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Summary: Home to Harlem
Review: David McKay's trip home after four years was full of surprises he could have never imagined in his wildest dreams. David's instincts detect that one of his twin sisters wouldn't have killed herself, but if she didn't then who would have a motive to kill demure Lilian? Journey through the streets of Harlem with McKay as he seeks out the murder and faces injustices and false accusations in his pursuit of his sister's killer. A page turner from the Prologue all the way to the end. But wait....the story doesn't stop there....you must read to find out how this sordid tale ends.
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Summary: Fantastic read
Review: Harlem Redux captivated me so, that I could not get to it fast enough. The plot was so thick yet, I learned a lot about the Harlem Renaissance. I was never so enthralled in to History, the way Walker added fact with fiction. This book is the best, that I have read in years. Excellent choice.
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Summary: Excellent Story
Review: Harlem Redux has a great story line and a history lesson about Harlem in the 1920s
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Summary: Awesome and Factual !
Review: I bought this book for a friend who was recovering from surgery. She literally forgot to take her pain pills as she was so engrossed in this book. I read it after she finished it, and it is so real...Ms.Walker puts you there with the characters. It's like having your own theater in your head! You must check this book out for her descriptive writing alone! Everything is so vivid. Also, I visited New York a few times, and the places she describes are really there! The time in which the story takes place is real. If you don't have it, buy it and if you do have it, buy one for a friend.
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Summary: A WORK FIT FOR THE LARGE OR SMALL SCREEN
Review: I MUST ADMIT, I ENJOYED THIS BOOK. IT HAD ME GUESSING ALL THE WAY TO THE END. THE DESCRIPTION WAS JUST A LITTLE, TEENY, TINY, BIT WORDY, BUT IT WAS VERY NECESSARY TO THE STORY TO PICTURE NEW YORK AND HARLEM DURING THAT TIME OF THE CENTURY. IT SHOWS DETERRENCE AND HARDSHIPS THAT DIVIDED A PEOPLE BASED ON SOMETHING SIMPLE AS THE SHADE OF SKIN COLOR. DETAIL WAS IMPECCCABLE, AND THE STORYLINE WONDERFUL. I CAN EASILY SEE THIS STORY AS A FULL-FEATURE MOVIE, OR AN HBO OR SHOWTIME ORIGINAL. MISS WALKER, MY HAT OFF TO YOU, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE, AND EVEN MORE IN THE FUTURE. DEFINITELY AN EYE-OPENER IN MORE WAYS THAN JUST A WHODUNIT.
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Summary: A Very Elegantly told Mystery
Review: It is very rare that I read novels whose setting occurs before I was born in 1970; however, Harlem Redux was so well written that I wasn't conscious of the excellent history lessons I received as I enjoyed the novel. Persia Walker places our minds and imaginations into a Time Machine, where she uses her words, imagery, and mystery to transport us back into time. We land in Harlem circa the 1920s, where the black social elite inhabit Strivers Row. Safe, secluded, and tucked away from the mars of the black lower class.An engaging and intoxicating mystery. David disappeared from his family's prominent home on Strivers Row. His sister, Lilian's, untimely and suspicious death prompted his return. David's suspicions about his sister's death has him remaining in Harlem longer than he anticipated. Not good. You see, David has a secret of his own that he doesn't want revealed. Harlem Redux addresses disputes among African Americans and between African Americans and Caucasians. We get a history lesson and an eclectic view of Harlem in the 1920s. Inner-racial prejudice and racial division are skirted, but the big issue is WHO DID IT? You'll enjoy the ride as David pounds the pavement and browbeats everyone available. He is determined to get the truth about his sister's death. Persia did an excellent job of having the novel set in history, but still making the story interesting. Her vibrant descriptions provide luscious scenery of historical Strivers Row. The characters were a splendid array of black aristocracy, peasants, elitist, and elite wanna bees. I love the way the story unfolds...you think you've figured everything out, only to be presented with more mystery on something else, utterly dispelling your previous hypothesis. Reviewed by KaTrina Love
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Summary: ...a must read...
Review: Persia Walker's Harlem Redux is an intriguing mystery novel, well crafted and detailed, skillfully creating fiction with a great collection of historical memories and places derived from the Harlem Renaissance. How deep is Persia Walker? Let's just say you will fall on this trip of reality where there are "no honor amongst thieves." In this captivating novel, Persia Walker is totally unpredictable leaving all the facts and clues to you. Just when you thought you've figured it all out, more twists and turns force you to other conclusions. Poetically, Persia Walker has thoroughly developed and defined magnificence in her artistic writing of Harlem Redux and will take you back into time and reveal issues as they were. Persia Walker is a phenomenal writer and Harlem Redux is a must read. -JWJ
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Summary: Pleasantly Surprised
Review: The best thing I've read in a very long time. This book at it's very first page was well written, enticing and I couldn't put it down.
The histroical aspects were fantastic. The highs and lows kept
me totally in awe. Excellent discriptives.
(I was raised in Harlem (131st St and 8th Ave) so the familiarity was sooo wonderful.)
The characters, the good guys and the bad guys (once I began to discern who they were) were all incredible.
I keep thinking (I hope you don't mind) that I would love to see these beautiful places and beautiful black faces
in a movie by the same name.
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Summary: Secrets, whispers, and lies
Review: The McKay family is at the epicenter of a drama-filled plot of murder, intrigue, and animosity in Persia Walker's novel, Harlem Redux. David McKay becomes the sole heir to the McKay estate in Harlem's upper echelon Striver's Row neighborhood upon the untimely suicide death of one of his twin sisters, Lilian. This is uncharacteristic of Lilian as her devotedly Christian and demure personality doesn't "jive" with this type of action. True to her greedy, selfish nature, the other twin, Gem, wastes no time exiting New York for the safety of Europe immediately after Lilian's death. Or so it seems to the untrained eye. David's return to Striver's Row from Philadelphia to attend Lilian's funeral is only the last straw in his façade of being the ideal upstanding black male of the Renaissance era. Two chapters into the novel, the reader is made aware of the fact that even he isn't what he appears to be. As I read further and began to get lost deeper and deeper in the dynamic characters of this work of fiction, I found myself propelled to figure out what caused the sudden change in Lilian's attitude during the last few months of her life and why did her husband treat her so unkindly in private? One common element that seemed to run like a current through all of the characters was the flaw of secrecy. From Lilian's mysteriously dark and charismatic husband, Jameson Sweet, to the maid, Annie, and even on down to the people of "less consequence," like Rachel, who lived in squalor less than a block away from the McKay's massive house, keeping secrets from one another throughout the course of many years has taken its toll on the close circle of family and friends. Will David be able to get to root of all of these lies by omission in order to give his conscience a rest? A tale of what he is sure is murder leads David on a trail to the truth. If you're a reader looking for a true novel, with excellent character development, complete with a Renaissance mystery twist, this book will be a perfect addition to your personal library. Kudos to Walker for creating a story that vibrates with the jazz, issues of intra-racism, and black artistic development in all arenas during this explosive time period in American history. Anna R.E.A.L. Reviewers
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Summary: Great read!
Review: This book has it all--history lessons and atmosphere about a fascinating period; compelling characters with all kinds of complexes; suspense, lies, double-crosses, murder...what else could a reader possibly want? I got totally caught up in it, and was dying to find out the secrets and see the resolution. I'm just waiting for her next offering. Sister Walker is GOOD!
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