Written with the New York Times bestselling author, David Ritz, Jemeker Thompson tells the gripping tale of succeeding financially in the drug game, but then, after a lengthy prison term, turned her life around to inspire others just like her. Jemeker Thompson-Hairston paid a heavy price for her involvement in the drug game. Learning from her sources of a federal investigation, Jemeker went on the run. It was love for her young son that brought her back to Los Angeles, even though she knew she would be arrested. A subsequent 15-year sentence would cost her not only her legitimate business and the fortune she'd amassed through the drug trade, but the most precious thing of all: time with her child. But not all was lost. Fortunately, while Thompson-Hairston was serving out the fifteen-year sentence, one pivotal moment helped her turn her life around, setting her on a path to help and inspire others like her. Now, in Queen Pin, written with New York Times bestselling author David Ritz, she reveals in gripping detail her journey of redemption that readers won't soon forget.

'If Abbott writes half a dozen more books as good as her first three ... she will claim the throne as the finest prose stylist in crime fiction since Raymond Chandler' San Francisco Chronicle A young woman hired to keep the books at a down-at-heel nightclub is taken under the wing of the infamous Gloria Denton, a mob luminary who reigned during the Golden Era of Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano. The moll to end all molls, Gloria is notoriously cunning and ruthless. She shows her eager young protégéethe ropes, ushering her into a glittering whirl of late-night casinos, racetracks, betting parlours, inside heists and big, big money. Suddenly, the world is at her feet -- as long as she doesn't take any chances, like falling for the wrong guy. It all falls to pieces with a few turns of the roulette wheel, as both mentor and protégée scramble to stay one step ahead of their bosses and each other ...

When tragedy strikes, Krystal is faced with decisions that could alter her fate. Right or wrong, good or bad, the choice is ultimately hers to make. She has brains, beauty, and she’s eager to please. Krystal Davenport can be anything in life she desires. Well, at least that’s what her teachers tell her. However, the brutal truth is that Krystal has one destiny, and that path defines who she is and who she was born to be. This conniving female is indeed her mother’s child. Being Ms. Thang’s offspring means Krystal is hood royalty. Her family is infamous in the game. They live and die by the code of the streets.

Hip-hop artist Queen Pen's powerful debut novel is a love story of ultimate passion and desperate measures set on the tough streets of Brooklyn.

Dig deep into the annals of crime and one can find smart, ambitious, and ruthless women who have cracked the glass ceiling of the underworld and become notorious in their own right. Noted crime writer Chepesiuk profiles the major queenpins of modern times and how they not only survived but thrived in gangland.

As the plump sausages were beginning to brown, there was a knock on the door.Chicago Mob Boss Sam Giancana showed no fear as he turned back the double locks on the heavy steel door of his fortress like home that protected him from the outside world. Sam looked his old friend Johnny Roselli in the eye and invited him in. The men kissed on the cheek, exchanged pleasantries and shared a laugh. ThenMooney, as Johnny affectionately called Sam, heard the sausages sizzling in their pan and ran back to the stove to keep them from burning. While he was rolling them over, Johnny quietly crept up behind him and placed the muzzle of a .22 caliber handgun equipped with a silencer at the base of his skull and said Sam, this is for Marilyn. Sam hesitated a moment as he tended to the sausages. A split second passed. In that moment, an image of Marilyn Monroe, the quintessential Hollywood Goddess, platinum blond bombshell, orphaned child, cheesecakepin up girl, fantasy lover to thousands of men, supposed tragic suicide victim and lover of President John F. Kennedy and his brother Bobby, filled Sams head. Then Johnny pulled the trigger.

What happens to Queen Bees and Wannabes when they grow up? Even the most well-adjusted moms and dads can experience peer pressure and conflicts with other adults that make them act like they’re back in seventh grade. In Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads, Rosalind Wiseman gives us the tools to handle difficult situations involving teachers and other parents with grace. Reassuring, funny, and unfailingly honest, Wiseman reveals: • Why PTA meetings and Back-to-School nights tap into parents’ deepest insecurities • How to recognize the archetypal moms and dads—from Caveman Dad to Hovercraft Mom • How and when to step in and step out of your child’s conflicts with other children, parents, teachers, or coaches • How to interpret the code phrases other parents use to avoid (or provoke) confrontation • Why too many well-meaning dads sit on the sidelines, and how vital it is that they step up to the plate • What to do and say when the playing field becomes an arena for people to bully and dominate other kids and adults • How to have respectful yet honest conversations with other parents about sex and drugs when your values are in conflict • How the way you handle parties, risky behavior, and academic performance affects your child • How unspoken assumptions about race, religion, and other hot-button subjects sabotage parents’ ability to work together Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads is filled with the kind of true stories that made Wiseman’s New York Times bestselling book Queen Bees & Wannabes impossible to put down. There are tales of hardworking parents with whom any of us can identify, along with tales of outrageously bad parents—the kind we all have to reckon with. For instance, what do you do when parents donate a large sum of money to a school and their child is promptly transferred into the honors program–while your son with better grades doesn’t make the cut? What about the mother who helps her daughter compose poison-pen e-mails to yours? And what do you say to the parent-coach who screams at your child when the team is losing? Wiseman offers practical advice on avoiding the most common parenting “land mines” and useful scripts to help you navigate difficult but necessary conversations. Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads is essential reading for parents today. It offers us the tools to become wiser, more relaxed parents–and the inspiration to speak out, act according to our values, show humility, and set the kind of example that will make a real difference in our children’s lives. Also available as a Random House AudioBook and as an eBook