Book picks similar to
What's Done In The Dark by Gloria Mallette
hardcover
african-american-fiction
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Getting to the Good Part
Lolita Files - 1999
Misty's work life is thriving & she has found Mr. Right at last. Although Reesy's trying to be happy for her friend, she is troubled by this intrusion into the one friendship that has always come first for both women. Nonetheless, Reesy's dreams of a dance career have become reality & she is also seeing a man who might be a keeper. Unfortunately, her self-destructive tendencies threaten to destroy her, until true love & friendship save the day.
Delilah
Shelia M. Goss - 2011
He's beloved by his congregation, but temptation is about to strike in the form of divalicious beauty Delilah, and only the Good Lord knows if Samson will be able to keep his head on straight with her. Especially considering he's about to be married to Julia Rivers. Julia helped shape Samson into the man he is, but Delilah wants to knock him down. He doesn't know she's been hired to distract him by real estate developer William Trusts, who wants to acquire the land where Samson's church stands. . .. Samson feels like his relationship with God puts him above it all, but his weakness for Delilah may just cause him to lose everything.
Flaws and All
Shana Burton - 2010
Will they have the strength to hold on to their friendships and put their trust in God?
Bruised - PT 1
Azárel - 2005
She is a nice girl with an attraction to the wrong types of men. No one seems to understand why she would get involved with a notorious criminal. After settling into a dangerous relationship with Devon, her life takes a drastic change for the worse. Caught between his material gifts and controlling behavior she searches for a way out. The battle to save Carlie from Devon's grip puts the lives of many people in jeopardy. By the time she realizes that force is needed when going up against Devon, it is too late. Carlie's fight to stay alive will keep you on edge. Will she give in? Or die trying?
Colored Sugar Water: A Spiritual Tale
Venise T. Berry - 2002
Lucy is thirty-five, single, and in great shape thanks to her career as a fitness manager for a string of Texas health clubs. Adel is the vice president for human resources at American Oil, pulling in a six-figure salary and annual bonuses. Unfortunately, neither is happy.Lucy struggles with her emotional and spiritual dreams. Her boyfriend Spencer, a basic kind of guy who loves his mama, sports, fried chicken, and Lucy in that order doesn't seem to measure up. So she decides to get out of her rut with a Sexy Soul Psychic named Kuba. Self-assured and sensitive, Kuba seems to know exactly what women want. Or does he?Adel struggles with a husband, Thad, who refuses to grow up and a job that is less than satisfying despite its financial gains. She is eventually forced to reexamine her faith as she searches for a life that brings her closer to happiness and fulfillment.Filled with the humor, passion, and pathos of modern relationships, Colored Sugar Water tells the story of two women who discover the power of their unique spiritual gifts. It further establishes Venise Berry as one of the freshest, wittiest, and wisest writers on today's fiction scene -- as New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey wrote, "magnificient and honest, Venise Berry's writing comes from her soul."
Disappearing Acts
Terry McMillan - 1989
She was pretty and independent, petite and not too skinny, just his type. Franklin Swift was a sometimes-employed construction worker, and a not-quite-divorced daddy of two. Zora Banks was a teacher, singer, songwriter. They met in a Brooklyn brownstone, and there could be no walking away... In this funny, gritty urban love story, Franklin and Zora join the ranks of fiction's most compelling couples, as they move from Scrabble to sex, from layoffs to the limits of faith and trust. Disappearing Acts is about the mystery of desire and the burdens of the past. It's about respect, what it can and can't survive. And it's about the safe and secret places that only love can find. --
Sunday Brunch
Norma L. Jarrett - 1999
She seems to have it all together all the time until a seductive client topples her self-control. Then there’s Jermane, a devout Catholic who met her husband in law school and has never been with another man. But now her workaholic marriage is threatened by temptation.Angel, on the other hand, sees men merely as a means to sex. Her scorn for love of all kinds—godly or otherwise—is challenged by a serious health scare. Meanwhile, Jewel bases her dating choices on the size of a man’s bank account until she meets a new flame who causes her to reconsider her requirements. Finally, there’s Lexi, the link between the ladies, who provides sage advice while praying for Mr. Right. But what happens when depression hits hard? Through conversation and consolation, these dynamic characters provide one another with divine inspiration—encouraging readers to root for them along the way.
Dangerous Refuge
Elizabeth Lowell - 2013
He's a suspicious big city cop come home to the historic Davis family ranch to settle his uncle's estate. She's working for an environmental conservancy that acquires and protects old ranches-and she wants to preserve the Davis homestead.When the suspicious death of Tanner's uncle at his ranch throws the two opposites together, tempers flare and sparks fly. While they have trouble seeing eye to eye, Shaye and Tanner agree on one thing: they need to uncover the truth.Combining their unique skills-Shaye's low-key approach and local connections and Tanner's experience as a homicide detective-the unlikely pair share long nights in the pursuit of justice. Before they know it, the friction they generate turns to heat, igniting a burning love neither ever expected to find.They believe passion this intense cannot last. But when Shaye becomes a killer's target, Tanner realizes he'd give up anything to protect her-including his life.
