(photo credit: Milton Perry)
Solomon Jones is an AALBC.com bestselling author and award-winning journalist who has been featured nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition, CNN Headline News, in Essence magazine, and in a Verizon advertising campaign called Realize, which spotlighted entrepreneurs who overcame adversity to succeed.
Jones created Words on the Street, which partners educational, corporate, non-profit, and media entities to impact literacy through the power of writing. An instructor at the Philadelphia School District’s Parent University, Jones has served as spokesman for the district’s Read for Your Life program, served on the board of the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness, visited each of Philadelphia’s municipal prisons to promote reading, and served on the Community Advisory Board of The Doe Fund, an organization that helps homeless men reclaim their lives. Jones has also taught creative writing at Temple University, and currently serves as Community Outreach Director for Congressman Chaka Fattah.
A married father of three, Jones is a national voice on marriage and fatherhood. His parenting columns have been published by Essence magazine, and a pilot based on Jones’s award-winning Philadelphia Daily News column was optioned by NBC’s Peacock Productions. Jones lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two youngest children, and he is currently at work on his next novel.
The
Dead Man's Wife
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Series: Coletti Novels (Book 3)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books;
First Edition (October 16, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250006449
ISBN-13: 978-1250006448
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
A diabolical story about marriage gone awry—The next thrilling novel in the
all-new Colletti series from acclaimed author Solomon Jones
She’s a cop-turned defense lawyer. Her husband is a research scientist. She
lives in a half-million-dollar home. Yet on this night, Andrea Wilson—a
woman who seemingly has everything—awakens to a living nightmare. Her
husband Paul is dead, she’s covered in his blood, and the police are banging
on her door. Andrea doesn’t remember what happened, but she knows how it
looks. With just a split second to make a choice, Andrea decides to run, and
in doing so, risks everything in an attempt to clear her name.
Enter Detective Mike Coletti. He and Andrea shared a relationship once. Now
all they share is the chase. As Andrea races to prove her innocence and
Coletti struggles to track her down, they each uncover clues about the
mystery of Paul’s death. Along the way, Andrea uncovers the biggest mystery
of all: Is her husband actually still alive?
The
Gravedigger's Ball: A Coletti Novel
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Series: Coletti Novels (Book 1)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books;
First Edition edition (October 11, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312580819
ISBN-13: 978-0312580810
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches
The next thrilling novel in the all new Colletti series from acclaimed
author Solomon Jones
Just weeks after tracking down a killer known as the Angel of Death,
Detective Mike Coletti stands at Mary Smithson’s grave, mourning the woman
whose betrayal nearly cost him his life. He’s joined there by Mary’s
beautiful half-sister, Lenore. Moments later, a gunshot splits the air,
placing Coletti on a collision course with the Gravedigger, a killer
hell-bent on deciphering the secret of life and death. As bodies drop and
tensions mount, clues are plucked from the victims, and one thing is
abundantly clear—Lenore is the killer’s ultimate target. But to stop the
Gravedigger, Coletti and his partners must go beyond protecting Lenore. They
must go to the one place where life and death routinely meet. They must go
back to the grave.
The
Last Confession
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Series: Coletti Novels (Book 1)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books;
First Edition edition (November 9, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312580207
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
Having come of age on the mob-controlled streets of 1960’s South Philly,
Detective Mike Coletti learned early to walk the fine line between cops and
criminals. That skill served him well during his thirty-one years in
homicide. But it never stopped the nightmares. The screams in the sanctuary
still haunt him, the sound of the gunshots still torment him, and the truth
of the Confessional Murders still speaks to him, if only in his dreams. Now,
on the eve of Coletti’s retirement, the priest whom he arrested for the
decade-old crime is about to be put to death, and in one final nightmare,
Coletti clearly sees the truth. The priest is innocent, and it all comes to
light when the real killer reemerges and embarks on a killing spree that
turns Philadelphia upside down. To set things right and stop the execution
of an innocent man, Coletti must catch a mysterious killer who now calls
himself the Angel of Death. As the chase winds through art galleries and
gritty streets, ancient prophecies and holy ground, the game intensifies,
cultures collide, and Philly’s best detective is forced to face his
nightmarish past—a past that could very well destroy him.
