Road Trippin'
Urban Fiction that Takes the Streets to the Road
Trippin - by Michelle Buckley
When twins Madetra (doctor) and Kaylantra (web porn model) start a travel club, they have no idea what they're in for: a tangled web of secrets, sex, intrigue, danger, adventure, drama and murder. From skiing in the mountains to a nude beach vacation and trips everywhere in between, this urban travel club cuts loose, gets buck wild and vows to enjoy the best life has to offer. But all hell breaks loose during a Las Vegas trip where envy, lust, lies, betrayal, greed and emotions reach a feverish pitch. For this group, their secrets are as deep and twisted as the road is long — which ain’t a good thing, since there is a blackmailer and killer among them.
The Night Before Thirty – Tajuana Butler
A young DJ, Louisa Montero, sponsors a contest to celebrate her birthday. She has a drawing to take five listeners who have the same birthday and are about to turn 30 on a cruise to the Bahamas. The winners of the Night Before Thirty contest are: Alecia Jewel Parker, who uses her beauty to get what she wants from men; Catara Edwards, an aspiring fashion designer working at Saks as a personal shopper; Elise Ross, a former Olympic contender; LaShawnda Davis, who was rescued from her meager existence and shown a different life by a black female psychiatrist; and Tanya Charles, who has been in a long-term relationship with a man who sells drugs and firearms.
Drive Me Crazy – Eric Jerome Dickey
Driver, an ex-convict, accepts $15,000 to kill Lisa's husband, Wolf, but is unable to do the deed. In a twist of fate, Wolf hires Driver as a chauffeur at his limousine company. Lisa, angry at Driver for accepting a job with her husband and keeping the money, begins to stalk him. Arizona, a beautiful con artist, offers Driver an opportunity to make a lot of money fast if he is willing to take some risks. Panther is a stripper with whom Driver spends time, and she becomes the only woman he can trust. As all three women put forth their best efforts, Driver becomes crazed and caught in the middle--there's the woman who loves him, the woman who has been scorned, and the woman who lusts for him.
Harlem Heat – 50 Cent and Mark Anthony
Roxy Reynolds learned the rules of the street nearly two decades ago as a low-level member of what was once New York City's most powerful drug organization. She was also a mom at fourteen years old, and did what she had to do to raise her daughter, Chyna. Now Chyna's all grown up, a stunningly beautiful exotic dancer with a baby girl of her own, while super-sexy Roxy is at the height of her power running Harlem Heat, a gun-trafficking ring. It's a lucrative life-style some would do anything to have. And when former drug kingpin Panama Pete returns to the hood after serving fifteen years in prison, a spiral of violence traps Roxy and Chyna and has them running from the law - and running for their lives.
Payback: a Street Saga –Roy Glenn
When his beautiful wife Cassandra is kidnapped by South American drug dealers, ultra powerful club mogul Mike Black must enlist the aid of his old friend and former employee Nick Simmons to rescue her. In a series of actionpacked confrontations that take the duo from the Bahamas to Miami to New York City, Mike must not only contend with his wife''s disappearance but must also fight-off corporate takeover, solve a murder and discover the one man who is behind it all.
Ride or Die – Solomon Jones
A classic tale of a doomed relationship between bad boy Jamal Nichols, the son of a North Philadelphia drug lord, and a beautiful, restless preacher's daughter who is achingly "attracted to the dark side." When Keisha Anderson is nearly raped by an unknown assailant, her father, Rev. John Anderson, takes it upon himself to confront drug kingpin Frank Nichols. John and Frank grew up yogether, but there's bad blood between them. Years ago, John's drugdealing father was mysteriously murdered, and Frank took over his business, betraying John, who has his own sins to atone for. A rally outside Frank's bar, led by angry Reverend John, quickly becomes a riot, and a rooftop sniper kills the police commissioner. Jamal, after being tentatively identified by police as the shooter, flees with Keisha in tow, while the real murderer is still on the loose... Will love really conquer all?
Gone Fishin’ – Walter Mosley
Mosley's sixth Easy Rawlins novel is the chronological first--and less mystery or crime fiction than a powerfully raw, lyrical coming-of-age story. Here is 19-year-old Easy in 1939 before his war experiences and before his departure from Houston for L.A. Here, too, is Raymond Alexander, better known as Mouse, the most colorful and unpredictable series character. It's Mouse ("nuthin' but bad news wit' a grin") who uses a familiar blend of threats and bribes to pry Easy away from his uncertain job in Houston and onto the road in a borrowed '36 Ford. Their destination is desolate Pariah, Texas--Mouse's home once, and still home to his hated stepfather, Reese Corn. Along the way, they pick up a young couple running from trouble, not knowing that Mouse is worse trouble than any they've seen.
G-Spot – Noire
"Granite" McKay is a Harlem hustler who owns the social club G-Spot, where high rollers spend $1,000 just to enter. The favors include dancers, drinks, drugs, and sex. G always chooses a beautiful virgin to show off and claim for himself. His woman of the moment is 19-year-old Juicy Stanfield. G took in Juicy and her younger brother, Jimmy, after their grandmother's death. G pays for Juicy's college education, but he also controls and intimidates her. G's son, Gino, returns to Harlem after his college graduation to help his father establish a new club. Juicy and Gino begin a hot affair that causes G's whole operation to regroup. G's pride forces him to flex his muscles, Jimmy is determined to save his sister, Gino is finished with his father, and, after being set up on a fake drug run to Atlantic City, Juicy faces horrible mental and physical torture.
Every Woman’s Got a Secret – Brenda Thomas
Young, glamorous Caroline Isaacs, one of the hottest veejays in music television, truly has it all: she hosts her own show where she interviews A-list celebs; she and her boyfriend, Julius, are head over heels in love; and, at the suggestion of her friendly and ambitious intern, Marí Colonado, she's about to boost her ratings out of the stratosphere by taking her show on the road -- literally. Off and rolling in a luxuriously equipped RV, Caroline is meeting fans and hitting the hottest clubs from Las Vegas to Philly. Along the way, Caroline and Marí become close friends -- a connection that will soon trap Caroline in a maze of lies, jealousy, and murder. Can Caroline expose the truth and get her life back before it's too late?
Riding Dirty on I-95 —Nikki Turner
Interstate 95 runs from Maine to Florida, and the stretch between Richmond and Miami is the main thoroughfare for drug traffickers. Growing up in Richmond, Virginia, Mercy Jiles is the last of eight children born to street hustler Nathaniel Jiles, who is murdered over a gambling debt on Mercy's seventh birthday. After 10 years of being in foster care, molested and mistreated, Mercy seeks emancipation. She works the only job she can get, as the concierge at a seedy hotel, and makes friends with some of the clientele. Once she begins dating a drug dealer, her quality of life improves. Without realizing what happened or how, Mercy becomes his mule, trafficking drugs on I-95.