My list of favorite novelists begins with John Irving, drops down to Pete Dexter and Elmore Leonard, and drops one more notch to Michael Connelly and Dan Brown. Now there’s a new contender: Stephen Carter.

Carter’s previous three novels dwelled on the problem of racism in America and focused on the black intelligentsia; they were well-crafted, multi-dimensional and very ethereal characters. Carter, an African-American, demonstrated clearly that racism is not, if you’ll pardon the pun, just black and white.

His latest, Jericho’s Fall, is a huge departure. It has no racial overtones; in fact, the only African-American character is assassin/librarian Maxine Kelly, whose race seems to be an afterthought.

Jericho’s Fall is a spy thriller featuring former CIA director gone “rogue,” Jericho Ainsley. His paramour, Beck, who once had a student-professor affair with him, arrives at his Colorado home, Stone Heights, to stand vigil while he dies. Her relationship with his two grown daughters—both older than she—is complicated and difficult. When she discovers that one sister, an Episcopal nun, is a former colleague of Ainsley, the plot thickens.

While Jericho’s Fall is not as richly plotted as Carter’s previous novel, Palace Council, or his arresting debut, The Emperor of Ocean Park, it does keep the reader guessing until the last chapter. As shadowy forces converge on Stone Heights, Beck figures out the clues while defending Ainsley from all comers. Complicating matters are threats on Beck’s daughter, who is staying with her control-freak mother during this episode.

Carter fails to develop his characters as deeply as in previous books, but he clearly was going for a change of pace. He peoples this novel with characters that rarely need any justification for their actions other than their relationships with Ainsley himself.

So like Irving, whose novels are as different as night and day, Carter’s first effort outside his genre is satisfying and makes you wonder where he’s going next—the mark of a great novelist.

By Roger Gros

Roger Gros is publisher of Casino Connection and editor and publisher of Global Gaming Business magazine, the industry’s leading gaming trade publication. Prior to joining Global Gaming Business, Gros was president of Inlet Communications, an independent consulting firm. He was vice president of Casino Journal Publishing Group from 1984-2000, and held virtually every editorial title during his tenure. Gros was editor of Casino Journal, the National Gaming Summary and the Atlantic City Insider, and was the founding editor of Casino Player magazine. He was a co-founder of the American Gaming Summit and the Southern Gaming Summit conferences and trade shows. He is the author of the best-selling book, How to Win at Casino Gambling (Carlton Books, 1995), now in its third edition. Gros was named “Businessman of the Year” for 1998 by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce.