Chosen People

Thanks Ms. Bates for another Alex Powell mystery. I absolutely fell in love with Alex in Plain Brown Wrapper and had to read this one to see if it would be just as good - I was not disappointed! I was glad to see Alex still up to her old tricks, and with her man Paul firmly by her side. Alex is still as smart and no-nonsense as she was in the first novel and you can't help but root for her. As in Plain Brown Wrapper, this book gave a peek inside the upper echelon of Black society that is not always seen. It was nice to see how the other side lives, and easy to see why they don't want everyone to know (as Simp and his 'folks' weren't the nicest people you could meet). Anyway, if you are looking for a good book, and a good mystery, check out Ms. Alexa Powell. You won't be sorry!!!

I couldn't wait for this book to come out after reading Plain Brown Wrapper and I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed. I can't wait to read more about Alexa and crew.

I found the first Alex Powell book by accident, but I immediately liked her. Smart, opinionated, intelligent - this was a Sista I could like reading. And, I liked all the rest of the supporting characters, both Black and White. Having a Sistafriend who was a journalist for many years, Alex and her fellow journalists' travails about the newsroom were not unfamiliar to me. I think I liked this second book better than the first one because I already knew so many of the supporting cast. I hope Ms. Bates writes a third and fourth Alex Powell book. There are so many good Black mystery writers...I totally wish that BET or TVOne would do a series with them. ..

We last met protagonist, Los Angeles Standard columnist, Alex Marshall, using her sleuthing skills to solve a murder at the National Association of Black Journalists in Plain Brown Wrapper. Author Karen Grigsby Grant unleashes Alex's expertise again with her latest release, Chosen People. Alex, who has her pulse on the black community of Los Angeles, is assigned to write an article about James Simpson Lee Hastings Jr., the self-proclaimed authority on the Black Bourgeois and author of Chosen People, a book that, depending on who you ask, is either uplifting rich black folk or putting down poorer black folk. Alex knew Hastings had enemies but who would slit his throat at an Eso Wan Book Store signing? She finds herself right smack in the middle of another murder case much to the chagrin of Paul Butler, her out-of-town beau, and her landlady, wealthy matron Sally Ferguson, who have continually admonished her to stay out of trouble, but it seems it just ain't going to happen. Why do these things happen to her? When Alex makes the connection of Hastings' murder to that of an alleged suicide of a wealthy white philanthropist and the vicious attack murder by pit bulls of a prominent African American woman, the plot thickens. All of these victims are only separated by the proverbial six degrees of separation. From the horse country in Norco of San Diego County, to the streets of South Central Los Angeles to swanky homes in Hancock Park and the Los Feliz Hills and the churches of the Black middle-class, Alex searches for answers. The cast of characters include a pro-black, militant activist turned horse trainer, old money black L.A. and a Jewish socialite. Not only is it a "small colored world", it is a small world, period. Grigsby Bates peppers her book throughout with phrases, some familiar; some newly coined, a sort of insider's secret language. Besides "small colored world", there is her code for white people, "WP", and the Black Bourgeoisie, "Nigwazeez" and other witty terms. The book, Chosen People, featured in the storyline was an excellent parody of Our Kind of People by Lawrence Otis Graham, the controversial account which took the middle/upper class African American community by storm several years ago. Indeed, as in her last book, Grigsby Bates gives you a glimpse into the black elite of Los Angeles; the class schisms in the African American community, the divisions and tension that exist and how they are exploited. I can hardly wait to see what Alex gets into next. Dera Williams APOOO BookClub www.apooo.org

Bates has written another well-paced, well written novel starring Alexa Powell, which I think that many people will like even more than PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER. CHOSEN PEOPLE is about the upper crust of black society and the african american elite, aptly called the "Chosen People" in some circles. In the book, as in real life, many people think that talking too much about money and class and social status is considered vulgar. Simp, a man who is obsessed with chronicalling the status of the black elite, is unsurprisingly murdered. But no one knows who, among the many people who were clearly disgusted with Simp, could have committed the murder. Alex Powell, reporter turned detective, is trying to write an article about this murder and two others that she intuitively thinks are related. Perhaps the best thing about this novel is that one of the connections among the characters is their understanding of and committment to improving the black and minority communities and helping those in need. The novel is just as much about political power, cultural identity, ethnic awareness, and community service as it is about social status and violent murders. (After all, there are four murders in the novel!) I don't want to give away any more of the plot, because I was so surprised and intrigued about the way that the murders were and were not related. I didn't anticipate it at all. Although I am not especially fascinated about this particular segment of black society (I actually find it a little annoying), I honestly think that this angle will make the book more interesting to a lot of people, because most people can only read about the Chosen People, and generally enjoy doing so. I really enjoy reading about Alex, although I got tired of reading about what she was wearing, and I like her. I relate to her, and I look forward to reading about her again. This is a great summer read, I finished it in about 3 days or so. I really hope it goes to the top of the Essence bestseller list and stays there!