Colson Whitehead.

I'm historically a Whitehead fan but this did not grab me. I read the first in the series and enjoyed it but this one just felt drawn out and tedious.

It was a joy to see all the familiar faces from “Harlem Shuffle” again, and to meet a new group of eclectic characters. However, what I loved in particular was what made the first book in the saga such a delight - the way it so deeply immersed me within a past Harlem and a past New York. This time around, instead of the city in the 1960’s roaring to life through Colson’s words, it was the troublesome 70s that was vividly painted in my mind - a city on edge, a city that is seemingly falling apart at the seams, a city whose neighborhoods are bursting into flames - but like the core characters of the book, despite the chaos and the deterioration, is still resilient, and still going.

Whitehead could comfortably conclude here and leave it as a solid two-part series. Frankly though, I’m hoping that he’ll be able to transport us to 80’s Harlem within the next few years.