Bourgeois (AKA) Boojee (Detective Honey Sinclair) by Alan Cramer

Someday (I’m A Good Woman) by Jae Henderson

Strings of Color by Marian L. Thomas

Rasheed Clark’s Cold Summer Afternoon and Stories I Wouldn’t Tell Nobody But God

Strawberries Stilettos and Steam by Imani True and Dreama Skye

Zaire’s Place by T.C. Galltin

Zone One: A Novel by Colson Whitehead

Harlem Renaissance Novels: The Library of America Collection

Harlem Renaissance Novels: The Library of America Collection
Edited by Safia Zafar

Blair Walker’s Darryl Billups Mystery Series

December’s Bestselling African American Books

1. Bachelor Undone (Kimani Romance) by Brenda Jackson
   (Kimani Romance, 2011-12-01, Kindle Edition)
   

   Every woman wants him. But he only wants her.When Darcy Owens leaves snowy New York for some Jamaican fun in the sun, the city planner isn’t expecting to meet the hero of her fantasies. But the sexy, sun-kissed man she sees her first day on the beach comes pretty close. Until he turns out to be York Ellis, the drop-dead-gorgeous but supremely arrogant ex-cop who thinks she needs his protection…and his passion.When York looks at Darcy, he knows she’s the woman he’d give his life for. So when Darcy finds herself in peril, the security expert vows to safeguard her. Now it’s not only his body at risk. It’s his heart he’s in danger of losing when she tempts him with the one thing the sworn bachelor never dreamed he’d find: passionate, glorious love.

    

2. King’s Pleasure (Arabesque) by Adrianne Byrd
   (Kimani Arabesque, 2011-12-01, Kindle Edition)
   

   The sexy King brothers own a successful bachelor-party-planning business and a string of upscale clubs across the country. What could be better than living the single life in some of the world’s most glamorous cities?Finding a woman worth giving it up for…Jeremy King’s brothers may have turned in their player cards, but that just leaves more action for him. Like the gorgeous, bikini-clad party crasher who saunters into the Malibu bachelor bash he’s hosting. Leigh Matthews wants Jeremy, but just for one last fling. And what Leigh wants, she gets.Unable to forget their amazing connection, Jeremy is stunned when weeks later Leigh hires his company—to plan her bachelorette party. Leigh has her reasons for getting married. But after their night of unbridled pleasure, Jeremy doesn’t believe she’s truly in love. Now he’s got six weeks to convince her that their incredible Malibu night was only the beginning.…

    

3. My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man by Frank Cascio
   (William Morrow, 2011-12-05, Hardcover)
   

   Everyone knows Michael Jackson—the myth. This is the revealing true story of Michael Jackson—the man. To Frank Cascio, Michael Jackson was many things—second father, big brother, boss, mentor, and teacher, but most of all he was a friend. Though Cascio was just a few years old when he first met Jackson in 1984, at the peak of the pop star’s career, Jackson was at the center of his life for the next twenty-five years, allowing Cascio to observe firsthand the greatest entertainer the world had ever seen. In that time, he became the ultimate Michael Jackson insider, yet remained publicly silent about his experiences. Until now. In My Friend Michael, Cascio refutes the rumors, lies, and accusations that have accumulated over the years, providing a candid look at the Michael Jackson he knew for more than two decades. Offering an uplifting and definitive account of the legend, Cascio details how he grew up alongside Jackson, traveling the world with him on concert tours and eventually working for him. Through this lens, Cascio captures Jackson’s most private and tumultuous moments, while also setting the record straight on the entertainer’s notorious and misunderstood lifestyle—from his Peter Pan reality and his sexuality to the false allegations against him. As Cascio shows, there was a great deal more to Michael Jackson than the headlines about him have suggested. Cascio reveals his friend in all his complexity, bringing to light his passions and joys as well as his flaws and eccentricities. Including stories about Jackson that have never before been made public, Cascio creates a balanced, human look at the pop star, one that shows Jackson as the very real person he was—a lively friend with an endearingly juvenile sense of humor. What emerges is a clear-eyed yet deeply respectful portrait of Jackson—a man who was at times unremarkably average but also terribly scarred by his life in the spotlight. Packed with never-before-seen photos, anecdotes, and insights, My Friend Michael is a trove of Michael Jackson lore that both celebrates his life and redefines our understanding of the man behind the myth.

