The Emperor of Ocean Park

A riveting novel of ambition, revenge and the power of familial obligations. Talcott Garland is a successful law professor and devoted family man. When his father, a disgraced former Supreme Court nominee, is found dead under suspicious circumstances, Talcott suspects foul play. Guided by the elements of a mysterious puzzle that his father left, Talcott must risk his marriage his career, and even his life in his quest for justice. The Emperor of Ocean Park is a captivating legal thriller set in the privileged worlds of upper crust African American society and the inner circle of Ivy League law school.

About the Author :
Stephen L. Carter is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University, where he has taught since 1982. He is the author of the best-selling novel "The Emperor of Ocean Park," and seven acclaimed nonfiction books, including "The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion and Civility: Manner, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy." He and his family live near New Haven, Connecticut.

Review :
"Beautifully written and cleverly plotted...a fine legal thriller." --John Grisham "Full of energy...high-spirited and fleet of foot.... This novel...lives on the page." --"The New York Times Book Review" "Rich, rewarding and compelling." --"USA Today" "Remarkable...a rip-roaring entertainment." --"Boston Globe" "The year's hottest summer read and a surefire bestseller." --"Time Out New York" " Beautifully written and cleverly plotted...a fine legal thriller." -- John Grisham " Full of energy...high-spirited and fleet of foot.... This novel...lives on the page." -- "The New York Times Book Review" " Rich, rewarding and compelling." -- "USA Today" " Remarkable...a rip-roaring entertainment." -- "Boston Globe" " The year' s hottest summer read and a surefire bestseller." -- "Time Out New York" " Beautifully written and cleverly plotted. A rich, complex family saga, one deftly woven through a fine legal thriller." "--"John Grisham " Rich, rewarding and compelling.... Transports readers into a different world and creates characters that resonate long after you've finished it." "--USA Today" " Full of energy...high-spirited and fleet of foot.... This novel...lives on the page.... It's not much of an exaggeration to think that in Stephen Carter the black upper class has found its Dreiser." "-- The New York Times Book Review" " A remarkable debut novel.... A rare look into the world of wealthy and established black families.... One is at a loss to name another book...that has sought to convey, with such clarity, such depth of understanding or such cultural analysis, the uniqueness of this experience." "--Los Angeles Times Book Review" " A thrilling entertainment." "--Newsday" " Rich, rewarding and compelling.... Transports readers into a different world and creates characters that resonate long after you've finished it." --"USA Today" " A delightful, sprawling, gracefully written, imaginative work, with sharply delineated characters who dwell in a fully realized narrative world." --"New York Review of Books" " A dense, dark legal thriller.... Talcott's clear-eyed observations of his peers, both white and black, give Emperor a social conscience that most books of its ilk lack." --"Time" " Closely observed, often affecting.... Written with easy authority...nimble...satiric.... Persuasive." --"The New York Times" " A thriller as heady as it is hefty.... Using...wry descriptions of place, power and privilege, Carter keeps attitude spinning.... With Emperor, Carter fills the gap between intrigue and intelligence." --"People" " Carter writes powerfully about such virtues as love, faith and forgiveness...and offers a strong commentary on race as seen through the relationships between his characters." --"Philadelphia Inquirer" " An admirable debut.... Mr. Carter's storytelling skills are impressive." --"Wall Street Journal" " The Emperor of Ocean Park" "is an outstanding work of fiction.... Masterfully developed.... A gripping story." --Newark" Sunday Star-Ledger" " [Carter] has shed an unblinking eye on an area of race and culture conspicuously absent in popular fiction." --"Miami Herald" " A light thriller for the beach; a wicked satire of academic politics; a stinging expose of the judicial confirmation process; a trenchant analysis of racial progress in America." --"The Christian Science Monitor" "From the Trade Paperback edition." "Beautifully written and cleverly plotted. A rich, complex family saga, one deftly woven through a fine legal thriller." "--"John Grisham "Rich, rewarding and compelling.... Transports readers into a different world and creates characters that resonate long after you've finished