African American Mystery Thriller Suspense

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.

After enforcer Richard “Rico” Sanders stepped in to protect his girlfriend from a local mob boss’s hot-headed nephew, all hell broke loose. When the smoke cleared, the nephew had vanished and three goons lay dying where they’d stood. Fighting for his life, Rico was alive but gravely wounded. Out of the hospital but not fully recovered, he needed a place to crash - a place where he wouldn’t be found. A place like the cabin owned by lawyer Paul Elliott, whose life Rico had saved more than once.

Clay Furlow, NYPD Detective, has a theory about unexplained murders: "Follow the money trail, then read 'em their rights." Hienrich Ressler, a discredited psychiatric researcher, also has a theory: "God didn't make any perfect animals; we all have our own psychosis." The two men match wits in a battle to the death when Clay and his 10-year-old computer genius daughter discover that seemingly random killings are actually the results of an elaborate murder-for-hire scheme.

Verónica takes a bite of forbidden fruit when she becomes romantically involved with her boss. The one-night fling leaves her pregnant with another man’s child and headed straight to divorce court. Victória can identify with her sister as she, too, harbors a secret love that goes against their strict upbringing. After the sudden death of their mother, Victória enlists the help of her lover to unravel a decade’s worth of deceit. Armed with letters written by their father, the sisters soon find out that deception runs deep, and their time here in America has been based on a lie.

The Network and its affiliates used to be one of Oklahoma City's most organized crews. No one knew exactly where they got the money to buy up businesses and real estate, but everyone on the streets respected them. Their criminal enterprise is unraveling quickly, though, as member loyalty is challenged and betrayal becomes the name of the game.

In this tale of secrets and style, a wealthy Wall Street investment banker, Lyle Johnson, seems to have found an ideal business partner in Tess Aventura Dubois. She is a wealthy widow who has just moved back to New York City with enough cash to make his bar a swinging night spot. But behind her glamorous facade, lays a disturbing secret that could be Lyle’s downfall.

After Kerrick Khumalo's wife is murdered in their home, he migrates from Africa to America for better opportunities. But his thick accent and dark skin makes him unaccepted. Unable to find legal employment, he discovers that the drug trade can be a lucrative business for the man who is willing to do anything, including kill. Self-possessed, he quickly rises to the top and becomes the most fearful man in Baltimore.

Never Go Home Again is the story of Corey Dixon, a young man whose father tries as best he can to steer him away from the lure of the streets. And yet, like so many others in his neighborhood, Corey finds the lucrative drug trade too tempting to resist. While he makes fast money for a while, ultimately Corey must pay the price for his choice of profession: his freedom.

At the tender age of ten, Shamara Fox witnessed the brutal murder of her mom and dad as they exited a Church in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn because of their community activist efforts to rid Canarsie of drug dealers. The gunman, Tommy Bossett, a henchman for a ruthless drug gang, escapes prosecution. As the years pass Tommy becomes immensely rich, while Shamara's life progresses into a living hell. After her release from prison, Shamara decides it is time to confront the demons of her past.

Carl Weber brings the best of urban street lit authors together, all telling their own dramatic tales of life in the streets in known cities across the USA. The second installment continues with Treasure Hernandez telling the tale of the Dirty South.

Meet Marcel and Sabrina, a hitman and a bookkeeper for the Mob. The couple should have never met, let alone fallen in love. When they decide to go against the grain, all hell breaks loose. Somebody wants them dead; they just don't know who. It could be Leo, Marcel's jealous older brother; Othello, Sabrina's crooked father; or it could be The Family, a roundtable of the top contenders in the underworld. There is no honor amongst thieves. Marcel and Sabrina will find the old adage to be true the hard way.

Brice Simpson is a newly promoted heroic detective with a secret past. He's riding the waves of fame, but he still feels he has something to prove, so Detective Simpson picks up a cold case on the murder of a 14-year-old girl. He's convinced the case will bring him redemption for his past indiscretions, but he soon finds out that the details surrounding the girl's murder may hit closer to home than he expects. When his younger sister goes missing, Brice's life is thrown into a tailspin that may cost him everything he has worked for.

Ke'yoko and Ka'yah are identical twins with two totally different personalities. As young girls they formed a bond that could not be broken. It isn't until they become grown women that their loyalty is tested by secrets, deception, and lies. Growing up with a strict and controlling father and a weak and sniveling mother, Ke'yoko's only goal is to get as far away from them as possible, even if it means leaving Ka'yah behind. Being rescued by Ja'Rel is like a dream come true.

All Enzo aka Shawn Banks, and Bianca "Angel" Smith wanted to do was leave the evidence of their old life behind them, but the past always has a way of coming back to haunt you. When International King Pin, Damien Orlando, was taken down, the streets of Atlanta thought DOA's reign of terror was over, but sometimes even tied up ends can unravel. Step into the underworld of the NFL, where E.N.G.A takes on a whole new meaning, especially for Angel and Enzo.

Torn between her proud African-American family and colleagues who still can't deal with diversity, L.A.P.D. homicide detective Charlotte Justice returns to an investigation she once had to leave behind. Thirteen years before, Justice's husband and child were murdered in their own driveway. Now Charlotte is on edge again, bedeviled by bloody memories, a violent incident involving a fellow officer, and a cold case that turns red-hot.

It's been months since Angel and Pastor Justus Too-Hot-To-Be-Holy Morgan announced their engagement. Yet Angel's barely begun wedding planning. It's not that she's having doubts. She just wants to make sure the past doesn't interfere with their future. For Angel, that means clearing up a kiss-tastrophe with U.S. Marshal Maxim West and facing off with her ex-fiancé's assassin. Angel wants to share her plans with Justus, but before she can do it, a new complication arrives....

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.

After serving 10 hard years in the joint for armed robbery, JC is ready for some payback. His targets, the three childhood friends - now crimelords - who betrayed him to save themselves, are about to have everything they've worked for ripped right out of their hands.