    

4. Winter Kisses (Kimani Romance) by A.C. Arthur
   (Kimani Romance, 2011-12-01, Kindle Edition)
   

   After “the love of her life” broke her heart, Monica Lakefield vowed never to trust a sexy, sweet-talking man again. Dubbed the Ice Queen, she hides her hurt beneath her cool, corporate facade. Until the workaholic Lakefield heiress arrives at an exclusive Aspen resort…and discovers hunky Alexander Bennett in her room!As CFO of his own company, Alexander works hard and plays harder. After being tricked into a vacation by his matchmaking relatives, he finds himself snowbound with the reserved yet sinfully sexy Monica. In front of a roaring fire, with the snow falling outside, he’ll show the all-business businesswoman what real passion can be. He’ll take nothing less than her kisses. Her heart. And all the love she has to give…

    

5. Comfort of a Man (Arabesque) by Adrianne Byrd
   (Kimani Arabesque, 2011-12-01, Kindle Edition)
   

   At thirty-eight, Brooklyn Douglas has her hands full raising a teenage son and running her own business. What she doesn’t need is everybody and their mother trying to hook her up with a “good man.” The last “good man” Brooklyn was with turned into a no-good husband, who left her for another woman. Can’t she just have a mind-blowing love affair with no strings attached? Somebody like the handsome, broad-shouldered brother at the bar.…As a successful businessman, Isaiah Washington is used to going after what he wants, and what he wants is Brooklyn. Too bad the lady isn’t extending any invitations. But when fate lands Isaiah in Atlanta for the summer, he’s ready to do whatever it takes—from slow kisses to showing up when it counts—in order to melt her heart. Because when it comes to real love, there’s no such thing as a perfect man. But there is such a thing as the right one…

    

6. California Connection 3 by Chunichi
   (Urban Books, 2011-12-01, Paperback)
   

    

7. Love in Play by Zuri Day
   (Kensington Books, 2011-12-06, Kindle Edition)
   

   Zuri Day spins a captivating and sexy tale of taking charge, letting loose, and playing for keeps. . .With her curvaceous full figure and a mega-successful magazine career, Dominique Clark is finally large-and-in-charge of her life. The last thing she needs is romantic drama–especially in the form of her son’s football coach, Jake McDonald, a man who’s used to calling the shots. Yet when their instant attraction leads to a sizzling all-night sexual marathon, they agree that several rematches are in order just to get each other out of their systems. The loving is good, but their differences of opinion have Dominique’s head screaming time out. Her heart, however, wants to stay in the game. . .“A completely entertaining love story…Day’s use of humor and good sense creates a completely readable novel.”–RT Book Club on Body By Night“Day spins an erotic…tale of love in unexpected places.” –Publishers Weekly on Lessons From A Younger Lover“The pages of Body By Night are dripping with fire and desire.” –The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers“Day writes with zest and sensual appeal. The descriptions of food edge the bedroom scenes, but not by much.”–Publishers Weekly on What Love Tastes Like

    

8. Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless by Kiki Swinson
   (Dafina, 2011-12-01, Paperback)
   

   Essence® bestselling authors Kiki Swinson and Noire double down in these sizzling novellas about sex, money, and too much of a good thing. . .Shamelessly Rich Kiki SwinsonExclusive parties, high-end rides, designer everything–for Virginia Beach heiress Megan Rich, it’s just an ordinary day. And one taste of Duke Chambers’ thug loving has her spending like crazy to keep him primed, hot, ‘n ready. But when her parents cut off the cash flow and Duke comes up with a revenge plan, this poor little bad girl has one dangerous life-changing choice to make. . .Puttin’ Shame in the Game NoireZsa Zsa, Malisha, and Kiki will do anything for a man who’ll pay their bills and keep them in the style every trophy wife deserves. These gorgeous sistahs are using every lie, trick, and scheme in the book to seduce wealthy NYC police officer Noble into making one of them his one and only. But sometimes the only way to win is to know when to walk away. . .”Kiki captures the heat of the streets.” –Wahida Clark”Noire is Dickens for the age of dojah, donuts and dawgs.” –Publishers Weekly on Hood

