The Long Fall by Walter Mosley

His name is etched on the door of his Manhattan office: LEONID McGILL , PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR. It’s a name that takes a little explaining, but he’s used to it.

Ex-boxer, hard drinker, in a business that trades mostly in cash and favors: McGill’s an old-school P.I. working a city that’s gotten fancy all around him. Fancy or not, he has always managed to get by—keep a roof over the head of his wife and kids, and still manage a little fun on the side—mostly because he’s never been above taking a shady job for a quick buck. But like the city itself, McGill is turning over a new leaf, “decided to go from crooked to slightly bent.”

New York City in the twenty-first century is a city full of secrets—and still a place that reacts when you know where to poke and which string to pull. That’s exactly the kind of thing Leonid McGill knows how to do. As soon as The Long Fall begins, with McGill calling in old markers and greasing NYPD palms to unearth some seemingly harmless information for a high-paying client, he learns that even in this cleaned-up city, his commitment to the straight and narrow is going to be constantly tested.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James

The Book of Night Women is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they—and she—will come to both revere and fear.

The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age and reveals the extent of her power, they see her as the key to their plans. But when she begins to understand her own feelings and desires and identity, Lilith starts to push at the edges of what is imaginable for the life of a slave woman in Jamaica, and risks becoming the conspiracy's weak link.

That Devil's No Friend of Mine by J.D. Mason

When Bishop Fontaine passed away, he left behind more than a list of good deeds. He was known as a caring friend and doting father...but he was also manipulative and controlling, especially to those he loved.

His death begins to unravel deep secrets and shocking desires among the people he cared most about. Five very different people whose lives are only connected by Bishop suddenly find themselves up close and personal as desires, dreams and passions collide.

Johnnie Wise's grandmother, Josephine Baptiste, at age sixteen, has just been promised in marriage to the heir-apparent to the throne of Nigeria. A life of riches and royalty may appeal to some girls her age, but she's not about to enter a loveless union with someone old enough to be her father. Especially since she’s in love with his much younger brother…

The night before the marriage is set to take place, she and her lover decide to take a chance on their romance and flee. Their freedom is short-lived, however, when they’re captured by Dutch slave traders and taken aboard a ship about to sail to the Americas. Landing in Santa Domingo, they’re sold together to a wealthy plantation owner as they prepare to embark on a life of servitude. But how long will they suffer their new state before they try to escape? And will their love survive lust, lies and power struggles in their New World?

Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins

On Bernadine Brown's fifty-second birthday she received an unexpected gift—she caught her husband, Leo, cheating with his secretary. She was hurt—angry, too—but she didn't cry woe is me. Nope, she hired herself a top-notch lawyer and ended up with a cool $275 million. Having been raised in the church, she knew that when much is given much is expected, so she asked God to send her a purpose.

The purpose turned out to be a town: Henry Adams, Kansas, one of the last surviving townships founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. The failing town had put itself up for sale on the Internet, so Bernadine bought it. Trent July is the mayor, and watching the town of his birth slide into debt and foreclosure is about the hardest thing he's ever done. When the buyer comes to town, he's impressed by her vision, strength, and the hope she wants to offer not only to the town and its few remaining residents, but to a handful of kids in desperate need of a second chance.

Not everyone in town wants to get on board though; they don't want change. But Bernadine and Trent, along with his first love, Lily Fontaine, are determined to preserve the town's legacy while ushering in a new era with ties to its unique past and its promising future

Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Moses Johnson isn't an old man—though he's a long way beyond his glory days as one of the most popular soul stars of the 70s. But at just about 50, he's shattered to learn that he's developing early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. The prospect is bleak; he's only got a brief amount of time before he loses his memory, and his conscious self, altogether. Mo's been lucky, and he knows it—more successful than most, with at least one unforgettable hit to his name—but there's plenty in his life he regrets.

Most of those regrets have to do with his son, Trey—who Mo's largely ignored for most of 19 years, whose fortunes have taken a turn for the worse when he gets caught up in a stickup gone bad organized by bad-news friend from the hood. And with his own father, Jack, who he hasn't spoken to for almost three decades, after the tragic violent death of his mother. When he learns his father is dying from cancer, Mo decides to take Trey west, from their home in Baltimore, on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles, where he grew up and where Jack still lives.

Life is Short But Wide by J. California Cooper

Like the small towns J. California Cooper has so deftly portrayed in her previous novels and story collections, Wideland, Oklahoma, is home to ordinary Americans struggling to raise families, eke out a living, and fulfill their dreams. In the early twentieth century, Irene and Val fall in love in Wideland. While carving out a home for themselves, they also allow neighbors Bertha and Joseph to build a house and live on their land.

