Once Upon a Time in Harlem

To clients, neighbors, and just passersby, Ray Carney is an honest seller of inexpensive used furniture on 125th Street in Harlem. And although he is not very liked by his wife's parents, he and Elizabeth are happy and already expecting their second child, for whom he is ready to do anything. But few people in Upper Manhattan know that Ray Carney is living a double life. Nearly all the thugs and con artists in Harlem have long trailed their way to his furniture store. And Ray would be glad to give up such a life, but cousin Freddy constantly throws him jobs, both small and large, and keeps dragging him into various adventures. After a failed robbery at the Teresa hotel, all sorts of criminal riffraff from Manhattan flocked to the store on 125th Street, and Ray is simply forced to continue this double game. Will he be able to avoid death, save his wayward cousin, score a big win, and maintain his reputation? A new family saga disguised as a crime novel set in New York City in the 1960s, from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead.