When the Grand Design is finally revealed it will spell the last ride for Mr. Armed and Brokenhearted. In this final installment of the widely popular Animal series, we find our anti-hero on a hunt for the woman who forced him to pick his guns back up when she burned his entire world down. The traitorous Red Sonja. She alone holds the key to saving his children and avenging his murdered wife, Gucci, but first he has to find her. To do this, Animal reassembles his old gang: The Dog Pound for what will prove to be their most dangerous mission yet. The stakes are higher than ever and not everyone is expected to make it, but the members of the Pound readily accept the task and the risks that come with it. With his old friends, and a few new ones, Animal is on the hunt for his elusive prey. Then the unthinkable happens and there is an earth-shattering discovery that will change everything, including loyalties. Meanwhile, the Black Lotus finds herself a prisoner in a place she had once called home. Having been branded a traitor by the Brotherhood of Blood, she is remanded to the mountain fortress while awaiting trial for the crimes she stands accused of. Unbeknownst to her, there are some within the Brotherhood who would rather see her dead than exonerated. Kahllah has unearthed a dark conspiracy which could clear her name, but at the cost of destroying the Brotherhood of Blood, which makes her a threat to the conspirators and a moving target. The hunter finds herself the hunted and her only chance of surviving the mountain will be to place her fate in the hands of an unlikely champion.
After the death of a police officer, assassin Kahllah (a.k.a. the Black Lotus) is forced out of retirement in an attempt to clear her name while outrunning a mysterious enemy.
It's been months since Kahllah El-Amin, aka the Black Lotus, hung up her pistols, retired from the murder-for-hire business, and finally found peace. But when a police officer is murdered and a familiar flower is left at the crime scene, all signs point to it being the work of the Black Lotus. Someone is trying to frame her. Things get more complicated when the case is handed to Detective James Wolf, a former adversary who has since become a friend.
To clear her name, Kahllah is forced out of retirement and once again must don the mask of the Black Lotus. She races against time to catch the real killer while trying to outrun her most formidable rival. Their deadly game leads to a shocking truth buried under a mountain of lies, as Kahllah attempts to find justice in a world devoid of light.
In the history of New York City's underworld, there have been a host of criminal figures whose exploits have gone on to inspire. Their stories are told on street corners and in back alleys. One of them is Jonas Rafferty, known among friends and enemies alike as Wrath. Jonas, the only boy in a family of four children, came into the world under less than favorable conditions, and he has always been a fighter. From the neighborhood bullies to the stepfather who uses him and his siblings as punching bags, his life has always been one battle after another. At night, he would lay awake and dream of rising above his circumstances, and when he crosses paths with rogue homicide detective Louis 'Lou' Ceavers, he's offered a bargain that will change the course of his life. Detective Ceavers becomes like a guardian angel and surrogate father to Jonas, teaching him the game and guiding him in his quest for power. In a short time, Jonas goes from errand boy and street muscle to one of the most dangerous young men in the city, dubbed Wrath because of his violent exploits. His dreams are finally becoming reality, and Wrath feels like he's on his way to having everything he's ever dreamed of, until Alex, his childhood crush, comes home on break from college and gives him a glimpse of the one thing he's always craved more than money and power: love. Wrath begins to question himself and his decisions as he's drawn further away from the world he's created and deeper into the stable life he believes he could have with Alex. When Alex becomes pregnant, Wrath decides that being there for her and his unborn child are more important to him than power or money, but when he seeks to end his arrangement with the detective, he's taught the final lesson in his education: no bargain comes without a price.
