The Cartel
2009
- fiction
- drug traffic
- murder for hire in fiction
- drug traffic in fiction
- murder for hire
- fiction, african american, urban
- african americans, fiction
- fiction, romance, suspense
- miami (fla.), fiction
- crime, fiction
The story
The port of Miami brings in millions of dollars worth of cocaine every year, and The Cartel controls eighty percent of it. The Diamond family is a force to be reckoned with, but all hell breaks loose when they lose their leader. The most ruthless gangster Miami has ever seen, Carter Diamond leaves behind a wife, twin sons, a daughter, and a secret. The secret is his illegitimate son, Carter Jones. When Young Carter learns of his father’s death, he comes to town and is introduced to the legacy of The Cartel. Miamor is a woman who uses her beauty to enhance her skill as a contract killer. She is the leader of The Murder Mamas. When her crew is hired to take down The Cartel, they get caught slipping, and Miamor loses her sister in the process. She is determined to get revenge from The Cartel. Unknowingly, she meets the son of Carter Diamond, and he immediately catches her heart. She is sleeping with the enemy, and when she finds out, she is torn between love and revenge. Young Carter and Miamor lead two different lifestyles. They are on opposing teams, and when their worlds collide, the truth will be unveiled in an unpredictable ending.
What it’s like
Sharp, fast and unsentimental, this is urban crime fiction of the streetwise kind: short punchy chapters, clipped dialogue, and a Miami world of white sand, speedboats, luxury cars and nightclub gloss rendered in brand names and heat. The prose reads like a hard-edged soap, with swaggering voices, jealous glances and sudden reversals. Violence is frequent and matter-of-fact, with shootings and contract killings described plainly rather than lingered on, and there is a steady current of sexual content and romance between the leads, so it is not suited to anyone wanting something gentle. Its emotional register is cynical and hungry, the mood of a steamy, dangerous night out that turns on a betrayal. The central arc follows a woman torn between loyalty to her crew and a man she was never meant to love, and a son trying to claim a legacy built on blood. Best for readers who like street fiction, crime romance and dramatic, twisting loyalties, reading late at night or on a long train ride.
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