    

9. Need You Now (Kimani Romance) by Yahrah St. John
   (Kimani Romance, 2011-12-01, Kindle Edition)
   

   When Kayla Adams wants something, she goes after it. But the take-no-prisoners mogul may have met her match in gorgeous alpha male Ethan Graham. The ruthless billionaire takeover king—and Kayla’s secret girlhood crush—is hotter than an Atlanta August night. He’s also made it clear he’s going to acquire Kayla’s beleaguered family enterprise…and will do whatever it takes to get it!Ethan plans to own a lot more than Kayla’s high-profile company. The glamorous president of Adams Cosmetics drives him wild with desire, but acts indifferent to the playboy’s sensual charms. Until they share their first kiss. Then Ethan comes up with an offer the alluring Southern beauty can’t refuse. Marry him and they’ll merge their divided interests in a passionate takeover that will make them partners in everything…maybe even love.

    

10. A Compromising Affair (Arabesque) by Gwynne Forster
    (Kimani Arabesque, 2011-12-01, Kindle Edition)
    

    In her beloved Harringtons series, Gwynne Forster introduced the sexy, wealthy brothers from Maryland. Each found his perfect match, and now their family and friends are searching for happily-ever-afters of their own….Scott Galloway has always known how to get what he wants. A U.S. Ambassador at thirty-six, he’s got ambition to burn. His latest goal—settle down and start a family. But finding the right candidate isn’t easy. Especially when the one woman he can’t stop thinking about is the one he ruled out years ago.Accomplished and successful in her own right, Denise Miller has never forgotten Scott, in spite of their disastrous first meeting. And now that their mutual friendship with the Harrington family has brought them together again, Denise is more and more intrigued. Scott is strong enough to stand up to her—and she could be the loving, equal partner he needs. But with hearts this stubborn, and passion this wild, can they find the compromise that leads to forever?

     

11. The Blackstone Promise: Beyond Business\A Younger Man (The Blackstones of Virginia) by Rochelle Alers
    (Harlequin Blaze, 2011-12-01, Kindle Edition)
    

    Beyond BusinessSheldon Blackstone, CEO of a legendary stud farm, has a lot to be grateful for, along with regrets. But Renee Wilson, his new administrative assistant, will show him it’s time to look beyond past mistakes and think about the future.Renee has her priorities straight—a good job and a safe place to raise her unborn child. Blackstone Farms offers both, though the attraction she shares with Sheldon keeps cooler heads from prevailing. Can Renee afford to surrender to passion?A Younger ManWhen Kumi Walker finds Veronica Hamlin stranded, he offers to fix her tire in exchange for a home-cooked meal. It isn’t long before he realizes his interest in Veronica is the real thing. Can he convince her their age difference doesn’t matter?Though Veronica has turned down Atlanta’s most eligible bachelors, she can’t resist this younger man. But giving in to desire would mean ignoring the scandal their affair would create, and risking everything for love.

     

12. Private Luau (Kimani Romance) by Devon Vaughn Archer
    (Kimani Romance, 2011-12-01, Kindle Edition)
    

    Raquel Deneuve prides herself on her ability to make any bad-rap celebrity look good. But the Honolulu image consultant takes on the challenge of her career when she’s hired by former NBA hotshot Keanu Bailey. The hard-partying playboy has a rep for never getting serious with any woman. That spells trouble for Raquel when she starts falling for her seductive client.To the world, Keanu is the ultimate bad boy. But he’s determined to prove them wrong—especially when he meets Raquel. The part-time hula dancer and sultry beauty soon has him moving to the age-old rhythms of passion and romance. Transformed by Raquel’s sensual touch, the infatuated sports star knows he’s become a one-woman man. As pleasure flames into love in their private island oasis, can Keanu turn Raquel into a one-man woman?

