African American Suspense

On Christmas Eve, 1951 in New Orleans, fifteen-year-old Johnnie Wise is sold into prostitution by her domineering mother, and her dreams of being an Evangelist or nightclub singer like Billie Holiday vanish like the notes of an old song. In her new life, surrounded by powerful men with even more powerful secrets, Johnnie finds that she can use romance with the men that pay to sleep with her to her advantage, and the teenage girl finds herself thrown into a world of wealth, bribery, and cold-blooded gangsters. But, the underbelly of New Orleans in the fifties isn’t without its dangers.

Essence® best-selling authors Kiki Swinson and De’nesha Diamond are two rising stars in the world of urban fiction. Heist presents two novellas starring young women hustling their way to the top of the game through daring robbery schemes. In Swinson’s The Ultimate Heist, pampered Shannon Marshall is accustomed to a big-money lifestyle. Her world is shattered, however, when her man is thrown into prison for gun running.

What happens when everything around you seems perfect - your family, your health, your social status, your overall life - but all of a sudden something threatens to tear it all apart and rob you of what you've always known? This type of thing happens to many people, every day, from all walks of life. Some are able to get over it and go on with their lives. But others are not so fortunate. They find themselves stuck in their own meltdown of loss, hurt, and pain. Such is the situation in Marita L. Kinney's latest novel.

Yoshi Lomax loves playing dirty. She'll do whatever it takes to win a case - including bribing cops, sleeping with her superiors, and convincing her DEA pals to make evidence disappear. But when Yoshi runs out of tricks while defending a Haitian mob boss, the gangster makes one thing clear: Yoshi either wins the case or loses her life.

SOME BONDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN. The first MM gay companion novel to the Sleeping Lotus series! Kennir was once a first-rate assassin, but sometimes even experts get caught. Now he's bound by magic to serve the people he failed to kill, and he has no hope of ever taking revenge. But while Kennir was married--and with a daughter to boot--Ichigo used to be a fiery playboy. But at the end of the war between his country and Kennir's, something happened, and he's not the same. They're two people who never should have met, two players in different games. But when a criminal organization ...

Uninvited Guest Nia thought this weekend getaway with friends was the perfect escape—until a violent storm traps them at a remote cabin. As tension rises, so does Nia's unease. She's been keeping secrets, and now she fears one of them has followed her. Someone is lurking in the shadows, watching their every move. What was supposed to be a fun, relaxing trip quickly turns into a fight for survival. "Uninvited Guest" is a fast-paced thriller filled with hidden truths, dangerous obsessions, and the terrifying realization that some pasts never stay buried.

Valentine Miller’s heart doesn’t live up to her name. She was burned by love and has made a career out of destroying others’ relationships. She is a media queen (known as the Queen of Mean) that hosts a show that exposes cheaters to their significant others. She has made a lot of enemies, and now, one of them wants her dead. In steps Arkell (Ark) Watson, a former savage turned legit. After watching the woman that he loved die because of his profession, he decides to run a security service that becomes one of the best in the country. After a run in with Valentine and subsequently ...

Comprising two distinct short novels - Monroe's Nightmare in Paradise and Bad Luck Shadow from critically acclaimed Victor McGlothin - Borrow Trouble is a hot double-feature that perfectly showcases each author's unique style.

It's scorched-earth, all-or-nothing war for Memphis' most merciless ride-or-die women, and even their survival skills are no guarantee. And once alliances splinter and explosive revelations rip apart their empire, one diva's revenge will become the ultimate deadly reign.

Enzo and Angel are back and this time with a vengeance. Micah was hell-bent on forcing their hands and pushing them back into the lifestyle they'd left behind after Damien Orlando's demise. With time ticking away along with Enzo's desire to keep his career and family intact, he will become the monster Micah accused him of being. Enzo will embrace the darkness that flows freely through his veins and make Micah rue the day he awakened the sleeping giant.

The untimely death of St. Louis kingpin King David has left a vacuum in the underworld. He leaves behind his vast empire to his surviving heirs, David Jr. and Davita. Born barely one year apart, they were raised in very different worlds. Will the family ties that bind keep the families together, or will sex, greed, drugs, and their mothers' divisive ways tear it all to hell, bringing St. Louis down with them? David Jr. and Davita have decisions to make!

Shannon Mitchell gambled that betraying her husband's biggest heist ever was her way out of the game for good. Losing that bet put her in lockdown - and at the top of Todd Mitchell's revenge-fueled hit list. Now she'll work every seductive move and lethal play to survive. 'Cause when it comes to wreaking her own vengeance, this devious beauty isn't taking any prisoners....

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.

At the height of the Bloods gang epidemic of the 1990’s plaguing New York City, Spade meets Sue Blue, a female Crip from the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Forging a tight bond, the two eventually create an epidemic of their own, adding to the city’s already existing gang problem. As Sue Blue completes a short stint in the city’s notorious juvenile lockup, Spofford, Spade becomes a dominant force in his neighborhood, a leading figure. However, he never forgets his friend, Sue Blue, and, outside of her presence, places her at the top tier of a gang he organizes in Brooklyn, giving ...

Meet the gang; Wynn, Daena, Kaiman, and Teion. They’ve been thick as thieves since the third grade and blood couldn’t make them closer. While time seemed to sail by, friendship turned into love, and lust morphed into infatuation. Unbeknownst to the gang, the sins of their parent’s past have created a prowler that’s willing to do anything he can to obtain his heart’s desires; including kill. On the night deemed as a rite of passage for teenagers, tragedy is struck. Leaving everyone wheeling, friendships torn, and lovers scorned. Buckle up, because this two part series is about to ...

In the heart of the South, a timeless adage holds true: Southern charm is hard to beat. Meet E’Shanti, a stunning belle, a good girl at heart, and her best friend Ramona, as they embark on a spring break adventure from Alabama’s rustic landscapes to the wet city of Miami. The duo’s plan is to let loose and party, but little do they know that their trip will be filled with unexpected thrills. What starts off as a simple mishap – a spilled drink from E’Shanti’s hand – spirals into a three-day rendezvous, with the sexy, local savage Zek. He’s older, street savvy, mysterious, ...

Ricky Rice is a middling hustler with a lingering junk habit, a bum knee, and a haunted mind. A survivor of a suicide cult, he scrapes by as a porter at a bus depot in Utica, New York, until one day a mysterious letter arrives, summoning him to enlist in a band of paranormal investigators comprised of former addicts and petty criminals, all of whom had at some point in their wasted lives heard what may have been the voice of God.

Bobbi, Symone and Gia Banner are sisters. They were born to parents with addiction. Bobbi, the oldest is 13. When her parents abandon the girls in squalor as they go out on a drug binge, Bobbi is left with the task of not only providing for her sisters but maintaining the survival of all three. Fearful of being taken into the custody of the state or losing their lives on the mean streets of the west-side of Chicago, Bobbi does everything that she can to keep her family intact. With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Bobbi finds a way to reunite with her sisters after the state ...

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.

Dontay Walker had it rough growing up in the projects with a drug-addicted mother who forced him to become a man at the young age of 15. His father was a rolling stone, having multiple children with many women. Dontay always fought for his father's attention - until taking his spot became more important than gaining his love. Now, at the age of 30, Don is the leader of one of the most successful and most feared drug organizations in the city of Philadelphia.