Nonfiction

I was somewhat leery when it came to reading Drive Me Crazy. I was not in the mood for another book like The Other Woman. I knew I was going to read Drive Me Crazy because, well, even with one misstep, Dickey is still my boy. I got the book, read the book flap and could hardly contain my excitement. Ex con, contract hit, threat of physical violence, death, hell, just my cup of tea. Drive Me Crazy lived up to the hype.

Van Whitfield has made me a happy man with his new novel, Daddy Interrupted because Shawn Wayne is back in the house!  I am crazy about Shawn Wayne.  I am not a big fan of sequel novels, mainly because many authors do not know when to put a period on a storyline and allow their characters to give up the ghosts, but another literary outing of Shawn Wayne is too good to be true.  I was squealing like a pig in a field full of truffles.  In Daddy Interrupted, Shawn is coming to grip with impending fatherhood, reexamining his past, his present and his future with hilarious and often insightful thoughts.  Although I had to take away a few points away from the novel, Daddy Interrupted is a funny, solidly entertaining novel.

The Last King by Nichelle Tramble

I have been waiting on The Last King for a few years now, ever since I read Tramble's debut novel, The Dying Ground.  The wait has well been worth it for The Last King is one incredible novel.  Maceo and the whole Redfield family, the mystery, the pacing of the story; all of the elements of an extraordinary book are here and Tramble has the talent and skill to pull it all together. 

I kid you not, there is not a single story in Dark Dreams that I did not like. However, I did have my favorites....

One of the jewels of the anthology is the story Danger Word, a story of a grandfather trying to keep his grandson safe when man eating Zombie like creatures are on the loose. Danger Word marks the first time husband and wife, Stephen Barnes and Tananarive Due, wrote a story together. Boy, what a story! The story ended just as it reached a fever pitch. Again, I was left wanting more.

The story that literally blew me away was Plaything by Terence Taylor. Plaything is the story of a man on trial for having sex with a doll. My goodness gracious, it ain't often that a story can captivate and repulse me at the same time. Plaything is not a story that caused my hair (what little there is left) to stand on its end. The story effectively shook me up on two plateaus, mentally and morally. I have not felt this way since I read Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Taylor gets the standing O for this one. Excellent, Plaything is simply excellent.
 

Rayne Holland, budding film director, wife and mother appear to have it all. She�s poised to be lauded for her work in the film industry when she�s involved in a terrible accident.  Later when Rayne attempts to take her own life and ends up in a mental institution, everyone�including Gayle, Rayne�s best friend and Pauline, her therapist�wants to know what caused the disintegration of a once seemingly strong and accomplished person.

Rashida Aisha Ali

Author of Help I Need a Fan: A Rite of Passage from Woman to Goddess,

Rashida Aisha Ali is an author, artist, educator and philanthropist who lectures nationwide catering to female audiences, conducting workshops, seminars and symposiums on women related topics such as health and wellness, natural healing with alternative approaches, sexuality, male/female relationships and matters relating to the spiritual and metaphysical realm.

http://aalbc.com/writers/book_cover_designer.htm

He Had It Coming by

Meet Marcus Brooks. He's gorgeous. He's successful. He's the bestselling author of African American fiction. He's also the most obnoxious male alive....

Dying in the Dark: A Tamara Hayle Mystery
http://authors.aalbc.com/tamara1.htm

Valerie Wilson Wesley�s Tamara Hayle mystery series featuring Newark, New Jersey�s number one private investigator are loved for their smart, sexy protagonist who �has a way with a wisecrack that is positively lethal� (Washington Post). Now in Dying in the Dark, Hayle is entrenched in a sinister investigation that will demand her best detective work yet.

Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis

LUTHER T. FARRELL has got to get out of Flint, Michigan.
As his best friend Sparky says, "Flint�s nothing but the Titanic."

And his mother, a.k.a. the Sarge, says, "Take my advice and stay off the sucker path."

The Sarge milked the system to build an empire of slum housing and group homes. Luther�s just one of the many people trapped in the Sarge�s Evil Empire�but he�s about to bust out.

If Luther wins the science fair this year, he�ll be on track for college and a future as America�s best-known and best-loved philosopher. All he�s got to do is beat his arch rival Shayla Patrick, the beautiful daughter of Flint�s finest undertaker�and the love of Luther�s life.

Sparky�s escape plans involve a pit bull named Poofy and the world�s scariest rat. Oh, and Luther. Add to the mix Chester X., Luther�s mysterious roommate; Dontay Gaddy, a lawyer whose phone number is 1-800-SUE�M ALL; and Darnell Dixon, the Sarge�s go-to guy who knows how to break all the rules.

