Book- The Pink Palace

Author- Marlon McCaulsky
Publisher- Triple Crown Productions
Copyright 2008
Pages- 247
ISBN- 978-0-9099517-5-6

The Pink Palace was a surprising story with a twist that made the book worth reading. Although it had its usual players (drug dealers, gold diggers, etc) roaming through the pages, I did not see one of them really being a cop.

Janelle has to hit the streets at the age of 17 when her stepfather rapes her. Determined to stay alive and not be used, she tries to fix her life up and keep going straight, but the money she’s earning isn’t enough to support her, and the relative that she is staying with will soon be departing. She then meets up with her cousin Nikki, who is definitely get PAID, and she wants in. Nikki buts her down with the cash and that cash is coming from her place of employment and that place is the Pink Palace (of course, it’s a strip club).

Nikki is one of the best dancers at The Pink Palace she’s willing to do anything if the money is right, when she sees that her cousin needs a little help with some money she introduces her to stripping. Together they are the hottest dancers in the club. Janelle adopts the name Mo’Nique and starts her life in the fast lane. One of the first rules that she learns from her money hungry cousin is don’t fall for you trick. That becomes easier said than done for Mo’Nique.

On the outside, Tommy is a street hustler and the right hand man to Damien but in reality he’s an undercover cop trying to bring down King, Harlem’s biggest drug lord. Tommy is on a mission and won’t let anybody try and deter him, but when he meets Mo’Nique he falls for her and he is in limbo as to whether or not he can trust her. Will she rat him out and get him killed?

Damien is a street hustler working for King who wants control of Atlanta. He has a lot of respect for Tommy and plans to put Tommy down when he becomes the Boss. All he has to do is get rid of Dre who already has the streets under control but that isn’t easy especially when the girl he’s with also sleeps with the enemy.

These four characters are about to get a lesson in what really matters in life. Some will learn and change for the better, while others will learn the hard way or die without even trying.

All in all, the book should be read on that train ride to and from work, school, etc. It has enough flavor, twists, and turns to keep the pages turning.

Reviewer-Agasa Elitou