Sunfail (36 page)

“The strength of this novella, in addition to its straightforward prose and rapid pacing, rests on the universal theme at its center: loyalty. Loyalty and the bullshit our friends put us through . . . Like any good work of crime,
H.N.I.C.
is grounded in such common experiences and, like any good work of crime, it speaks to all of us, despite the fact that very few of us can bypass an alarm system through some computer trickery.”
—Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together

“It tells the…urban tale of deceit, greed and questioned loyalty with just enough drama to keep you turning the pages.”
—Literary Jewels

“A brutal and quick read . . . custom-made for the big screen.”
—Charles Tatum’s Review Archive

“You can tell that a true lyricist created this gritty tale about greed, betrayal, and street romance. The wordplay is dead on. Combine that with the details that give the freshness of immediate experience and you are no longer reading the story, you are suddenly a character in it. This is what good writing does—it puts you right there in the middle of the action. Excellent read. Salute!” —Miasha, best-selling author of
Secret Society

“Prodigy is a proven storyteller and his skills spill over into the literature game effortlessly. This is a five-star read.” —JaQuavis Coleman, best-selling coauthor of the Cartel series

“
H.N.I.C.
is a quick yet engaging read that kept me flipping the pages to see what would happen next.” —K’wan, best-selling author of
Animal

Pappy tries to break out of the game before the head of his crew, Black, gets them all killed. Against his better judgment Pappy agrees to do one last job, but only because it’s the price of his freedom. He knows Black can’t be trusted. He knows his “brother” would rather see him dead than let him walk away. Yet he still agrees to do the job because Black isn’t the only one who can’t be trusted. Sometimes you have to kill for what you want.

Further developing the stark realism and uncompromising streetwise narratives of his lyrics,
H.N.I.C.
cements Prodigy’s position as one of the foremost chroniclers of contemporary urban life. Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale,
H.N.I.C.
peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance.

With
H.N.I.C.
, Prodigy inaugurates Infamous Books, a revolutionary partnership that pairs the Infamous Records brand with Brooklyn-based independent publisher Akashic Books. Infamous Books’ mission is to connect readers worldwide to crime fiction and street lit authors both familiar and new.

ALBERT “PRODIGY” JOHNSON
, as one half of the hip-hop phenomenon Mobb Deep, has sold millions of albums and recorded with the elite of hip-hop, R&B, and rock. Prodigy is the founder and curator of Infamous Books, and is the author of the memoir
My Infamous Life
and coauthor, with Steven Savile, of
H.N.I.C.
and
Ritual
(forthcoming). He lives in Queens, New York.

H.N.I.C.
is available in hardcover and paperback
from our website
and in bookstores everywhere. The e-book edition is available wherever e-books are sold.

The White House
by JaQuavis Coleman

One house . . . one robbery . . . one mistake . . . sexual intrigue and violence intermingle in this tense urban thriller.

“
The White House
is a fast-paced thriller that doesn’t disappoint.”
—Urban Reviews

“
The White House
by JaQuavis Coleman starts with a bang and will leave you wanting more.”
—Book Referees

“Kidnapping, murder, and mayhem lead [Draya]—and the reader—through a harrowing and twisting plot to an explosive ending that no one sees coming.”
—Reading in Black & White

The White House
is based on true events, reimagining the dark chronicles of a notorious drug kingpin’s death, and the unfortunate events that followed.

The young heroine Draya lives paycheck to paycheck, laboring as a maid in a luxurious white house. One day, in the course of performing her duties, she is presented with an irresistible opportunity for a quick—and risky—payday. What unfolds in the white house changes the course of her life. Kidnapping, murder, and mayhem lead her—and the reader—through a harrowing and twisting plot to an explosive ending that no one sees coming. Look through the eyes of this young woman and glimpse how a life can forever be altered due to an unfortunate series of events—all touched off in a legendary white house.

JaQUAVIS COLEMAN,
the
New York Times
best-selling author of Dopeman’s Trilogy, first burst onto the scene at the age of eighteen and quickly became a nationwide literary phenomenon. He and his wife Ashley Antoinette have coauthored numerous “street fiction” classics. With the birth of the Cartel series, the “Ashley and JaQuavis” brand took off. In 2013, twenty-seven-year-old Coleman was honored by
Ebony
magazine as being one of the Top 100 most influential African Americans in the country.