The next generation brings two girls for Irene and Val, and a daughter for Bertha and Joseph. As the families cope with changing times and fortunes, and people are born and pass away, the characters learn the importance of living one's life boldly and squeezing out every possible moment of joy, while being held up by a strong foundation of love and the ultimate realization that whoever you are, and whatever you do, life is short, but it is also wide.

The Company We Keep by Mary Monroe

Gorgeous, successful executive Teri Stewart spends her days working for L.A.'s hottest record company-and her nights all alone. Her best friend Nicole is determined to find Teri a man, but she hasn't had much luck...because Teri wants more than Mr. Maybe. She's holding out for Mr. Right and won't settle for anything less. Just when Teri is ready to give up, a man from her past returns to reignite their romance. With his sultry smile and easy-going charm, radio DJ Harrison Starr is one-of-a kind-and Teri can't deny she's fallen hard for him again.

With her life finally falling into place, Teri thinks her dreams might come true after all. But Harrison may have a secret that could change everything.

The Breakthrough by Gwen Ifil

Veteran journalist Gwen Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, and also covers up-and-coming figures from across the nation.

Drawing on interviews with power brokers like Senator Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history.

The Black Girl Next Door by Jennifer Baszile

At six years of age, after winning a foot race against a white classmate, Jennifer Baszile was humiliated to hear her classmate explain that black people "have something in their feet to make them run faster than white people." When she asked her teacher about it, it was confirmed as true. The next morning, Jennifer's father accompanied her to school, careful to "assert himself as an informed and concerned parent and not simply a big, black, dangerous man in a first-grade classroom."

This was the first of many skirmishes in Jennifer's childhood-long struggle to define herself as "the black girl next door" while living out her parents' dreams. Success for her was being the smartest and achieving the most, with the consequence that much of her girlhood did not seem like her own but more like the "family project." But integration took a toll on everyone in the family when strain in her parents' marriage emerged in her teenage years, and the struggle to be the perfect black family became an unbearable burden.

We Take This Man by Candice Dow

Dwight and Tracey Wilson are living the ideal life with their two children in a brand new home in Florida. They are both excited when Dwight is offered a promotion at work, but the downside is that the job is located in Maryland. After much discussion, Tracey decides that she does not want to leave their new house. Dwight makes the decision to accept the position and return home on weekends.

Alicia Dixon has spent her life hating and not trusting men after her father mistreated her mother, but she can't help but fall for the new guy in her company...Dwight. They both try to fight their attraction to one another, but it proves to be a losing battle-Alicia is everything that his southern wife is not.

When Alicia ends up pregnant, Dwight decides to end things with Tracey, but the process proves not to be as easy as Dwight had hoped.

The Best of Everything by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Alicia Black Sullivan swore to never repeat her father's mistakes: she would never break any promises, she would never be unfaithful. And most important of all, when she got married, it would be for good.

And she really does love Phillip, the assistant pastor of her father's church. She just happens to love money—and the things it can buy—as well. Alicia was born to the good life, she's entitled to the best, and she'll do anything to get it. Even if it means piling up thousands of dollars in debt. Even if it means denying to everyone—even herself—that her love of shopping has gotten way out of control.

Before long, Phillip begins to wonder if marrying the woman of his dreams was a huge mistake. Alicia has similar thoughts. Deep down, though, she knows a whopper of an emotional bill is coming due. And all the regrets in the world won't change the fact that she may be more like her infamous father than she could have imagined—or feared.

Up to No Good by Carl Weber

There is always a man around the corner. And church trustee James Black should know—he’s usually that very man, carrying on affairs with married women and sleeping with one conquest after another. He has charm and good looks, and he knows how to use them. But when the tables turn and he suddenly finds himself in love with the woman of his dreams, he’s not the only one who’s surprised. And his marriage proposal quickly generates a ripple effect of shocking proportions...

The other women in James’s neighborhood have a thing or two to say about James’s new love. His daughter Jamie, only six months younger than his new fiancé, has every intention of dismantling his new relationship. But her plate becomes full when she discovers a mystery woman has been secretly calling her lover, Louis.

James’s son Darnel always swore he would not grow up to become a player like his father. His life is the picture of monogamy and devotion—until he catches his fiancée cheating and decides to follow in his father’s womanizing footsteps.

James knows he’s largely to blame for the turmoil that surrounds him and his loved ones. And now he’s going to have to find a way to bring peace to his loved one’s lives. But the only way he can do this is by facing some hard truths about himself and changing his own scandalous ways.

Basketball Jones by E. Lynn Harris

Aldridge James “AJ” Richardson is living the good life. He has a gorgeous town house in always-flavorful New Orleans, plenty of frequent-flier miles from jet-setting around the country on a whim, and an MBA—but he’s never had to work a regular job. He owes it all to his longtime lover, Dray Jones. Dray Jones the rich and famous NBA star. They fell in love in college when AJ was hired to tutor Dray, a freshman on the basketball team.