Bucking the Sarge is a story that only Christopher Paul Curtis could tell. Once again the Newbery Award�winning author of Bud, Not Buddy and The Watsons Go to Birmingham�1963 gives us a whole new angle on life and a world full of unforgettable and hilarious characters. Readers will root for Luther and Sparky every step of the way. �Grades 5-9.

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AALBC.com SUMMER BOOK REVIEW BRIEFS
Brief reviews of some of this Summer's popular reads:

It�s All about the Moon When the Sun Ain�t Shining by Ernest Hill. In a story or a young man finding himself at one of a life�s crossroad, Ernest Hill scores another homerun. The novel which takes place in Brownsville, Louisiana (the same place which Hill�s previous novel Cry Me a River) is full of interesting characters, especially the main character Maurice Dupree, and unfolds like a steady, sweet summer breeze. Hill has a firm and comforting touch. I loved the title and the book.

Love and Death in Brooklyn by Glenville Lovell. Love and Death in Brooklyn is the second novel by Lovell featuring Blades Overstreet (Too Beautiful to Die). In this installment, Blades is looking for the murderer of his surrogate father�s son. Discovering the killer is problematic and he will have to deal with the FBI, his past, and his family including an 8 year old daughter he did not know he had. I LOVED THIS BOOK! Lovell succeeds on all levels of a mystery/suspense series: an engaging, likable hero; a well constructed mystery; an assortment of fascinating supporting characters; a truly twisted dysfunctional family. Lovell is proving to be one of our best unknown writers. I�m praying that Blades Overstreet, and Love and Death in Brooklyn will change that.

A History of the African American People by Strom Thurmond as told to Percival Everett and James Kincaid [proposed]. I agree it is a long title for a novel�and it is a novel. The book also happens to be one of the most imaginative and funny novel that I have read in some years. As you all probably know, I love Everett. He is a genius. Besides dropping some of the most beautiful prose that I�ve ever read, possessing a wicked sense of humor, it is the manner in which his characters view their world that places Everett�s novels in the same company as Kurt Vonnegut�s best. In this outing, Everett is joined with James Kincaid and together both create an off beat assortment of characters to provide a fictional behind the curtain glance of the publishing industry when Sen. Strom Thurmond decides he wants to write a non-fiction book on African Americans in America. From the narrative of the book, which is comprised of letters and emails; to its characters, which includes Everett and Kincaid themselves, A History of the African American People is the most original, totally unforgettable novel of the year.

Sins of the Father by Felicia Madlock. As my friend Linda Watkins would have said, (Sins of the Father) would have been a good book if it was written by somebody else. The premise of the novel is what happens when a family man and his wife are killed and the son from this marriage is suddenly alone and made aware that his father had other sons that he had abandoned. The youngest son is taken to a world he doesn�t know, while his older brothers are still dealing with the pain of growing up fatherless. When I started the book, I thought that the drama had great potential. Madlock obviously did not see what I saw for the book fails on all points. Madlock did not capture the grittiness of Chicago�s inner city. She hinted at it but did not fully convey or maintain the hopelessness of it all. The relationships between the brothers were basically ignored. I was looking forward to watching how the brothers related to each other. Instead Madlock mistakenly placed her focus on the subplots and romances, which were half way developed and conclusions were too pat and reached too quickly, instead of exploring the new family dynamics. Madlock was unable to concretely flesh out the characters and plots or make up her mind as to what kind of book she was writing, a novel set in an urbane sitting or a U go girl book. Ultimately, the story suffered because Madlock did not know which table she was eating on.

The Sisters of APF by Zane. The Sisters of APF is the first novel of Zane�s that I read, and although this may come to a complete surprise to some, I loved it. The premise was original enough to catch my interest. I thought the book was pretty well put together. The only negative comment I have to make about the book is that Mary Ann, the lead character, was stiff and unbelievable. I couldn�t stand Mary Ann�s �Miss Goody Two Shoes but underneath it all I�m a nymphomaniac� image. However, the rest of the book was wonderful and sexy. I�m going to have to read more of Zane. � Thumper

I almost tore my mouth out reading author, Asante' Kahari's eighty page Murder Inc. The good boy gone bad-it's payback time predictable plot is as interesting as watching the glue on the spine dry. It's full of typo's, unreliable narration and an over-all mess. In my opinion, the crude, grammatically butchered writing style is an insult to the profession and along with many other titles -an insult to the urban genre. � Linda Watkins

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