African American Crime

Phox Bello is a fearless, headstrong, high-stepping bombshell of a boss who will do just about anything to secure her empire. The thought of having to collaborate or partner with anyone makes Phox itch with contempt. Hades Metellus is a man who reigns supreme. Everything he touches turns to gold or ash if he so desires. Hades controls everything from his mafia throne, and the power feeds his soul. The thought of having to share space at the top is a concept that he could never wrap his head around, but he better be prepared to get spun. What happens when the two bosses link up?

Best friends Sophie, Diamond, and Angel find themselves with their backs against the wall and owing an extremely dangerous man. Short on funds, limited options, and a severe debt hanging over their heads forces the trio to take "getting to the bag" to a new level. While dripping mad sex appeal laced with money schemes, these ruthless vixens hatch a bulletproof plan, and before long—Jack Girlz is born.

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.

Born to the game, the younger Santanas found themselves forced to fill their mothers’ shoes after the two sisters were indicted by the feds. Instead of sticking to the blueprints they inherited, they deviated far from the script. The money, power, and respect shot straight to their heads, and they used their status as a weapon. Now, their deadly display of violence and bloodshed has drawn heavy attention and heat to the family name.

Essence best-selling authors Kiki Swinson and Noire have attracted huge audiences for their sexy, anything-goes fiction. Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless features a novella from each author. Swinson’s electric “Shamelessly Rich” showcases a spoiled bad girl facing a life-changing choice. And in Noire’s “Puttin’ Shame in the Game,” three gorgeous ladies set their sights on a wealthy cop.

My world was built on lies and secrets, eating away at the good parts of me. When knowing too much incriminating information could get you killed, your only choices are to adapt or die. There are things about me others would never understand. Yet, one knowing look from her and I realize that my world just got more complicated. She could be my sanctuary in more ways than one. Or she might just be the siren leading me to my demise.

The story of Amy Biehl is well known in South Africa. The 26-year-old white American Fulbright scholar was brutally murdered on August 25, 1993, during the final, fiery days of apartheid by a mob of young black men in a township outside Cape Town. Her parents' forgiveness of two of her killers became a symbol of the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa. Justine van der Leun decided to introduce the story to an American audience. But as she delved into the case, the prevailing narrative started to unravel.

Augustus 'Gus' Martin is an embattled LAPD negotiator. Evelyn 'Lynn' Kennedy is the new Police Commissioner hired under curious circumstances. Thrust into an explosive terrorist crisis, they must trust one another to save the lives of over thirty hostages. But as the bodies drop, what they are faced with is a chess match against the most formidable criminal mind either has ever faced. What is really happening and why? Will any hostages survive?

Markita “Kita” Jones is a young woman with the world at her fingertips. A high school student with beauty and brains to match, she’s well on her way to Howard University. However, on her 18th birthday, she watches her dreams die during a drive-by shooting that claims the life of her brother. Overnight, Kita transforms from a naïve schoolgirl into a savvy street hustler on a mission to find her brother’s killer. With the help of her best friends, Kenya and Alexis, Kita quickly begins making more money and more enemies than she ever could’ve imagined.

TV investigative reporter Topher Davis, the only Black journalist on that beat, has exactly three weeks to do one final story before his position is eliminated due to corporate budget cuts. Enlisting the aid of his sister, SFPD Homicide Detective Lynn Sloan, he decides to investigate what the families of Blacks killed by police—and the families of the cops themselves—go through when tragic events like this occur. Instead, they find themselves involved in an ever-expanding mystery as more officers who’ve committed the same offense turn up dead.

Her name is Rochelle, and she is only fifteen when she disappears. Her father is a secret service agent assigned to ex-president William Baron Clarke, and when he asks for help, Clarke calls the most capable tracker he knows: Robert Sand, the only black man to ever attain the rank of samurai. Sand combs the tenements of New York's East Village in search of the girl, finally learning what no father ever wants to hear: Rochelle is in the clutches of Pearl, the meanest pimp in town.

On an icy day in February, African American grandmother Vera Moon arrives home to find her grown son Charlie brutally murdered. She vows to find the killer who has managed to elude the police. Not knowing where to begin, Vera is involved in a suspicious hit-and-run car accident, witnessed by a young Irish American woman, Dani, on the run from the train-wreck of her own life.

A former journalist with a knack for unraveling dirty secrets, Khloe Mercer figures if she's going to risk her life, she might as well make big money as a private investigator. But this reckless newbie needs a major case to make her name - and really show she can handle Norfolk, Virginia's toughest streets. When a narcotics detective's widow needs someone to investigate her disgraced husband's so-called suicide, Khloe jumps at the lucrative fee - and the clues that the Norfolk Police Department is rotten from top to bottom.

The inside story of how a courageous FBI informant helped to bring down the KKK organization responsible for a brutal civil rights-era killing, When Evil Lived in Laurel plumbs the nature and harrowing consequences of institutional racism, and brings fresh light to this chapter in the history of civil rights in the South - one with urgent implications for today.

Anita is a young, strong black woman who made her dreams a reality: the house, the cars, a generous bank account, and a fiancé who was getting ready to go pro. Everything was perfect. She was only a step away from finishing her doctorate when her world was shattered. When Leah’s teenage love Dropp got caught up and sent away for a five-year bid, Brit, a low key hustler, was there to show her that she never had to be alone again. Leah fell hard for Brit, married him, and made a family. But now Dropp is home....

When the police kill her husband in the presence of their young son, Shy McGee becomes a single mother trying to raise boys to men. Her 17-year-old son, Prince, channels his anger into an effort to become king of the streets. Seeing her son try to step up and take his father’s place, Shy has his back. Cherise is Shy’s best friend, but she doesn’t like what she’s seeing lately. Cherise has taught her son, Raequan, only one life lesson: how to run hustles. Now Cherise and Raequan are tired of watching the McGee family prosper while they remain at a standstill.

Faith Newsome has it all: a loving husband, beautiful daughter, and a stable life as the owner of a thriving shoe boutique in Washington, DC. Yet a part of her feels as if she’s not who she seems to be, as if she’s living a lie. When Faith gets kidnapped by a group of goons while walking to her car, she suddenly remembers who she is - not the suburban wife and mother whom she convinced herself to be, but Champagne, the daughter of one of the most ruthless killers and drug dealers in New York City who went missing and was presumed dead years prior.

A city full of lies, deceit, and cold-blooded murder, Detroit plays widow to drug cartel after drug cartel, and the Last Kings are the latest to take over the throne. It seems that nothing can crumble their empire, but when an unexpected series of events take place and blood is shed, everything spirals out of control. Can Sadie and Mocha survive the game as the head women in charge, or will disloyalty and treachery threaten to end them for good?

With a drug addict mother and a drug lord father, Aphtan learns how to fend for herself at an early age. Being the princess of an empire has its perks - until her father gets arrested. From stealing clothes and food to committing fraud, Aphtan does what she has to do to take care of her mother and herself. But when her schemes prove problematic, she turns to a new hustle: dancing at Pearl Tongue, the most notorious strip club in Texas.

J-Rite is 100 percent blackhearted. New to the city of Grand Rapids but not new to making money, she was born a straight gangster. The pint-size exotic dancer turned street hustler is caught up in living the black American hood dream. She has no "off" button or filter when it comes to getting paid. With a team of murder-minded goons ready to do nothing but win, win, win, J-Rite makes enemies of everyone, including the man she loves, all because they dare to stand in the way of her being on top.