     

13. Ran Away (Benjamin January Mysteries) by Barbara Hambly
    (Severn House Publishers, 2011-12-01, Hardcover)
    

    The new Benjamin January novel from the best-selling author – RAN AWAY. So began a score of advertisements every week in the New Orleans newspapers, advertising for slaves who’d fled their masters. But the Turk, Hüseyin Pasha, posted no such advertisement when his two lovely concubines disappeared. And when a witness proclaimed he’d seen the “devilish infidel” hurl their dead bodies out of a window, everyone was willing to believe him the murderer. Only Benjamin January, who knows the Turk of old, is willing to seek for the true culprit, endangering his own life in the process . . .

     

14. Full Figured 4 (Plus Sized Divas) (Carl Weber Presents: Plus Sized Divas) by Anna J.
    (Urban Trade Paper, 2011-12-01, Paperback)
    

    With his Full Figured series, Carl Weber brings together some of Urban Books’ hottest authors to entertain readers with their stories about the lives and loves of beautiful full-figured women. This time Anna J. and Natalie Weber bring the heat.After a humiliating public divorce from Sean King, stockbroker to the stars, all Valencia McKoy has left is her hair salon, The Real McKoy. She drowns her sorrow in gallons of butter pecan ice cream, until a friend finally convinces her to see a psychiatrist. Dr. Alexander Thornton finds it hard to keep his composure when the stunning, curvaceous Valencia walks into his office. As Alex finds himself falling for his patient, will he be able to maintain his professionalism and help her regain her self-confidence?Thirty-year-old Amber Couture is used to having things her way. She’s got a six-figure income, a fabulous home in a gated community, and her pick of men who just love her exaggerated curves. Trevor is a mechanic who works in her family’s car dealership. His bedroom skills are so good that Amber might not even notice he’s got other motives. Stephen has plenty of money in the bank, but he can’t rock Amber’s world the way Trevor does. And then there’s Robert. He’s been after Amber for six months, but she won’t give him a first date. Would it make a difference to her if she knew how much money he just inherited? This full-figured diva will have to decide which is better when it comes to men: quantity or quality?

     

15. Why Don’t American Cities Burn? (The City in the Twenty-First Century) by Michael B. Katz
    (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011-12-07, Hardcover)
    

    At 1:27 on the morning of August 4, 2005, Herbert Manes fatally stabbed Robert Monroe, known as Shorty, in a dispute over five dollars. It was a horrific yet mundane incident for the poor, heavily African American neighborhood of North Philadelphia—one of seven homicides to occur in the city that day and yet not make the major newspapers. For Michael B. Katz, an urban historian and a juror on the murder trial, the story of Manes and Shorty exemplified the marginalization, social isolation, and indifference that plague American cities.Introduced by the gripping narrative of this murder and its circumstances, Why Don’t American Cities Burn? charts the emergence of the urban forms that underlie such events. Katz traces the collision of urban transformation with the rightward-moving social politics of late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century America. He shows how the bifurcation of black social structures produced a new African American inequality and traces the shift from images of a pathological black “underclass” to praise of the entrepreneurial poor who take advantage of new technologies of poverty work to find the beginning of the path to the middle class. He explores the reasons American cities since the early 1970s have remained relatively free of collective violence while black men in bleak inner-city neighborhoods have turned their rage inward on one another rather than on the agents and symbols of a culture and political economy that exclude them.The book ends with a meditation on how the political left and right have come to believe that urban transformation is inevitably one of failure and decline abetted by the response of government to deindustrialization, poverty, and race. How, Katz asks, can we construct a new narrative that acknowledges the dark side of urban history even as it demonstrates the capacity of government to address the problems of cities and their residents? How can we create a politics of modest hope?