Payback:
The Return of C.R.E.A.M.
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Hardcover: 256
pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 17, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031234838X
ISBN-13: 978-0312348380
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
Karima "C.R.E.A.M." Thomas stands before a judge as an accomplice in the murders of two drug dealers. Suddenly, a scream tears through the courtroom, and when the smoke clears, her mother lies dying on the floor. Soon, others in Karima's family are targeted, and one thing becomes clear: Unless she finds the killer first, Karima will be the next to die. With the help of Captain Kevin Lynch, Karima races to untangle a web of family secrets that threaten her very life. As she unlocks the shocking truth about her past, Karima closes in on the killer, and in a deadly struggle against an enemy as ruthless as herself, Karima is determined to get one thing ' payback.
C.R.E.A.M.
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Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (June 12,
2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312361467
ISBN-13: 978-0312361464
Karima 'Cream' Thomas is an ex-convict from an upper-crust family whose only crime was falling for a drug dealer and refusing to testify against him. Sexy, intelligent, street-smart, and determined to change after serving time in the municipal prison system, Karima returns to find that her ex, Duane Faison, wants her back. And for one passion-filled night, she considers it. But with dawn comes common sense and the realization that she must make a clean break from her past. To do that, she'll need something she's never had to ask for'help. And she knows only one person with the power to give it.
Marilyn Johnson has fought to make it in the rough-and-tumble world of Philadelphia politics. After ten years on the City Council, she's finally made it to the president's seat, but she's had to forge some questionable alliances to make it there, including her long-running affair with the married mayor. When Karima asks for help in finding a job, Marilyn is caught off guard. Her niece's criminal record is one of the many secrets she has hidden from the public, but seeing an opportunity, crafty Marilyn hatches a plan to get rid of Karima once and for all. The mayor is murdered in cold blood and Marilyn is sworn into office, bringing Karima's criminal past to light. She is quickly the prime suspect in the murder investigation, and in order to save her own name and get to the bottom of the story, Karima must return to the streets.
Ride Or
Die
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Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (October 13, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312339895
ISBN-13: 978-0312339890
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
'In Pipe
Dream and The
Bridge, Solomon Jones proved himself a vivid
storyteller and an adept craftsman. In his latest
effort, the adrenaline-fueled Ride
or Die, he infuses the action with enough pathos and
heart to set a new standard. This is a fast-paced,
beautifully compelling love story rendered against the
gritty, urban backdrop of the best noir.'
'Nichelle D. Tramble, author of The
Last King and The
Dying Ground
Seventeen-year-old Keisha is the beautiful, sheltered
daughter of an activist pastor with a checkered past.
Handsome, ambitious Jamal-a street-savvy crack dealer-is
the son of North Philly's most notorious drug kingpin. A
history of violence and betrayal lies between their
fathers, who are now bitter enemies. After one of his
church members is gunned down-with a bullet he is sure
is meant for him-Pastor Anderson goes after Frank
Nichols, determined to drive him from the neighborhood
for good. There's just one problem: Keisha and Jamal are
in love.
When the families face off on opposite sides of an
anti-drug demonstration, a high-ranking police official
is killed in the crossfire, and Jamal becomes the prime
suspect in the murder. Keisha is left with a choice.
Will she stay with her father, in the confines of the
sheltered world she's known, or will she venture into
the unknown in order to help Jamal clear his name? She
chooses Jamal, and in a whirlwind flight across the
seamy underside of Philadelphia, Keisha will risk
everything for love. Even her life.