Bernadette 'Bernie' Hunt prides herself on never settling. In school, she was always at the top of her class, and after graduating from Spellman with honors she landed a job at one of Atlanta's top marketing firms. She lives by her father's motto: the best of everything, or nothing at all. Bernie excels in life, but love is another story. Being gorgeous, smart and from a well-to-do family, she has no shortage of high society suitors vying for her attention, but when measured against her father, none seem good enough. This changes when she meets Keith Davis, a hot shot lawyer recently hired at her father's firm. Keith is handsome, financially stable, and as skilled in the bedroom as he is in open court, with an infectious personality that draws people, including Bernie, to him. Being new to Atlanta from New Orleans, Keith's past is somewhat of a mystery, but that doesn't stop Bernie from falling head over heels for him. The day Keith gets down on one knee and proposes to Bernie is one of the happiest of her life. She has found a kindred soul who seems to bring everything to the table... including a dark secret. When Keith is unexpectedly summoned back to New Orleans to attend the funeral of a relative killed under questionable circumstances, Bernie insists on being by his side. Their trip to the Big Easy will find the couple in the middle of a murder mystery that Keith has been reluctantly charged to solve. During the investigation into the slaying, secrets will be unearthed about Keith's past that cause Bernie to question everything she thought she knew about the man she's agreed to marry.
#1 Essence bestselling author K'Wan returns with The Diamond Empire, the explosive, hard-hitting follow-up audiobook to the street love story Diamonds and Pearl.
It's about to be an all-out war. While an ambitious rival has taken over Diamonds's crew, Diamonds lies in wait in exile, carefully planning his next move to comeback and reclaim his position as king of the streets of New York for good. But when an unexpected enemy from the past one-ups Diamonds and beats him at his own game, Diamonds needs to dig deep into his bag of tricks-and make an unlikely alliance-in order to climb back to the top.
After opening her heart to Diamonds and then having him disappear, Pearl lives her days in a very dark place. But when her father's empire is toppled and a gaping power vacuum needs to be filled, Pearl is drawn into the very life her father so desperately wanted to shield her from. Pearl needs to fight tooth and nail to become queen of her father's kingdom, as Diamonds claws his way back to Pearl.
All he ever wanted to be was a good son.
Shai Clark was an all-American basketball player with aspirations of one day making it to the NBA, but that all changed when his father was viciously murdered and he found himself thrust into the role of the new head of his family's criminal enterprise.
After waging a war on the streets of New York that lasts nearly three years, it seems like peace is finally being restored to the land and Shai can get back to focusing on continuing his father's mission to legitimize the Clark family- but little does he know it was only the calm before the storm. Not everyone respects his claim to the Clark empire, and when new and old enemies start to come out of the woodwork, Shai will find that inheriting the throne was one thing but holding onto it will prove to be a far more difficult task.
Animal 4 reissue featuring bonus material. Also includes a sneak peek at Hoodlum 2: The Good Son.From the moment Animal's former lover Red Sonja showed up on his doorstep, he knew trouble wouldn't be far behind. It wasn't because the last time he'd seen her, he had been fleeing for his life from a strange island. Nor was it because of the little girl she had in tow, claiming Animal was the father. It was because women like Red Sonja carried trouble around with them like designer purses. He knew getting involved with Sonja again would come at a price, but he had no idea how steep the price would be until it was too late.
With his wife gone and his children abducted by a ruthless drug cartel, Animal must lead a suicide mission into the lair of one of the most dangerous assassins in the world, a woman who calls herself Tiger Lily. To go against Tiger Lily and the cartel Animal would need an army, so the call to arms is put out and the streets readily answer. Leading a handful of loyal souls against seemingly insurmountable odds, Animal races against the clock to save his children and put a stop to Tiger Lily and the cartel's plans, while trying to stay one step ahead of the two detectives following the trail of bodies. Things take an unexpected turn when Animal learns a dark truth hidden beneath what he had been led to believe that changes everything, including who can be trusted. When the Grand Design his father had always spoken of is finally revealed Animal will be forced to make the hard choice between love, loyalty, and vengeance.
From the biggest names in urban fiction comes a collection of unforgettable stories of urban love and its consequences.