     

16. Money Never Sleeps: A Millionaire Wives Club Novel by Tu-Shonda Whitaker
    (One World/Ballantine, 2011-12-06, Kindle Edition)
    

    The bling is brighter, the drama is amped up, and the delicious beauties from Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker’s Millionaire Wives Club are back for a second season of backstabbing, divorce parties, and family sagas. Lights, camera, action! Milan, Jaise, and Chaunci are the gorgeous, high-rolling divas starring in the hit reality show Millionaire Wives Club. As they struggle with love, lies, lust, and the pressures of sudden fame, their friendships turn into catfights that keep the cameras following all their malicious moves. Milan is finally engaged to Kendu, the man of her dreams, and though things look perfect on the outside, distrust and jealousy are crumbling their romance. Jaise has found the love she so desperately craves, but her son, Jabril, remains the No. 1 man in her life—for better or for worse. And Chaunci, the independent, single mom who doesn’t feel she needs a man, is contemplating taking the plunge into a deep love affair—but will the man she chooses have room in his life for her? Add to this crafty cast Vera, a venomous new vixen who plays the game better than any of them, and you’ve got a season even more scintillating than the last.From the Trade Paperback edition.

     

17. A Lover’s Dream (Arabesque) by Altonya Washington
    (Kimani Arabesque, 2011-12-15, Kindle Edition)
    

    CAN MIXING BUSINESS AND PLEASUREAuthor Michaela Sellars has a successful writing career, but love and security have always eluded her until a research trip takes a surprisingly romantic turn. Quest Ramsey and his brother Quaysar belong to one of Seattle’ s most successful families, and Michaela is in town to profile them for an upcoming biography. Falling in love with gorgeous, confident Quest—and having him fall for her in return—is the ultimate dream come true ADD UP TO LOVE?Quest is reluctant to be featured in Michaela’ s tell-all book, but something about this beautiful woman has captured his attention and keeps him coming back. With little reservation, he lets her into his life and his heart. But when Michaela uncovers a secret that threatens to ruin his family name, she’ ll have to choose between the integrity of her profession, and the love she never thought she’ d find.

     

18. Perfect Peace: A Novel by Daniel Black
    (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011-12-06, Paperback)
    

    The heartbreaking portrait of a large, rural southern family’s attempt to grapple with their mother’s desperate decision to make her newborn son into the daughter she will never have When the seventh child of the Peace family, named Perfect, turns eight, her mother Emma Jean tells her bewildered daughter, “You was born a boy. I made you a girl. But that ain’t what you was supposed to be. So, from now on, you gon’ be a boy. It’ll be a little strange at first, but you’ll get used to it, and this’ll be over after while.” From this point forward, his life becomes a bizarre kaleidoscope of events. Meanwhile, the Peace family is forced to question everything they thought they knew about gender, sexuality, unconditional love, and fulfillment.

     

19. Twelve Gates to the City by Daniel Black
    (St. Martin’s Press, 2011-12-06, Hardcover)
    

    A novel of self-discovery, family bonds and the healing of one small southern townTwelve Gates to the City is the much-anticipated sequel to Black’s acclaimed debut, They Tell Me of a Home. In this novel, Sister assumes the voice of the narrator, speaking from the spirit realm, telling her brother TL things he could have never known about their family. She constructs the story as a series of spiritual revelations, exposing to readers both who she was in the years of TL’s absence and how every event in his life was an orchestration for his return. TL in the meantime is back in Swamp Creek, to stay this time, but he’s still haunted by his sister’s death. His decision to become the Schoolmaster is the only thing he’s sure about, and his impact upon the students becomes palpable. But he still doesn’t know what happened to Sister. As he searches for ultimate truth, he discovers the secrets and beauty of Swamp Creek. Twelve Gates to the City is a novel about spiritual revelation, and communal healing, ushered in by one who finally realizes that his gifts were bestowed upon him, not for his own glory, but for the transformation of his people.

     

20. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
    (Amistad, 2011-12-27, Paperback)
    

    Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past. When the girls arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968, Cecile wants nothing to do with them. She makes them eat Chinese takeout dinners, forbids them to enter her kitchen, and never explains the strange visitors with Afros and black berets who knock on her door. Rather than spend time with them, Cecile sends Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, where the girls get a radical new education. Set during one of the most tumultuous years in recent American history, one crazy summer is the heartbreaking, funny tale of three girls in search of the mother who abandoned them—an unforgettable story told by a distinguished author of books for children and teens, Rita Williams-Garcia.