African American Crime Fiction

The most ruthless ride-or-die women of Memphis saved their empire by nearly destroying the streets. But as unexpected new rivals rise and brutal secrets shatter lives, betrayal means winner rules all. Putting out chaos with gasoline is one play that even the women of the Dirty South can't control. One merciless kill vaults good-girl-gone-bad Ta'Shara into gangland's power elite - but an enemy she doesn't see is targeting everything she can't afford to lose.

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran-and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

Hitta has had his fair share of ups and downs. However, now that Hitta’s time in prison has come to an end, he is ready to hit the streets, His mentor, Royalty Records’ CEO Richard Royal, aka Rolex Rich, has offered his protégé the opportunity of a lifetime. Together, they’re going to change the game. The only thing Rolex Rich wants in return is Hitta’s complete loyalty. Peso, Hitta’s right-hand man, is down for whatever, whenever, wherever! He’s an aspiring rapper who has an immense amount of talent. Peso is just waiting for the right time to make his move into the music ...

A Harlem Kingpin meets a Struggling, Single mother. Hood Love is in the air. Life in Harlem has never been easy for Kayla “Kiki” Hayes. Getting pregnant right as she was graduating high school didn't make things any easier. Life wouldn't be so bad if she had a loving man to come home to after working her minimum-wage job. Her baby daddy is a lot of things. But loving ain't one of them. For years, she’s felt neglected and unloved. She wants to be free. More than anything she wants to be the caring, loving mother that she never had. Just when she thinks she can't take anymore, a ...

Carlton “Big-Carl” Watts made his name in the streets by robbing and terrorizing drug dealers in order to provide for his family. That is, until he was murdered by a close friend. Leaving his wife to raise their two sons, ‘Champ and Mook’, alone in a poverty-stricken environment where only the strong survive. After their father's untimely demise, brothers, Champ and Mook, find themselves knee-deep in street life at very young ages. Burdened with the pressures of providing for their family as well as living up to the ruthless legacy their father left behind, they decide to dive head-...

They were just kids when Claudette McPhearson took them all in. Eight of them all together. All different races and ethnic makeups, but she loved them as her own. One woman taught them how to love, trust, and respect one another. She was the only glue that kept them together, the only one they wanted to please and never let down. She had been their light at the end of a long troublesome tunnel - it shined so bright. Then, one dreadful day, it all came to a crashing halt.

No matter how tough the odds, Ricky, Derrick, and Jamal learned to unite and fight during their time at the Branch Avenue Boys' Youth Institute. But their adult lives have driven them apart - and set off a series of events their friendship may not survive. All Jamal's political achievements can't erase his bargain with DC's corrupt mayor. And when he finds himself the latest target on Mayor Johnson's hit list, he'll risk everything to end the mayor's deadly reign - even if it's the last move he ever makes.

Meet the Banks sisters - Simone, Bunny, Tallhya, and Ginger. The four beauties are living under the same roof by force, but they can't stand each other. Their only common denominator is their loving grandmother, Me-Ma. When she's not at work trying to make ends meet, she's home with her girls, trying to keep them from killing each other.

Snatch and Demon are small-time hustlers with kingpin dreams. Snatch’s dad was big-time before the Rico Act got him a life sentence, and now Snatch wants to follow in his pop's footsteps minus the prison sentence. With his partner, DEMON, ten toes down with him, Snatch is primed to reach his hood dreams, but a major beef threatens to disrupt his goals. Just as things seem headed downward, Snatch gets plugged in with a major supplier, but could this be a gift and a curse? On the road to riches Snatch and Demon recruit their homegirl, Action, whose prowess for whipping dope is unmatched. ...

Nobody ever gave Jamil Rock anything - much less hope. To survive a rough home life and one bad break after another, he became his hood's most successful drug dealer. With loyal friends at his back, Jamil coolly takes care of business and never thinks too far ahead - until Gia Ellis walks into his life. Suddenly, ruling the streets is nothing compared to the instant heat, and alluringly innocent aura, Jamil can't resist....