The
Bridge
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Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (June 3, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312306156
ISBN-13: 978-0312306151
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
Sometimes, Philadelphia Police Detective Kevin Lynch feels like he has spent his whole life trying to put his past firmly behind him. But a harried call for help from a childhood friend whose child has gone missing changes all that. Now Lynch must summon the courage to return to his childhood home, the infamous housing project known as The Bridge. As the case unfolds and the search for Kenya, the missing girl, intensifies, the secrets guarded by her family and friends begin to emerge. The hidden truths are more sinister and malevolent than Detective Lynch could ever imagine, and once again, The Bridge threatens to be his downfall. Solomon Jones's The Bridge sets a new standard for the modern crime novel, one in which the root causes of crime must share the stage with their tragic consequences.
Pipe
Dream
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Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Villard; 1st edition (July 31, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375756604
ISBN-13: 978-0375756603
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
The lawyer turned on the tape recorder, handed his
client a cigarette, and lit it for him. 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.
Keeping
Up With the Jones
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Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Sola Productions, Inc. (June 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 097552190X
ISBN-13: 978-0975521908
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
Bernie Mac meets Dave Barry in Keeping Up With The Jones a humorous look at marriage, family and life by critically-acclaimed novelist Solomon Jones. Taken from Joness award-winning column of the same name, Keeping Up With The Jones is filled with universal truths that promise to make readers laugh out loud.
Wisdom
(Audio CD)
Spoken Word by Solomon Jones
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Novelist, journalist and commentator Solomon Jones teams with musician/composer Flemuel Brown III on the new CD, Wisdom, a collection of powerful poetic pieces first heard on Philadelphia's WDAS FM 105.3 with Carter and Sanborn in the morning.
With Hip Hop and R&B tracks that are sure to make
listeners bounce, Wisdom attacks controversial issues
head on. Get Your Hands Off That Sista addresses the
taboo subject of domestic abuse. I Don't Love Them Hoes
addresses the subject of men having respect for women.
Friends speaks to the issue of bad choices costing
children their lives.
'I believe that it's time for writers to take the next
step,' Jones says. 'It's not just about entertainment
anymore. It's about helping to save people's lives.
That's where Wisdom comes from.'
Jones is the author of the critically acclaimed urban
mysteries The Bridge (St. Martin's Press, 2003), Pipe
Dream (Random House, 2001), Ride Or Die (St. Martin's
Press, 2004) and Keeping Up With The Jones (Sola, 2004).
He has been published in Newsday, the Philadelphia
Inquirer, and Philadelphia magazine. Jones, who holds a
journalism B.A., teaches creative writing at Temple
University. He is at work on his next novel.
Flemuel "Fleetwood" Brown III is one of Philadelphia's
most creative minds. As a producer, songwriter and
director, he is so unique that people are paying close
attention to his vision. His music reveals a range of
music genres and styles so diverse that it's difficult
to believe that the songs and production come from the
same person. But theyt do.
That flare for creating music has allowed Mr. Brown to
gain major notoriety as a producer and songwriter. Along
with his vast knowledge of music production and music
technology, he has worked with various recording artists
such as Boyz II Men, C-Knowledge of Digable Planets, Roy
Ayers, Mystikal and Gerald Levert, just to name a few.
He had a top-ten single on Billboard charts as well as
on European charts.
Mr. Brown has his sights set on having a hand in every
facet of the entertainment industry. His vast track
record shows that he is indeed on his way to achieving
that goal.
He is making his directorial debut with the multi media
stage play entitled, 'Real Men Talking.' This production
poses the question, 'What is a real man?' This
multimedia theater production is shaping up to be a true
success, with bookings already pouring in from across
the country.
Flemuel Brown III is ultimately a man with a vision for
the new millennium.
Listen to 45-second audio clips from Solomon Jones' new
Spoken Word CD, "Wisdom."
Related Links
Solomon Jones On-line Chat with AALBC.com in 2003
Solomon Jones Official Web Site
