Book picks similar to
Criminal Minded by Tracy Brown


urban-fiction
african-american
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street-lit

Confessions


Sasha Campbell - 2010
    . .For almost ten years, radio talk show host Nikki Truth has shared life's ups and downs with her husband Donovan while doling out in-your-face relationship advice to her listeners. But lately it seems the good times in her own relationship--including the sex--are few and far between. Then she meets widower Kenyon Monroe, whose sizzling touch is too tempting to resist. But not everyone is under Kenyon's spell. . .Nikki's best friend, Trinette Montgomery, can't deny Kenyon is hot, but she never trusts a man who seems too good to be true. And she should know. Married to a successful CFO who travelsa lot, Trinette likes to indulge in all of life's pleasures--including the fine men of St. Louis. But when her game goes too far, Trinette stands to lose everything. . . "These characters leap off the page and make you want to join in."--Lutishia Lovely, author of Heaven Forbid

Torn Between a Goon and a Gangsta


Jade Jones - 2012
    Despite their shared past, when they’re pitched against each other in their battle to win Nikki’s heart, they find themselves tragically torn apart. Meanwhile, with Nikki herself conflicted and unable to choose between the two men, the situation finally begins to come to a head and they find themselves on the run as greed, betrayal, and heart ache pull the three of them in different directions.Will Dre and Hassan be able to resolve their differences? And will Nikki finally make her choice?Or will it end in catastrophe?With over 100 five-star reviews, “Torn Between a Goon and a Gangsta” brings all the best of urban fiction in a rollicking ride full of drama, betrayal, and unexpected twists!

Mind Your Own Business


Lutishia Lovely - 2011
    . .Life is good for the Livingstons. Business is booming, Taste of Soul is launching a West Coast division, and Bianca Livingston and her brother, Jefferson, are vying to head it up--which means their long simmering rivalry is about to boil over. . . Having completed a culinary course in Paris--along with a hot love affair--Bianca feels more than ready to take the reins in L.A. Her parents' insistence that she marry a man of their choosing only fuels her ambition. Jefferson is hoping the position will free him to be with the secret L.A. love his family would never approve of. But the two soon realize that between their meddling cousin, Toussaint, and the return of an enemy bent on crushing the Livingston empire, they aren't the only ones in this competition. And when company money mysteriously starts disappearing, they'll find it's hard to run a business when no one can mind their own. . . "Lovely once again expertly illuminates the wacky world of the devout and devoutly devilish." --Publishers Weekly on Reverend Feelgood"Vibrant characters, artful storytelling, and an original voice make Lutishia Lovely worth every moment." --Donna Hill"A great new taste in the literary world." --Carl Weber

Crackhead


Lisa Lennox - 2005
    In the late `80s and early `90s, the crack epidemic swept through inner city communities like the plague. Mothers abandoned their children and took to the street for a hit. Fathers sold everything they owned to get a taste. The crackhead was rampant. Some neighborhoods were never the same. Enter Laci Johnson, a privileged, smart, beautiful teenage girl from across town, who teams up with The South Bronx Bitches - an infamous girl group known for chasing men and money. When the SBB becomes envious of Laci they devise a plan to destroy her life. Finding love in the most unexpected of places, Laci turns to a local drug dealer to help save her and heal the wounds of her new addiction.

Gangsta


K'wan - 2002
    of the Crip organization - did dirt. After dancing on the razor's edge, he becomes weary of the street life that consumed him during his years of service to his set. He begins to wonder, 'Is there a better way to make a living?'? Lou-Loc and his sociopath counterpart, Gutter, leave L.A for the colorful streets of New York. Lou-Loc has dreams of becoming a writer. Gutter has dreams of becoming a King Pin.

Life


Leo Sullivan - 2002
    All her life, Hope has dreamed of becoming a lawyer and one day helping her people out of ghetto oppression. By some uncanny fate, Hope meets the handsome thug, Life, in the midst of his desperate attempts to elude a massive police manhunt. Their brief encounter leads to a liaison of lust and passion, but with vast differences they soon part ways. Years later, Hope and Life meet again on opposite sides of a courtroom. Life, one of the biggest drug kingpins in the United States, is on trial for his life. On the other side of the courtroom is Assistant US District Attorney Hope Evans, who is holding a deep, dark secret. The infamous kingpin, Life, is the father of her child. Life is the ultimate tale of murder, sex, drugs and betrayal.

Sweet Georgia Brown


Cheryl Robinson - 2008
     After eleven years of marriage, Georgia Brown is fed up with her husband, Marvin, a popular radio personality. It's not just because she suspects he's having an affair, or because she's suddenly expected to raise his thirteen-year-old daughter, Chloe-whom she never even knew existed. It's because of the comments he makes about her weight, their marriage, and their sex life...on national radio! Now, to save their marriage, Marvin invites Georgia to the station for an on-air rebuttal, having no idea it will launch her career. Or that what began as a battle at home will now be a blistering war for all to hear....

A Dollar Outta Fifteen Cent


Caroline McGill - 2004
    Can this exotic dancer turn a customer into the love of her life?

Do You Take This Woman?