it." "--USA Today" "Full of energy...high-spirited and fleet of foot.... This novel...lives on the page.... It's not much of an exaggeration to think that in Stephen Carter the black upper class has found its Dreiser." "-- The New York Times Book Review" "A remarkable debut novel.... A rare look into the world of wealthy and established black families.... One is at a loss to name another book...that has sought to convey, with such clarity, such depth of understanding or such cultural analysis, the uniqueness of this experience." "--Los Angeles Times Book Review" "A thrilling entertainment." "--Newsday" "Rich, rewarding and compelling.... Transports readers into a different world and creates characters that resonate long after you've finished it." --"USA Today" "A delightful, sprawling, gracefully written, imaginative work, with sharply delineated characters who dwell in a fully realized narrative world." --"New York Review of Books" "A dense, dark legal thriller.... Talcott's clear-eyed observations of his peers, both white and black, give Emperor a social conscience that most books of its ilk lack." --"Time" "Closely observed, often affecting.... Written with easy authority...nimble...satiric.... Persuasive." --"The New York Times" "A thriller as heady as it is hefty.... Using...wry descriptions of place, power and privilege, Carter keeps attitude spinning.... With Emperor, Carter fills the gap between intrigue and intelligence." --"People" "Carter writes powerfully about such virtues as love, faith and forgiveness...and offers a strong commentary on race as seen through the relationships between his characters." --"Philadelphia Inquirer" "An admirable debut.... Mr. Carter's storytelling skills are impressive." --"Wall Street Journal" "The Emperor of Ocean Park" "is an outstanding work of fiction.... Masterfully developed.... A gripping story." --Newark" Sunday Star-Ledger" "ÝCarter¨ has shed an unblinking eye on an area of race and culture conspicuously absent in popular fiction." --"Miami Herald" "A light thriller for the beach; a wicked satire of academic politics; a stinging expose of the judicial confirmation process; a trenchant analysis of racial progress in America." --"The Christian Science Monitor" "From the Trade Paperback edition." "Among the most remarkable fiction debuts in recent years...[The Emperor of Ocean Park] is full of musing about God, family, chess, the politics of Supreme Court appointments, loyalty, unhappy marriage, the media, depression, race, and academic infighting...[Carter] is a scholar and a lawyerly commentator who has penned a rip-roaring entertainment." -"Boston Globe " "The year's hottest summer read and a surefire bestseller...Carter does for members of the contemporary black upper-class what Henry James did for Washington Square society, taking us into their drawing rooms and laying their motives bare...However "The Emperor of Ocean Park" is categorized, beach reading doesn't get any better than this." -"Time Out New York " ""The Emperor of Ocean Park" is a delightful, sprawling, gracefully written, imaginative work, with sharply delineated characters who dwell in a fully realized narrative world...Carter deserves comparison with such successful practitioners of the crime novel as Scott Turow." -"The New York Review of Books "The Emperor of Ocean Park" is an intricately plotted work...a novel that is both thriller and commentary on American racial relations." -Dan Cryer, "Newsday" "[A] complex literary thriller. Carter deftly weaves together several strands, from the relationships of father and sons and husbands and wives to the politics of the Nixon and Reagan eras." -"Bookpage" ""The Emperor of Ocean Park" is no ordinary fiction debut...Carter has produced a thoroughly original mystery-thriller...that also explores the brave terrains of race, family, power, paranoia, and the law...If I may join the hype, "The Emperor of Ocean Park"rules." -"Book Street USA " "[A] fiercely intelligent and original work...Carter explores an astounding variety of subjects with the depth and delicacy." -"The Miami Herald " ""[The Emperor of Ocean Park]" is one of the hottest items of the summer, one of the most discussed books of the year. It provides insight into the world of the African-American haute bourgeoisie...and does so with a sophistication and elegance of language that makes much of it a joy to read." -"The Globe and Mail " "Yes, this combination mystery/social commentary/thoughtful introspection is long. But the characters are masterfully developed, and its gripping story, elegant writing and skillful illumination of a segment of society that has been notably absent from popular fiction more than justify its 657 pages. "The Emperor of Ocean Park" is