Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1124634 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
A complex, smart mystery filled with intrigue, drama, and more than a little danger awaits readers in Stephen L Carter's engaging debut novel, The Emperor of Ocean Park.

After the funeral of his powerful father (a federal judge whose nomination to the US Supreme Court became a public scandal), Talcott Garland, an African-American law professor at an Ivy League university, is left to unravel the meaning of a cryptic note and carry out "the arrangements" his father left behind. Armed with fortitude and familial devotion--though paranoid of his wife's fidelity--Talcott soon finds himself in an investigation that entangles him with a number of questionable Washington DC denizens, including lawyers and government officials, law professors, the FBI, shady underworld figures, chess masters, and friends and family. All the while Talcott tries not to hurt his lawyer wife's chance for a judicial nomination--and their fragile marriage--but the closer he comes to unravelling his father's dark secrets, the more dangerous things become.

Clocking in at over 650 pages, the novel could easily have been streamlined; many of Talcott's thoughts are unnecessarily repeated. But Carter's storytelling skills are adept: tension builds, surprises are genuine and clues are not handed out freely. The prose, while somewhat meandering, can be crisp and insightful, as demonstrated in Carter's description of the misguided paths of young lawyers who sacrifice, "all on the altar of career... at last arriving... at their cherished career goals, partnerships, professorships, judgeships, whatever kind of ships they dream of sailing, and then looking around at the angry, empty waters and realizing that they have arrived with nothing, absolutely nothing, and wondering what to do with the rest of their wretched lives". --Michael Ferch

Henry Louis Gates
‘Spellbinding… a truly literary thriller - a masterly amalgam of suspense and sensibility’

Kirkus
'A melodrama with brains and heart to match its killer plot. . . . Irresistible.'

Customer Reviews

Good but....
I start off by saying that Stephen L Carter has a graet writing style. Not having read any of his previous non - fiction titles, I didn't know what to expect from him. He seems to be a man who has an extensive knowledge of his subject - well you would expect him to, as he is a professor of law! This shines through in his writing, the story flows and doesn't jarr.
However, I did start to get a little bored with the book about half way through, perhaps the plot could have been shortened by 150 - 200 pages!!! However I persevered with the book because I got involved with his characters and really wanted to find out what "The arrangements" were etc.
I could relate to the main character, although I do think that perhaps Carter modelled Tal on himself a little too obviously - the blurb on the back cover described the author and main character near enough identically!!
I would definately recommend the book to anyone who can stick to a story even when you feel like giving up hope! Perhaps this is one to borrow from a friend instead of splashing out.

Too many words my dear Carter
The Emperor of Ocean Park was the first of a two-book deal with an initial advance of reputedly 4.2 million dollars. This could explain both its best-seller status (the marketing people would have to ensure it was) and the general trashing by the critics (no first time novelist can be worth that much can they?)
Leaving aside the vagaries of the publishing industry though, is the book any good?
Well yes and no, because really it is three books in one. Firstly it is a fascinating insight into upper middle class black American society, particularly the academic and legal profession. Secondly it is a sometimes moving examination of family life. Third, it is a risible ham-fisted thriller.
The social insight is authoritative and raises interesting questions about the nature of authority and the responsibilities that go with it. That family life is often sacrificed on the alter of material gain is not an area most readers associate with black writing, and this is a refreshing cultural angle.
However, as a thriller it fails. Without going into detail, numbered amongst its faults are the "and with one leap he broke free" quality of plotting.
Overall, the prose is frequently didactic, the points laboured and oft repeated as if to a jury of dullards (yes, Mr Carter is a law professor)
As a first time novelist, the author has not been served well by his editor. The early, relatively taut tone has become slipshod by page two-hundred, and is too flabby overall by a similar number of pages. A good editor could have rendered it an excellent first novel, as it is, it is mediocre

Well-written, intriguing thriller
This book was a treat! It is not only a well-plotted thriller with complex and interesting characters, but also an insight into the lives of the well-to-do black community in the US. The writing is crisp and intelligent. The main character, Talcott Garland, believes his father died in suspicious circumstances, and decides to investigate, helped (if you can call it that) by a cryptic note left for him by his father. The ground is constantly shifting, and Talcott finds that he cannot trust anyone because he can never be sure who the enemy is. Usually I find that in many thrillers, the end tends to be a bit of an anti-climax. This is not true of this book. I defintely recommend it.