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New York Times best seller

From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, a gloriously entertaining novel of heists, shakedowns, and rip-offs set in Harlem in the 1960s.

"Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked..." 

To his customers and neighbors on 125th street, Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver's Row don't approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it's still home. 

Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time. 

Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn't ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn't ask questions, either. 

Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresa — the "Waldorf of Harlem" — and volunteers Ray's services as the fence. The heist doesn't go as planned; they rarely do. Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes. 

Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook. As Ray navigates this double life, he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem. Can Ray avoid getting killed, save his cousin, and grab his share of the big score, all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs? 

Harlem Shuffle's ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It's a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. 

But mostly, it's a joy to listen to, another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead.

In the vibrant heart of Harlem, in the era of flashy suits and soulful music, Colson Whitehead's "Harlem Shuffle" transports readers to a world of hustlers, dreamers, and the relentless pursuit of a better life.

Meet Ray Carney, a furniture salesman by day and a master thief by night. Ray is a man with a knack for slipping through the cracks, navigating the intricate web of Harlem's underworld with both audacity and cunning.

When Ray is entrusted with the task of stealing a priceless painting from an uptown gallery, he finds himself caught in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. As he delves deeper into the heist, Ray uncovers a hidden world of corruption, betrayal, and long-buried secrets that threaten to unravel his carefully constructed life.

"Harlem Shuffle" is a captivating blend of crime fiction, historical drama, and social commentary. Whitehead masterfully weaves a tale that reflects the complexities of Harlem's past, its struggles and triumphs, and the resilient spirit of its people.

Through Ray's eyes, readers witness the beauty and the grit of Harlem, the allure of its jazz clubs and speakeasies, and the stark realities of poverty and inequality. Whitehead's writing is infused with a deep understanding of the era, bringing the sights, sounds, and textures of 1960s Harlem to life.

As Ray navigates the treacherous path before him, he must confront his own demons, his loyalty to his family and friends, and the weight of his past. In a world where the line between right and wrong is often blurred, Ray must decide where his true allegiances lie.

"Harlem Shuffle" is a tour de force from Colson Whitehead, a novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and explores the complexities of identity, race, and class in a time of great change and upheaval.