Pipe Dream (Strivers Row)
Solomon Jones - 2001
Black drew hard, squinting as the smoke rushed into his lungs."Where do you want to start?"the lawyer said, lighting a cigarette of his own."I guess there’s only one place to start; at Broad and Erie."Johnny Podres, a politician whose record against corruption had been propelling him straight to the mayor’s office, is found murdered in a North Philly crack house.Enter Samuel Jackson, a.k.a. Black, a drug addict who knows better, a man embittered by the fact that he can’t seem to escape from his addiction to crack cocaine or, for that matter, from himself. Though he was once a family man with a wife and son, Black’s only concern these days is getting his next high, that is, until he stumbles across a friend and fellow addict, Leroy, and both become prime suspects in the Podres murder. Black and Leroy hook up with two female pipers: Clarisse, a registered nurse who is slowly losing to crack any semblance of a respectable life, and Pookie, who already has lost it. Soon the hunt is on for all four as they try to stay one step ahead of a police department under tremendous pressure to solve the case—because if a killer isn’t found soon, this could blow up into one of the biggest scandals in Philadelphia history. Solomon Jones weaves a suspenseful story against the backdrop of corruption in the Philadelphia police department and centers it on a group of drug addicts who, in the process of fleeing the law, come to terms with their own addiction, leading to some devastating consequences.
Hard Candy
Amaleka McCall - 2011
Rock's a reclusive hitman and "cleaner" who's been in service to Candy's father for years. He takes her in, and together they vow to avenge the murders. When she turns eighteen, her plans go into effect as she knocks off all her father's enemies, one by one, going up against some of the most dangerous killers in the game. But has she put her trust in the right hands? Or is she destined to face the same grisly fate as the rest of her family?
Groove
Geneva Holliday - 2005
This funny, sexy book has something for everyone!
Hush
Karen Robards - 2014
When Riley Cowan finds her estranged husband Jeff dead in his palatial home, she's sure it's no coincidence. The police rule it a suicide, but Riley thinks someone's out for blood—specifically someone Jeff's father ripped off in one of the biggest financial fraud cases of all time. She suspects that someone is trying to send a message to Jeff's father: Tell me where the money is, or everyone you care about will die. Riley's in-laws might be billionaires, but she's afraid that not even their dirty money can protect her from an irate investor who will stop at nothing to get his hands on his misappropriated cash. Enter Finn Bradley, Philly-based FBI agent and Riley's love interest from way back when. Finn agrees to help Riley, and the two reignite sparks they both thought were extinguished long ago. But can they discover the killer's identity in time, before he resurfaces—and strikes again? Dubbed an "exceptional storyteller" by the Chicago Tribune and "one of the most popular voices in women's fiction" by Newsweek, Karen Robards's latest action-packed novel will keep you glued to the pages until the final, shocking conclusion.
Friday Night at Honeybee's
Andrea Smith - 2003
In the early 1960s, nowhere but "The Big House" attracts so many renowned jazz and blues musicians—and no one but Miss Honeybee attracts talented lost souls like Forestine Bent and Viola Bembrey.The two singers come from separate worlds: one the Brooklyn projects, the other the Baptist, rural South. One has a God-given voice and the ambition to be a star, the other a more subtle gift and a handful of hazy fantasies. But both learn the destructive consequences of following their hearts. They find sanctuary together under Honeybee's tender guidance, struggling to find the balancing point where music doesn't overpower love. Including a passel of characters both wildly raunchy and remarkably dignified, Andrea Smith has woven an unforgettable tale overflowing with energy, heart, and humanity.
The Reason Why
Vickie M. Stringer - 2009
The hottest spot was Jazzy Jay's, and that's where one of the guys slipped his gun into her pocketbook, knowing that the police who had just descended on the club wouldn't check the girls for weapons. She didn't know his name or anything other than he was cute and charming. But when she tracked him down to return his property, she found out his name was Chino; his game was hustling; and his plan was to make her his woman, his wifey, and give her more than she ever bargained for out of life, love, and the pursuit of money.
Hunger
Erica Simone Turnipseed - 2006
His former identity as a successful investment banker and eligible bachelor has disappeared. A beleaguered graduate student, she's got no money, no man, and no Ph.D., yet. A year of predoctoral research in Haiti leaves Noire drained. And a trip home to Côte d'Ivoire offers Innocent little more than intermittent sexual gratification. In the aftermath of 9/11, Innocent and Noire are back in New York City and find solace in each other's bed. But even that arrangement collapses under the weight of Innocent's revelation that he has unfinished business in Africa. For Innocent and Noire, patching together their unraveling lives becomes an exercise in hope and humility. With Hunger, Turnipseed lives up to the promise of A Love Noire and has matured into a writer who fearlessly explores the intersection of sex, love, identity, and loss in a cross-cultural context.