The White House
is available in hardcover and paperback
from our website
and in bookstores everywhere. The e-book edition is available wherever e-books are sold.

Black Lotus
by K'Wan

Finding the Black Lotus murderer is Detective Wolf’s chance to avoid an Internal Affairs investigation. That’s when things get personal.

Selected for the Library Services for Youth in Custody 2015 In The Margins List

One of
Library Journal‘s
Best African American Fiction Books of 2014

“[A] heart-thumping thriller . . . K’wan does a masterful job of keeping readers on their toes right up to the very last page.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Fans expecting another thug-in-the-street story will be pleasantly surprised at this rough police procedural.”
—Library Journal

“One of hip-hop fiction’s hottest authors.”
—King

“K’wan steadily builds to a frantic, movie-worthy climax.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“The legacies of Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines are forever preserved.”
—Upscale

Detective James Wolf earned the nickname Lone Wolf from his inability to work with a partner. He’s a hard cop who doesn’t mind bending the rules to the point of breaking them to make a case, which is why Internal Affairs is digging in his backyard, looking for buried bones. People are starting to wonder: Which side of the law is the Lone Wolf really hunting for? His career hanging on by a thread, he needs a major show of good faith to keep employed and out of prison. That’s when he gets the call.

From the moment he arrives at the crime scene, Detective Wolf knows that he’s in over his head. He’s a narcotics detective, called in to consult on a homicide, but this is no ordinary homicide—a priest was butchered and left for dead inside his own church, with the promise of more bodies to follow. The only lead is the killer’s calling card: a black lotus flower left at the crime scene. Detective Wolf now has the opportunity to quietly track and stop the Black Lotus before the next victim is claimed, in exchange for wiping his service record clean.

Accepting this case started as Detective Wolf’s attempt to get Internal Affairs off his back. But when his hunt for the Black Lotus leads him to a cold case from his past, it becomes personal.

K’WAN
is a best-selling, award-winning author of over a dozen titles, including
The Fix, Gangsta, Road Dawgz, Street Dreams, Hoodlum, Hood Rat, Section 8, Animal,
and
Animal II.
He has been featured in
Vibe, King, Entertainment Weekly,
and
Time
magazine. K’wan was the recipient of the 2012 and 2013 Street Lit Book Award Medals (SLBAM) in adult fiction for
Eviction Notice
and
Animal.
His credits also include featured commentary in the documentary
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp
(produced by Ice-T) as well as a recurring role as an analyst on TV One’s
Celebrity Crime Files.
K’wan currently resides in New Jersey where he is working on his next novel.

Black Lotus
is available in hardcover and paperback
from our website
and in bookstores everywhere. The e-book edition is available wherever e-books are sold.

Swing
by Miasha

An erotic drama about four sexy couples and one swingers’ club where their fantasies and nightmares collide.

“This newest offering from Miasha packs quite a punch . . . This erotic thriller keeps the drama and the sex coming from start to finish.”
—Library Journal

“Miasha is a writer to watch.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Miasha writes with the fatal stroke of a butcher knife.”—Omar Tyree, author of
Insanity

“She’s the crème de la crème.”—Vickie M. Stringer, author of
Dirty Red

“Miasha writes with fire.” —Crystal Lacey Winslow, author of
Life, Love & Loneliness

Lyssa and Jacob, owners of the swingers’ club Puss and Boots, have been living an active swingers lifestyle ever since their two children moved out of the house. Every couple months they hire a “live-in,” a girl who in exchange for room, board, and a paycheck provides sex on demand.

Danielle and Stewart met each other at a swingers’ club eight years ago. They fell in love and married, soon becoming regulars at Puss and Boots before obtaining their own private room in the club.

JuJu and Ferrari are the epitome of opposites attract. She’s fifty, he’s thirty. She is wild and outgoing and he is reserved and laid-back. She’s a millionaire former model; he’s a college dropout wannabe model. They’ve been going to Puss and Boots since the club opened two years ago.