Flirting with Disaster by Tracy Brown
Chloe Webster is pursuing her journalism degree at Hunter College. Then she meets Trey, a handsome and well-dressed cat with hood swagger. When Trey tells Chloe that he is pursuing a degree in psychology, Chloe thinks she has finally met someone who has his head screwed on right. But as Chole's flirtation with Trey intensifies, secrets are revealed, and she finds that she's playing with fire.
Wild Cherry by K'wan
Gina is married to a man who more than takes good care of her, but her life of luxury comes with a price that she's not sure she can pay anymore. Princess' man doesn't see her as any more than dollar signs as long as she keeps using her body to bring in the stacks. When Gina and Princess meet and realize that they share a common problem, they set into motion an unforgettable plot that will solve all their problems.
Twice in a Lifetime by Angel Mitchell
Beautiful Marley Lucas has had her heart broken before. She vows to never experience that kind of pain again-until love hits her when and where she least expects it. And this love turns out to be the most devastating of all.
"Powerhouse street lit authors Brown and K'wan team up with newbie Mitchell to deliver urban women's stories that hold surprising twists and turns. This short story collection, which explores the diverse ways in which flirting leads to unexpected consequences, will attract Brown's and K'wan's many fans and introduce Mitchell to a wider readership."-Library Journal (starred review)
No going back ...
Prince, Killa-E, Daddy-O, and Danny grew up together in the projects, moving crack and cocaine while answering to Diego, the neighborhood drug lord. They were small-timers playing for low stakes-until Prince is introduced to a heroin connect.
Overnight they go from soldiers to bosses, and their crew is held together by loyalty and love. But taking the reins of power comes at a high price. Now, with Diego at their back and a traitor in their midst, they find themselves between a kilo and a hard place, ready to spill blood to stay on top.
Diamonds and Pearl is a gritty, compelling novel from #1 Essence bestselling author K'wan.
They say that good girls like bad boys, and this was especially true for Pearl Stone, a child born of privilege to a drug baron and reputed killer known in the streets as Big Stone. Although the flashy, fast-paced nature of the streets calls to Pearl, she's been brought up to look but not touch. Yet when a young hustler named Diamonds crawls up from the swamps of Louisiana and sets up shop in New York City, everything Pearl was taught flies out the window.
Raised in the wild and schooled on the mean streets of New Orleans, Diamonds is no stranger to hard times and is willing to do whatever it takes to stay above the poverty line, including kill. When an armed robbery turns into mass murder, Diamonds is forced to flee New Orleans and lands in New York where he meets Pearl and, for the first time, finds something he craves more than wealth and power-love.
As the stakes get higher, Diamonds has to push away his past if he's to grab hold of his future. But by doing so, will he show Pearl that not all that glitters is gold?
"Top-notch street lit...The author of Hood Rat and Gutter excels in his latest title, and his ear for street slang remains sharp and on point. The abrupt ending leaves readers thirsty for more. Let's hope there's a sequel in the mix as this is one of the top urban fiction novels of the year."-Library Journal (starred review)
From the bestselling author of Hoodlum comes a novel about one of the deadliest women to ever grace the streets of Harlem-Eve.
The only family Eve Panelli has ever known is the infamous Twenty Gang. Orphaned as a small child, Eve quickly learned the art of the hustle, and by age seventeen she had spent two years in prison. But now Eve is eighteen, back on the streets of Harlem with her gang, and up to one of her old tricks: strong-arm robbery. Despite her edge, she's got a soft spot for Felon, the up-and-coming street king.
Eve's life takes a serious turn when the powerful DeNardi family, the city's biggest drug supplier, tries to tighten its hold on Harlem. And when Eve's best friend, Cassidy, is murdered in the crossfire, Eve seeks revenge?starting all the way at the top. "In this juicy, hard-hitting hip-hop romp, K'wan paints an almost too raw, black-and-white portrait of Eve Panelli, a banging little Harlem outlaw who's had to grow up fast since the murder of her parents...[A] brutal murder...leads to Eve's heart-stopping opportunity for revenge and a thrilling conclusion."-Publishers Weekly