Award-winning author William Kent Krueger has gained an immense fan base for his Cork O’Connor series. In Ordinary Grace, Krueger looks back to 1961 to tell the story of Frank Drum, a boy on the cusp of manhood. A typical 13-year-old with a strong, loving family, Frank is devastated when a tragedy forces him to face the unthinkable - and to take on a maturity beyond his years.

The fast-paced, hood drama continues in Heart of a Thug 2. The walls are closing in on Markell. He doesn't know who to trust. Or which direction to turn. But he's certain about one thing: He's got to make things right for Kayla and her baby girl. Assistant District Attorney Amber Barton will do everything in her power to bring down Markell, even if it means breaking the law. Kayla and her daughter are innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of a battle that has nothing to do with them. But it's too late. They're already in too deep. Assistant D.A. Barton threatens to take Kayla’s ...

A Harlem kingpin meets a struggling, single mother. Hood love is in the air. Harmony's demons have come back to haunt her. And they may cost her everything. If she loses her job at Shakerz, she’ll find herself out in the streets with her two children. She can't let that happen. She's going to try her best to explain to Drako what happened. But that might not be enough. He doesn't want to hear her stories. And doesn't care about her tears. He just wants her gone. Drako is feeling the pressure on all sides. And the heat is about to get turned up even more when he finds himself at the center...

Born into the laps of luxury, as the son of kingpin parents, Mackintosh ‘Young Mack’ Miller was destined to be crowned the next king of Houston’s underworld . . . until the unexpected happens and Young Mack is forced to come into his own at a very young age. Is he ready for the smoke? Sworn to the streets, Young Mack has to do what he does to survive while murder, treachery, and betrayal lurks around every corner of the game. Trials and tribulations riddle his life, but will Young Mack and his brooding team of Products of the Streets prevail or will the street’s grimy code of ...

There can be only one: one man with two loyal friends and secrets from the past that will ultimately shake up the entire hood in Chicago; one man on a mission to destroy anyone who doesn't abide by his rules, including tricky bitches who drop to their knees behind closed doors yet stand tall against him when the time comes to collect the almighty dollar; one man with enough swagger in his walk and confidence in his talk and the skills and mindset to build an empire.

In the business of high-end, no-limits desire, Desdemona Dean is the best there is. She fiercely protects the women who work for her and helps them attain the lives they deserve - especially when it comes to her beautiful, troubled new protege, Portia. But for Desi, having it all is no longer enough. She wants everything her shattered childhood denied her. And as she pursues an education and a normal life, she's falling hard for her handsome tutor - and can't resist schooling him in ways that are turning into more than just passion.

Korey Taylor, a.k.a. "Killa Korey" and his ace, Hammer, were sentenced to serve two decades in federal prison, but after an unexpected change in the crack cocaine sentencing laws, Korey is released. Now he's on his way home to Charlotte, North Carolina. Like Hammer, Korey is a thug with a violent nature, nothing to joke around with in the cold streets. However, while serving his time, Korey took classes that he hoped would help him become someone other than a drug dealer. Armed with a new way of thinking and a deep desire to reconnect with his teenage daughter, Korey wants to wave goodbye to the game.

Kimera Davis finds comfort in dating married men. It's easier that way. Her needs are taken care of, and she doesn't have to give more of herself than she wants to. No messy feelings involved. But when the man she's seeing poses an unexpected question, Kimera quickly realizes she's not the only woman pulled in by his charm. Their new arrangement doesn't require much from Kimera, but she soon discovers someone else is pulling the strings. She's not looking for complications, yet she can't help feeling there's something devious at play.

In this suspenseful Southern tale, we are introduced to King, a Southern born and bred hustler who is determined to take the drug empire handed to him by his father into the legitimate world of the music industry. Little does he know that when the streets birth you, trying to leave can be deadly. King's life is looking good when he meets a beautiful, classy queen.

The fast-paced, hood drama continues in the Series Finale Markell is back in New York and he's got one thing on his mind. Hunt down Detective Powell. But it won't be easy. The disgraced cop has nothing to lose and he's determined to set the world on fire in his final days. Will Markell find him before it's too late? Kayla is more torn than ever. Should she stay? Or should she go? Time is running out for her to decide. She loves Markell and wants to build a family with him. But his lifestyle is just too dangerous. And she doesn't want to put her daughter through any more drama. Whatever she ...