August Snow


Stephen Mack Jones - 2017
    The son of an African American father and a Mexican mother, August grew up in Detroit's Mexicantown and joined the Detroit police only to be drummed out of the force by a conspiracy of corrupt cops and politicians. But August fought back; he took on the city and got himself a $12 million wrongful dismissal settlement that left him low on friends. He has just returned to the house he grew up in after a year away and quickly learns he has many scores to settle. It's not long before he's summoned to the palatial Grosse Pointe Estates home of business magnate Eleanore Paget. Powerful and manipulative, Paget wants August to investigate the increasingly unusual happenings at her private wealth management bank. But detective work is no longer August's beat, and he declines. A day later, Paget is dead of an apparent suicide which August isn't buying for a minute.What begins as an inquiry into Eleanore Paget's death soon drags August into a rat's nest of Detroit's most dangerous criminals, from corporate embezzlers to tattooed mercenaries. From the wealthy suburbs to the near-post-apocalyptic remains of the bankrupt city's factory districts, August Snow is a fast-paced tale of murder, greed, sex, economic cyber-terrorism, race and urban decay in modern Detroit.

The Prisoner: How One Woman's Jail Term Was The Making Of Her


Kerry Tucker - 2018
    When her offence was discovered it was reported to be the biggest white-collar crime committed by a female in Victoria, and she was sentenced to seven years in a maximum-security prison, alongside the state's most notorious criminals. Being incarcerated with drug dealers and murderers, however, was not nearly as daunting as having to tell her two young daughters why she was leaving them. The shame was almost unbearable. As Kerry adjusted to life behind bars, she began to see her fellow inmates as more than simply 'murderers' and 'drug dealers' - they became real people with names and broken dreams. And as they opened up to her, she realised that many of these women had violent home lives and were not getting parole simply because they couldn't fill out the paperwork. Horrified, Kerry set about using her skills to represent them. She also began to study. Today, Kerry has a PhD, advocates for women prisoners, and has been reunited with her daughters. In her inspiring memoir, filled with fascinating stories of life behind bars and shot through with wry humour, she reveals how one woman's darkest hour can become a turning point in her life. And how, just perhaps, it can even be the making of her.

Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler


Ethan Brown - 2005
    Now, for the first time ever, this gripping narrative digs beneath the hip-hop fables to re-create the rise and fall of hustlers like Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols, Gerald “Prince” Miller, Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, and Thomas “Tony Montana” Mickens. Spanning twenty-five years, from the violence of the crack era to Run DMC to the infamous murder of NYPD rookie Edward Byrne to Tupac Shakur to 50 Cent’s battles against Ja Rule and Murder Inc., to the killing of Jam Master Jay, Queens Reigns Supreme is the first inside look at the infamous southeast Queens crews and their connections to gangster culture in hip hop today.

The Queen of Harlem: A Novel


Brian Keith Jackson - 2002
    Before embarking on the path to his golden future, however, he takes a detour through Harlem, where he intends to live "authentically" with "real black people."Mason takes the name "Malik" and moves into the orbit of the ever—fabulous Carmen, uptown diva and doyenne of Harlem. Carmen, always ready to have a handsome young man at her fabulous soirees and to add to her devoted entourage, happily takes him under her wing. Fueled by his parents' money and dodging the people who remember him as Mason Randolph, "Malik" masquerades as a "ghettonian," exploring the wonders and pleasures of a Harlem in the midst of a second Renaissance. But his odyssey takes a different turn when he meets Kyra, whose world mirrors the one he has abandoned. As he contemplates the choices Kyra has made, and begins to reexamine his own presumptions about identity and authenticity, Mason realizes that everyone has something to hide and that to get what we want, we have to be willing to let go of our secrets.People compared Brian Keith Jackson's remarkable first novel, The View from Here, to the works of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, and Publishers Weekly called it "an extraordinary debut...[by] a formidable craftsman and exceptionally gifted storyteller." A novel rich in humor and insight, The Queen of Harlem will earn Jackson a much—deserved place in the center of today’s literary landscape.From the Hardcover edition.