R.M. Johnson - 2006
    After Pete's mother abandoned him, Wayne's family took him in and treated him as their own son. Through adolescence, college, medical school, and in their shared orthopedics practice, Pete and Wayne have lived their entire lives as best friends -- as brothers. And as brothers, they have always been rivals when it came to women.The fateful night when Carla walks into the bar where Pete and Wayne are having drinks brings Wayne his customary, more fortunate, luck with the ladies. Even though Pete spotted her first, it is Wayne who seals the deal, and soon enough, Wayne and Carla are engaged. But Wayne's need for one last conquest tempts him into bed with another woman, and the ensuing guilt leads him to confide in his best friend -- a mistake that will haunt the three of them forever.Jealous of his friend's relationship, Pete tells Carla of Wayne's infidelity and provides more than just a friendly shoulder to cry on. As a result, Carla leaves Wayne and further breaks his heart by accepting Pete's marriage proposal only one year later.Just when old friends seem to be finally settling down with their choices, old feelings surreptitiously sneak to the surface, and a rift between husband and wife leads Pete astray and drives Carla into the most familiar arms she can find. In the ensuing days, tensions erupt, and relationships, already tenuous, begin to break down. Finally, guilt, lust, and redemption come together in a heartbreaking and tragic love triangle, and Pete, Wayne, and Carla are forced to face the consequences of decisions that may end up being their last."Do You Take This Woman?" is a sexy blend of friendship and romance that will take you on a startlingly real and emotional roller-coaster ride of betrayal, sex, lies, and, ultimately, love.

A Hustler's Promise 2


Jackie Chanel - 2012
    The price they have to pay for the decisions they made as kids is steep. But the pair are ready to face whatever the streets bring them..as long as they have each other.

The Flint Saga


Treasure Hernandez - 2011
    A place where the good die young, loyalty is a rarity, and everybody has a hustle. Malek Johnson's hustle is the basketball court, and he's the best Flint's projects has ever produced. He's on his way to the University of Michigan, but not for long because all the NBA scouts say he's destined for the pros after a year or two of seasoning. He finds love in the super fine girl everyone calls Halleigh, and he promises her that he will take her out of the hood. When Halleigh's virginity is traded in exchange for her mother's drug tab, their dream spirals out of control and they are quickly separated and sucked into the life that they have so desperately tried to avoid. Now that every installment of the series has been released, The Flint Saga combines all the parts of this street love story into one book.

Full Figured


Brenda Hampton - 2010
    She's taken to her bed, watching life pass her by--until Roc, a 24-year-old with a jaw-dropping body comes along. Desa Rae can't keep her eyes open or legs closed to a man who excites her like no other man has. But can she really be serious about a man who is almost the same age as her son?Avery Belmont is a diva in her own right. Smart, sassy, and successful, she has always had it going on; so much so that not only did the full-figured beauty catch the eye of Duke, the sexiest dude on the block, but she encouraged him to leave the dope game and become legit. Now, seven years later, Avery is working hard and trying to move ahead, but it seems that Duke isn't feeling the same way. Working with Kurt, her attractive coworker, isn't helping her situation. Is the love between Avery and Duke strong enough to keep them together, or will the strength of that love make them realize it's time to let go?

That East Side Love 2


Lucinda John - 2015
    Diamond finds herself having to make the hardest decision ever. With the possibility of her child belonging to Bobby, a guy she loved her whole life or Zoe a thug that came into her life and showed her the true meaning love, she's confused on who to choose. When a new guy enter her life, she thinks she has it all figured out, that is until Bobby and Zoe starts a war for her love. Everything isn't what it seem, is what Diamond finally realizes, but is it already too late? When she finally decides who to give her heart to someone from the past comes in and interferes. Diamond finds herself in yet another deadly situation, but will she make it out alive?

Matters of the Heart


Danielle Steel - 2008
    . . .  Top photographer Hope Dunne has known joy and heartbreak, and finds serenity through the lens of her camera. Content in her SoHo loft, she isn’t looking for a man or excitement. But these things find her when she flies to London to photograph one of the world’s most celebrated writers.Finn O’Neill exudes warmth and a boyish charm. Enormously successful, he is a perfect counterpoint to Hope’s quiet, steady grace—and he’s taken instantly by her. He courts her as no one ever has before, whisking her away to his palatial, isolated Irish estate.Hope finds it all, and him, irresistible. But soon cracks begin to appear in his stories: Gaps in his history, a few innocent lies, and bouts of jealousy unnerve her. Suddenly Hope is both in love and deeply in doubt, and ultimately frightened of the man she loves. Is it possible that this adoring man is hiding something even worse? The spell cast by a brilliant sociopath has her trapped in his web, too confused and dazzled to escape, as he continues to tighten his grip on her. Danielle Steel delivers an unforgettable tale of danger and obsessive love, as she explores the dark secrets that sometimes lurk just below the surface of ordinary lives, writing about men and women and their courage to prevail even in the face of evil.

Bawss


David Weaver - 2012
    But when the slave-masters sought to get more production out of their plantations, they decided that they needed to kidnap a stronger group of slaves. When they kidnap the Bawss tribe, however; they realized that their bloodline was too dominant and too powerful.Can the slave-masters ever recover from the likes of the greatest and strongest bloodline that they have ever been introduced to? Or will America be forced to witness power on the grandest of all levels?