Palace Council by Stephen L. Carter: A Review
A Spellbinding Political Thriller From Author of New England White
Nov 26, 2008
Yale Law professor Stephen L. Carter brilliantly broke new ground in mystery writing with his first two hefty novels: The Emperor of Ocean Park (2002) and New England White (2007). Both are set in, and involve related characters from, a world few readers, white or black alike, know much about: the socially and intellectually elite African-American community of New England.
As works of social history alone, the books are true eye-openers, written with the keen observation skills and precise, detailed phrasing of a scholar. Yet, they also function as first-class mysteries, filled with intriguing murders, a wealth of puzzling clues, and well-rounded, believable main characters the reader comes to care about. In short, Carter is an excellent writer.
In his third work of fiction, Palace Council (published in 2008 by Alfred A. Knopf, New York), Carter breaks new ground. While those first two books focused on a fairly tight group of characters during a limited span of time, Palace Council offers a story that spans three of the most fraught decades in the late 20th century, spreads its action across three continents, and features a wide cast of characters both vividly imagined and artfully plucked from history.
The Plot
Without giving away any of the twists and turns that mystery readers find so satisfying (no spoiler alert necessary here!), Palace Council follows, from the mid-1950s to the turbulent mid-1970s, two main characters: aspiring novelist Edward Wesley, Jr., son of a prominent Boston preacher, and the love of his life, Aurelia Treene, a Harlem journalist with a secret in her Midwestern past.
Unable to commit to anything other than his literary calling, Eddie loses Aurie's hand to Kevin Garland, heir to a wealthy Harlem stockbroker. Immediately following his departure from a glittering party celebrating that couple's engagement, Eddie literally stumbles on the dead body of a prominent white mover-and-shaker. Soon thereafter, Eddie's beloved little sister, Junie, disappears following her graduation as the first black woman at Harvard Law School, and he soon discovers that she may be involved in a militant underground civil rights group. Meanwhile, Aurie gradually learns that her privileged husband has some potentially earthshaking secrets of his own.
Much of the rest of the story revolves around Eddie's efforts to find the answers to the twin mysteries that confront him, all while rising to literary fame and fortune; and Aurie's attempts to uncover her wealthy husband's secrets. Naturally, the erstwhile lovers' paths cross repeatedly as they gradually unearth a conspiracy so deep that it could shake the very foundations of the country.
Along the way, characters already familiar from Carter's first two novels appear in minor roles, which will bring moments of satisfied recollection to readers of those books without in any way puzzling those fresh to Carter. More satisfying still are frequent cameos by real cultural and political figures of the era, including poet and playwright Langston Hughes, singer Lena Horne, Joseph Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover, and Richard Nixon, all of whom Carter brings to believable life.
The Writing
Stephen L. Carter's finely honed legal mind, combined with what appears to be a natural talent for telling a story, makes the writing in Palace Council a pleasure. He has a particularly keen ability to distill the essence of a time and place, from the drawing rooms of Harlem to the sinister confines of the FBI in the Hoover era to the chaos of Saigon in the early 1970s.
That said, the much broader scope of the time and setting and a correspondingly greater complexity of plot sometimes run the risk of making the reader flip back in search of key points that may have been overlooked or not fully explained. At times, Eddie's and Aurie's confusion over what's going on can bog down the narrative itself.
Nevertheless, the power of the overall plot and of Carter's intelligent, eloquent narrative voice keeps the pages turning to a satisfying conclusion after 528 pages.
The Recommendation
Palace Council by Stephen L. Carter comes highly recommended for readers who like their mysteries set in richly well-observed worlds and written with literary self-assurance. It will also appeal to anyone who enjoys a strong political thriller, particularly those featuring the sort of conspiracies that became all the more plausible during the final decades of the 20th century. (Looking for another great page-turner? Check out Replay!)
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