Ride or Die

Ride or Die: You either ride with me or die trying. That is Keisha Anderson and Jamal Nichol's motto. She is a PK - preacher's kid -- and he is a drug lord's son. They met years ago when they were pre-teens and experienced puppy love, now they are experimenting with the real thing - true love. Their fathers, John Anderson and Frank Nichols were friends, in fact they were even like brothers, but something happened. Something drove a wedge between them and they have spent the past umpteen years in rivalry. Someone attempts to rape Keisha and her knight in shining armor, Jamal, saves the day. She tells her father about the incident and he becomes livid. The same evening, an attempt is made on John's life, but someone else dies, and he believes Frank has something to do with both incidents and stages a protest outside of his bar. The protest turns violent when a stray bullet, intended for John, hits the police commissioner and kills him. Not to mention, Keisha is kidnapped. Someone has to pay and Jamal is the chosen fall guy. Detective Kevin Lynch is back; he was first introduced in The Bridge. His job is to solve the homicide of the police commissioner and other crimes which occurred as a domino effect of the protest. Jamal is running for his innocence and Keisha is with him. The question is: was she really kidnapped or is she a willing participant? In the midst of all the chaos, family secrets are unveiled. The saints are more like devils in sheep's clothing. Jones gives you high speed chases, carjackings, shooting sprees and all the while, makes you feel as though you're front and center for each of the crimes, with his elaborate details. That man can tell a story and always amazes you with an "Aww hell naw" ending. But I must admit, unlike the other two novels, I figured this one out. That won't guarantee the next reader will. Ride or Die is drama/mystery/romance at its best. Okay, what's next Jones? Bring it on `cause I'm aching for another good read. Reviewed by: Esther "Ess" Mays for Loose Leaves Book Review

Innocent Keisha Anderson crosses paths with thug wanna-be Jamal Nichols when she is eleven and he is thirteen. Their tender relationship is broken when his mother sends him south to get him away from his criminal father. The relationship begins anew years later after Jamal saves Keisha from an attack by his father's thugs. Rev. Anderson, Keisha's father, knows it was Jamal's father, Franks Nichols, who sent the thugs after his daughter and he stages a protest in front of Frank's bar. During the protest a rooftop sniper begins firing and the police commissioner is killed. The chase is on. Jamal, accused of being the killer snatches Keisha to safety and they begin the run of their young lives. As they seek safety, family secrets are revealed, shocking both young people. Solomon Jones's plot twists and turns and every time I thought I knew who did it or even why it was done, I would find out I was completely wrong. It is well written, suspenseful and full of surprises. I could hardly put it down. It is indeed, an excellent, must-read mystery. Reviewed by alice Holman of the RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

From the title of this book I thought it would be a little more grittier, but it took me in a whole different direction, a direction that I liked a lot. Every character in this book played an important role in telling the story, there was no background characters at all. When reading Ride or Die, I had the sense of a Romeo and Juliet feel with some urban flava. There were so many twist and turns that I didn't want to put the book down at all!!!! This book can make a great movie and its not a lot of books that I say that about. Later!!!!!

After reading Pipe Dreams and The Bridge I thought what would be next for this author. Solomon Jones has done it again. Ride or Die is a must read. If I was a first time reader and wanted a book out of the blue to read I would pick this one. The ins and outs the ups and downs, then there is the ending something that you want to happen, something that you think might happen, or maybe there is something that only if you read this book to find out what happen, happens. GO BUY THIS BOOK AND I GUARANTEE THAT, you will put Solomon Jones as one of your favorite African American Authors.

Like the title says, he's at it again. With this book, the author shows his versatility and why, in my opinion, should be mentioned among other terrific African-American authors. He tells the story once again from the streets of Philly, but this time, it is two families going at it, with the main characters being the young kids from each family. He does a tremendous job going from sequence to sequence, just like in Pipe Dream and the Bridge, and once you think you have the story figured out, there is another curveball he throws at the reader. He brings back Detective Lynch from the Bridge as one of the main characters in the pursuit for justice. You can tell the story is truly authentic, and its almost as if you can sit down in the story and watch as it goes along, like you would watch a great movie. All in all, it's another must-read from arguably the most under-the-radar author in the game right now.