an outstanding work of fiction worth every penny...If you read only one book this summer, make sure it's this one." -"The Sunday Star-Ledger ""Stephen L. Carter's debut novel, ""The Emperor of Ocean Park,"" is a marvel: a deeply satisfying thriller that is as careful with character as it is with conspiracy...This is an exhilarating summer read that will be remembered long after the season is over." -"Contra Costa Times " "Poised to become the biggest book of the summer." "-Entertainment Weekly" "This reader hasn't inhaled a novel so rich, rewarding and compelling since Tom Wolfe's "A Man in Full." Like Scott Turow's "Presumed Innocent" it transports the reader into a different world and creates characters that resonate long after you finish it...The mystery aspects had me reading the book at stop signs whiledriving." "-"Deirdre Donahue," USA Today " "More le Carre than Grisham . . . a vivid, twisty puzzle of deceit and social commentary." "-"V.R. Peterson," People" ""The Emperor of Ocean Park "is, in a word, a humdinger." -"Fortune " "This first-rate legal thriller, which touches electrically on our sexual, racial and religious anxieties, will be the talk of the political in-crowd this summer." -"Publishers Weekly "(starred review) "Fascinating. . . . [A] suspenseful tale of ambition, revenge, and the power of familial obligations. . . . An elegantly nuanced novel, with finely drawn characters, a challenging plot, and perfect pacing." -"Booklist ""A novel of great originality and insight: a saga of an African-American family of affluence and privilege forced to reckon with their misadventures and crimes. But Carter's novel also explores, perhaps for the first time in recent memory, a less familiar vision of the black experience in America: one of pride and optimism, and possibility. I've never read a book quite like it, and I enjoyed it very much indeed." -Gay Talese "This sleek, immensely readable first novel is custom-designed for the kind of commercial success enjoyed by John Grisham's "The Firm "11 years ago. . . . With great skill, Carter builds toward a series of climaxes that explode over the final 150 pages. Few readers will refrain from racing excitedly through them. A melodrama with brains and heart to match its killer plot. . . . Irresistible." -"Kirkus" "From the Hardcover edition." "Rich, rewarding and compelling. . . . Transports readers into a different world and creates characters that resonate long after you've finished it." "--USA Today" "Full of energy . . . high-spirited and fleet of foot. . . .This novel . . . lives on the page. . . . It's not much of an exaggeration to think that in Stephen Carter the black upper class has found its Dreiser" "-- The New York Times Book Review" "A remarkable debut novel...A rare look into the world of wealthy and established black families....One is at a loss to name another book...that has sought to convey, with such clarity, such depth of understanding or such cultural analysis, the uniqueness of this experience." "--Los Angeles Times ""A thrilling entertainment." "--Newsday" "Rich, rewarding and compelling. . . . Transports readers into a different world and creates characters that resonate long after you've finished it." -"USA Today" "A delightful, sprawling, gracefully written, imaginative work, with sharply delineated characters who dwell in a fully realized narrative world." -"New York Review of Books" "A dense, dark legal thriller. . . . Talcott's clear-eyed observations of his peers, both white and black, give Emperor a social conscience that most books of its ilk lack." -"Time" "Closely observed, often affecting. . . . Written with easy authority . . . nimble . . . satiric.... persuasive." -"The New York Times" "A thriller as heady as it is hefty. . . . Using . . . wry descriptions of place, power and privilege, Carter keeps attitude spinning. . . . With Emperor, Carter fills the gap between intrigue and intelligence." -"People " "Carter writes powerfully about such virtuesas love, faith and forgiveness. . . . and offers a strong commentary on race as seen through the relationships between his characters." -"Philadelphia Inquirer " "An admirable debut . . . Mr. Carter's storytelling skills are impressive." -"Wall Street Journal " "The Emperor of Ocean Park" "is an outstanding work of fiction. . . . Masterfully developed. . . . A gripping story." -Newark" Sunday Star-Ledger" "[Carter] has shed an unblinking eye on an area of race and culture conspicuously absent in popular fiction." -"Miami Herald" "A light thriller for the beach; a wicked satire of academic politics; a stinging expose of the judicial confirmation process; a trenchant analysis of racial progress in America." -"The Christian Science Monitor"