But Dray knew if he wanted to make it to the big time, he must juggle his public image and his private desires. Built on a deep, abiding love, their hidden relationship sustains them both, but when Dray’s teammates begin to ask insinuating questions about AJ, Dray puts their doubts to rest by marrying Judi, a beautiful and ambitious woman. Judi knows nothing about Dray’s “other life.” Or does she?

Freeman Walker by David Allan Cates

At the age of seven a mulatto slave boy with an indomitable spirit, Jimmy Gates, is freed by his owner-father, separated from his mother and everything he holds dear, and sent to England for an education. Four years later when his father drowns at sea, leaving him bereft, Jimmy is apprenticed to a London workhouse where he spends six hard years making saddles, reading heroic novels to his companions, finding the comfort of prostitutes, and discovering the inspirational speeches of an Irish revolutionary name Cornelius O Keefe, or O Keefe of the Sword.

At eighteen, dreaming himself a warrior and a hero, he returns to the states intending to rescue his mother. Both blessed and cursed by his late father s words-to-live-by and armed with his free papers and a copy of the Declaration of Independence, Jimmy grows into manhood while he s on the battlefields of the Civil War and in the gold camps of the American West, repeatedly forced to reckon the joys, terrors, and ironies of his freedom. He also discovers chameleon-like ability to shift identities and re-invent himself along the way.

Pecking Order by Omar Tyree

Starting with a simple plan to promote business network events among the rich, famous, and frivolous clients he works with, Ivan Davis begins to make a name for himself. He soon comes face-to-face with Lucina Gallo, the reigning diva of San Diego's nightlife culture. She needs a new partner she can trust, and one who knows everything about money.

For this dollar-hungry entrepreneur, the timing couldn't be better. Who wouldn't want to be partners with the most glamorous girl in the city? Ivan quickly teams up with her for business -- and for possible pleasure. However, for Lucina, business is business and nothing extra. Or is it?

After throwing a sizzling-hot birthday party for a popular San Diego Charger, Ivan finds himself babysitting Lucina's so-called girlfriends, some of the most spoiled and exotic women he has ever encountered. That's when the business deals begin to fall outside the bounds of simple promotion and parties. Ivan finds himself thrust into the limelight and lands at the doorstep of easy access to women, cash, cars, private jets, and multimillion-dollar real estate. But as the ridiculous amounts of money and power start to pile up, leaving a trail of broken hearts, fractured egos, and challenged loyalties, Ivan is forced to ask himself: How much money is enough?

Dying for Revenge by Eric Jerome Dickey

Hit man Giedon is finally back for another installment of murder, mayhem, and love. In this globe-trotting sequel and exciting sequel to Sleeping with Strangers and Waking with Enemies, Gideon enters the steamy, seedy underworld of crime and squares off with his most intriguing and and mysterious adversary yet.

Midnight by Sister Soulja

Souljah's follow-up to her bestselling novel, TheColdest Winter Ever, is another gritty coming-of-age tale, picking up the story of Midnight (a character in The Coldest Winter Ever) as he tries desperately to navigate American culture, Brooklyn streets and the dicey business of growing up. The novel begins as seven-year-old Midnight and his pregnant mother, Umma, are forced to leave their privileged life in Sudan for a hardscrabble American existence.

Midnight spends his formative years in Brooklyn guiding and translating for his loyal, loving and talented mother, helping her get a factory job while encouraging her to start a clothing line. Eventually, Midnight starts working at a Chinatown fish shop, finds love, joins a dangerous hustler's basketball league and tries to disentangle his ambivalent feelings toward romance, family and personal honor.

The Right Mistake by Walter Mosley

Living in South Central L.A., Socrates Fortlow is a sixty-year-old ex-convict, still strong enough to kill men with his bare hands. Now freed after serving twenty-seven years in prison, he is filled with profound guilt about his own crimes and disheartened by the chaos of the streets. Along with his gambler friend Billy Psalms, Socrates calls together local people of all races from their different social stations—lawyers, gangsters, preachers, Buddhists, businessmen—to conduct meetings of a Thinkers’ Club, where all can discuss the unanswerable questions in life.

The street philosopher enjoins his friends to explore—even in the knowledge that there’s nothing that they personally can do to change the ways of the world—what might be done anyway, what it would take to change themselves. Infiltrated by undercover cops, and threatened by strain from within, tensions rise as hot-blooded gangsters and respectable deacons fight over issues of personal and social responsibility. But simply by asking questions about racial authenticity, street justice, infidelity, poverty, and the possibility of mutual understanding, Socrates and his unlikely crew actually begin to make a difference.