Buck: A Memoir


M.K. Asante - 2013
      MK Asante was born in Zimbabwe to American parents: a mother who led the new nation’s dance company and a father who would soon become a revered pioneer in black studies. But things fell apart, and a decade later MK was in America, a teenager lost in a fog of drugs, sex, and violence on the streets of North Philadelphia. Now he was alone—his mother in a mental hospital, his father gone, his older brother locked up in a prison on the other side of the country—and forced to find his own way to survive physically, mentally, and spiritually, by any means necessary. Buck is a powerful memoir of how a precocious kid educated himself through the most unconventional teachers—outlaws and eccentrics, rappers and mystic strangers, ghetto philosophers and strippers, and, eventually, an alternative school that transformed his life with a single blank sheet of paper. It’s a one-of-a-kind story about finding your purpose in life, and an inspiring tribute to the power of education, art, and love to heal and redeem us.

Compass Box Killer


Piyush Jha - 2013
    One muggy afternoon, a senior police officer is found murdered at his desk. When Inspector Virkar from the Crime Branch arrives at the scene, he finds a cryptic note that spills out of a student’s compass box. Then begins a series of killings and in each, a telltale compass box reveals more clues.Accompanied by the attractive, ambitious TV reporter, Raashi Hunerwal, Virkar has to race against time to catch the Compass Box Killer before the bodies pile up. As the investigation shuttles from Mumbai to Khandala to Belgaum, Virkar is taken deep into a labyrinth of backroom deals that lead to shocking revelations about the ruthless killer’s motives.Slick plot twists and high-adrenaline action mark the first of the Inspector Virkar Crime Thrillers—part of the Mumbaistan series. Tough, daring and relentless in his pursuit of justice, Inspector Virkar is a policeman one wishes every city had.

The Rootitoot Cookbook: A Grandma's Recipes For Your Instant Pot


Ruth McCusker - 2019
    See your family smile at your dependable, consistent results. Feel more confident and adventurous with your Instant Pot. Ruth “Rootitoot” McCusker has converted her treasured family recipes into Instant Pot masterpieces. This book is like having a loving grandmother at your side in the kitchen. Her step-by-step instructions, gentle humour and mouth-watering recipes will have you cooking with confidence in no time. Welcome Rootitoot into your kitchen and cook like a grandma in your Instant Pot.

Married to the Assassin Boss


Coco Shawnde - 2020
    

Red & Ricko Box Set: Complete Series


J. Dominique - 2019
    In fact, that was the last thing she wanted. However, a chance encounter with Jericko Cook, A.K.A. Ricko, might just change her mind. Then again, it might prove why she’s steered clear of bad boys in the first place. Between shoot outs, other women vying for his attention and a long list of deceptive characters lurking, Arianna might not be able to handle being a dope boy’s woman, or she could find out there’s a lot more thug in her than she thought. Ricko was living life and enjoying the fruits of his labor. As the man in charge, cars, money, hoes and clothes weren’t just a saying to him; it was his everyday reality. He didn’t realize that real love was the only thing he had been lacking, but it could be just what he needed. Mia had it easy. She got all the perks of a relationship except a title. Getting Ricko to commit to her was proving harder than she thought. When he pushes her to the side for what she thought was just the new flavor of the week, she realizes that Arianna isn’t going anywhere. But, Mia will stop at nothing to get what she wants, even if that means making sure no one else can have him. Sophia is Arianna’s best friend, and she is always down to ride. She’s no stranger to the street life like her friend, so when she gets the chance to get with a certified thug in Ricko’s brother, Jabari Cook, she jumps at the chance to be the Bonnie to his Clyde. Will she be prepared for the ride this young thug has in store for her, or will she have to give up? Jabari Cook is looking to get to the money, everything else is irrelevant. He is on a mission to take what he believes is rightfully his and will stop at nothing to claim his throne. Jabari will remove whoever or whatever is in the way of his money; family or not. Sophia wants to be his ride or die, but will she be used as a pawn to get him where he wants to be, or will he finally meet his match? Come take this ride through the streets of Chicago with these two brothers as they build their empire while juggling deception and love.

