Speed Book

New England White is a wolf in sheep's clothing. After I took a wrong turn toward the African-American section and misguidedly thumbed through the ABC's of Borders' fiction stacks, I finally made the connection that the newest novel from the widely hailed author of The Emperor of Ocean Park and Yale law scholar, Stephen L. Carter, was located in the Mystery/Thriller section. I could heed my embarrassment in not recognizing the accomplishments of my own fellow member of the "darker nation" (a term frequently used by Carter to delineate African-Americans), and blame it on the fact I was worn-out from a long day at the office. But perhaps it was my own narrow-minded subconscious, blocking the possibility that a successful Black author would be occupying expensive, forward-facing real estate in the curious suspense category. Whatever the case, the 550+ pages to me weighed heavy as a brick in my less-than-muscular arms; but I took up the challenge and settled in for a surprisingly piercing examination of the intersections of race and class in modern America.


In New England White, Carter breathes life into previously minor characters, Lemaster and Julia Carlyle, who appeared in his first novel The Emperor of Ocean Park. This upwardly mobile couple is the realization of W.E.B. Dubois' Talented Tenth concept; both firmly ensconced in the edified black bourgeoisie by virtue of Lemaster's uncompromising ambition and Julia's historical familial ties, seemingly without the aid of Carter's termed "paler nation." Ironically, however, we learn in the end it is because of an unspeakable confidence with Lemaster's three White college roommates, two of which have gone on to the Senate and White House; which propels the Carlyle family and the mysterious Emperyals organization to the oft unexplored nether regions of unchecked power. But I am getting ahead of myself…


Barbadian-born, Lemaster, is the president of fictional Kepler University. His family resides in the lily-white community of Tyler's Landing, whose residents keep a close eye on the rising number of "colored families" (five in a town of 3,000) amongst their ranks. A sharp intellect that is maddeningly insane in his focus on honor and single-minded in his devotion to strict Anglican tradition, Lemaster is a formidable opponent for his time-weathered wife. Julia feels caged by the perfect illusion of family life that she has helped design; it is Julia who takes on the challenge of pursuing the truth, no matter how unsettling to her family, when the Carlyle's Cadillac Escalade veers off an icy country road, leading to the grim discovery of Kellen Zant's body in a nearby ditch.


Zant was a brilliant economics professor who co-authored a famous economic theorem; but more interestingly, he was Julia's slick, heart-breaker of an ex-lover from more than two-decades before who unfailingly, if not admirably, professed his love throughout the years. The mystery of Zant's murder grows stranger still when it is reveled that he left clues for Julia's eyes only. Though she is an unwitting sleuth, Julia finds herself unable to stop searching for answers because some of her ex-lover's clues lead back to own brilliant, yet frighteningly disturbed teenage daughter Vanessa.


The beauty of this mystery was its ability to achieve a major publishing coup with characters from Carter's beloved, "the darker nation," at the helm of a bestseller. Though, at times, his prose lies heavy and cloying at the far reaches of your vocabulary (I will admit it - I pulled out my dictionary three times) and there is also the daunting task of dissecting economic theorems; the subject-matter is worthy of the journey. Stephen Carter's success sheds a blazing white light on this often overlooked and underappreciated part of American society.