Dope Boys: Anything for the Throne


Aubreé Pynn - 2020
    Markus Grant lives by that phrase. He's consumed with holding his position in the streets and keeping his crew tight. But his heart yearns for someone to share his life with. However, there are new threats on the horizon and he can't afford to have his attention elsewhere. Not until a beautiful woman on the run, stumbles across his path. Reign is the epitome of pure love draped in fear and bruises. Her past life is in the rearview, and her future is in her grasp. For her and Markus, love happens without their permission. The euphoria of their bliss lessens the stress of what they're battling outside of the bubble they’ve created for themselves. With Reign by his side and being his peace, the need to protect everything becomes greater. Threats are now promised, and the crown on his head comes with a hefty price. Streetlife is all Markus knows. To preserve his life and the life of his family will he step down and leave the throne of New York up for grabs? Or will he fight ‘til the death? Find out in Dope Boys: Anything for the Crown *This is a re-release*

City On Fire: Five LAPD Thrillers


Dallas Barnes - 2020
    He silently hopes his life choices aren’t a reflection of what he sees wrong in others.Detective Bobbi Marshal is an attractive woman whose beauty turns heads. Ironically, she and her partner comprise the LAPD Wilshire Division sex team. Bobbi, mature, sophisticated, capable and compassionate, finds herself working and competing in a man’s world.Detective Sergeant Stryker and Detective West are a “Salt & Pepper” team, one white, one Black. Besides race, there’s one crucial difference between the men…at End of Watch, Stryker drives out of the ghetto into a White community where he lives. West has a much shorter drive, his home is in the ghetto.Now, it’s just a matter of time and cunning …and who makes the first fatal mistake. City on Fire includes: City of Passion, Badge of Honor, Deadly Justice, See the Woman and Yesterday Is Dead.

Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era


Jerry Mitchell - 2020
    The killings would become known as the “Mississippi Burning” case and even though the killers’ identities, including the sheriff’s deputy, were an open secret, no one was charged with murder in the months and years that followed. It took forty-one years before the mastermind was brought to trial and finally convicted for the three innocent lives he took. If there is one man who helped pave the way for justice, it is investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell. In Race Against Time, Mitchell takes readers on the twisting, pulse-racing road that led to the reopening of four of the most infamous killings from the days of the civil rights movement, decades after the fact. His work played a central role in bringing killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham and the Mississippi Burning case. His efforts have put four leading Klansmen behind bars, years after they thought they had gotten away with murder.

Shattered: Reclaiming a Life Torn Apart by Violence


Debra Puglisi Sharp - 2003
    Nino, her husband of twenty-five years, got in the way and was shot. The man then attacked and raped Debra, placed her in the trunk of his car, and drove away. Kept hog-tied in her abductor's house, Debra finally learned of her husband's murder from a newscast on a radio that the man blared to muffle her screams while he was out. After five excruciating days, Debra's mounting rage at her captor -- and the wrenching thought of her children burying their father alone -- gave her the courage and strength she desperately needed. She loosened her ties, groped her way to the phone...and dialed 911. Shattered is an indelible portrait of hope, determination, and the agonizing journey back to life. Struggling to heal from her horrendous ordeal and the devastating loss of her husband, Debra also had to endure an agonizing court trial, the raw grief of her children, and her own crippling fear. But through her work in hospice care and as an advocate for victims of violence and trauma, she has slowly discovered the measure of her own strength. A compelling survival story -- tragic and ultimately heroic -- Shattered represents one woman's attempts to make sense of a senseless crime.

I Make My Own Rules


L.L. Cool J. - 1997
    I'm an innovator." "Keeping it real ain't about carrying a gun or smoking blunts. It's about being true to yourself and those around you." "Not every child who's abused has to be a negative statistic. I write this book for anyone who thinks they can make it, to show them they can."LL Cool J.Read his story.Learn from his words.Make your own rules.

The Monk: The Life and Crimes of Ireland's Most Enigmatic Gang Boss


Paul Williams - 2020