Showing results by author "Brian W Smith" in All Categories

After seven years of marriage, Xavier and Rhonda Curry are getting divorced. Like so many divorces, the Curry’s divorce gets messy because Xavier refuses to agree to give Rhonda partial ownership of the multi-million dollar company he built prior to their marriage. Before the presiding judge renders a verdict, he requires the Curry’s to go through a mediation session to see if they can come to an amicable resolution. Accompanied by their feisty attorneys, the Curry’s enter the mediation session ready for war. Once the mediation session starts, and Xavier and Rhonda tell their sides of...

Hell has many doors… and Kevin J. Kennedy just tore them all open. Ten masterfully twisted minds each offer their own chilling vision of damnation, sin, and suffering. These aren’t just stories—they’re warnings. Tales so disturbing, you’ll be praying your soul is clean. So ask yourself: Have you lived a good life? Enter, if you’re brave enough… but don’t expect to come back the same. Contains stories by Edward Lee, Gord Rollo, Bryan W. Alaspa, Bill Davidson, Jeffrey Thomas, Viggy Parr Hampton, Thomas Smith, David-Jack Fletcher, Brian Moreland & Ryan Colley. Edited by Ann Keeran

In 1995, Clementine Wilson was murdered in her home. The slaying was witnessed by her two sons: Christopher (10) and Omar (8). The boys spent the next seven years in and out of numerous foster homes. When Christopher became too old for the foster care system, he joined the army. Feeling abandoned by the only relative he'd ever known, Omar fled the dysfunctional environment the first chance he got. The brothers didn't see each other again for twenty years. When the brothers reconnect they are both surprised to learn that they have a lot of similarities: they are both aloof, they often ...

Monty Okafor is a young hot-shot lawyer who runs into his old high school girlfriend, Summer Tonti. While at dinner, catching up on old times, Monty reminds Summer that the reason they broke up was because her mother forbade her from dating anyone whose skin color was darker than a brown paper bag. Much to Monty's chagrin, it's 15 years later and Summer admits that her mom still doesn't want her to date anyone who is darker than a brown paper bag. So, imagine how awkward things get when Summer's twin brother, Langston, is accused of murder and needs the best Defense Attorney in the city......

Detective Lizzy Silverman’s promotion to sergeant should be a triumph. Instead, it’s a trial by fire. Before the ink dries on her new title, she’s handed two homicide cases that couldn’t appear more different. On the decaying grounds of the abandoned Jazzland amusement park in eastern New Orleans, a 27-year-old woman is found dead beneath a rusted carousel and hurricane-torn signage. Across the city, in the stately elegance of the Garden District, a 60-year-old woman is stabbed to death while riding on the historic St. Charles streetcar. Different ages. Different worlds. No obvious ...

Tracy "Tiny" LeBlanc is a former Homicide Detective who decides to leave her stressful job and use her hefty inheritance to become a Travel Influencer. Traveling across the world and posting about the amazing cities and sites that she visits brings her a joy and freedom that she never knew existed. But Tiny's life takes a drastic turn when a Category 4 hurricane strikes her hometown of New Orleans and wipes out her childhood home; leaving her mother, Ida LeBlanc, homeless. Like any good child, Tiny opens her doors to her mother. But what she thought would be a temporary living arrangement ...

When Detective Lizzy Silverman is asked to be one of three judges for the gumbo contest at the 25th Annual Big Eazy Gumbo Festival, she reluctantly accepts. When one of the judges dies after eating a bowl of gumbo, Lizzy finds herself knee deep in a homicide investigation that has her stumped. The identity of the judges was kept a secret. The contestants had no way of knowing which of the three judges would eat the poisoned gumbo. Lastly, several people had access to the gumbo bowls. With no cameras in the prep area, how could she possibly determine who poisoned the gumbo? Luckily for Lizzy...

The Club is a book club that consists of 7 women and 1 man who all have a passion for reading novels. Their love for books has created an unbreakable bond between them. But things take a dark turn when Amber, the baby of the group, reveals that her husband, Police Chief, Anthony Dunwoody, is a monster who has done horrible things to her and their daughter, Sophie. The members of The Club become enraged by Amber's confession, and once the alcohol starts flowing at the meeting, it isn't long before suggestions on how to kill the badge wearing abuser get tossed around. Those suggestions might ...

Carnival season in New Orleans is six weeks of chaos that culminates with Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day). In a city that thrives off of tourism year round, nothing compares to the millions of people that flock to the Big Easy to party during this time of year; which is why it's also the best time of the year to kill and get away with it. Someone is using the carnival season as the perfect cover to kill a select group of men. Trying to find the killer will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And there is only one detective skilled enough to do that...Donald "Sleepy" Carter.

Nothing can derail a wedding faster than a murder… Eli LaPomeret is a descendant of Pierre LaPomeret—the most notorious slave owner in Louisiana history. The LaPomeret family has benefited for generations from the wealth accumulated by their infamous ancestor, and still has a lot of influence within the city of New Orleans. So, when Eli announced his engagement to Khloe Francois the buzz that ensued within the city’s most exclusive social circles was predictable. But, no one could have predicted that Eli would find himself standing at the altar waiting for his soon-to-be-bride…who ...

Josh and Stevie are two eleven year old boys who appear to be different. Josh is white, Stevie is black. Josh is poor, Stevie if from a middle class family. But, these two boys have one thing in common - they both are being molested by their mother's boyfriends. The two boys make a decision to get rid of their abusers once and for all...but will they be able to get away with their revenge?

Percy Goody is ecstatic when he reconnects (via Facebook) with his old Army buddy, Kevin “Knuckles” Mason, whom he hasn’t seen in fifteen years. Percy and his wife, Giselle, invite Kevin to their new home for the weekend. The couple assumed Kevin would visit for two days and leave, but when the two-day visit turns into two weeks, Percy and Giselle realize Kevin is a “squatter” who has no intention on leaving. In fact, Kevin boldly announces his intention to take over the Goody home…and there isn’t a thing they can do about it.

Sonya Lucas is the model wife. Her husband Eric is not the model husband. The couple's marriage is in jeopardy because Sonya can't have kids and Eric desperately wants a son. Tired of waiting for his wife to give him a child, Eric has a "love child" with his mistress Ann. Will Sonya accept the baby to save her marriage? Or will she take matters into her own hands. Deceit has consequences...serious consequences.

Saxophone Bo has been playing jazz tunes on the same Bourbon Street corner for over fifty years. He's always been a crowd favorite because of his skills, personality, and the thing that makes him stand apart from the other musician's roaming the French Quarter...he's blind. When Saxophone Bo is found dead at the spot that he stood at for decades, the locals and police are baffled. Why would anyone murder such a kind man? And why did the murderer leave Bo's money and his most prized possession, his saxophone, untouched? Trying to catch the killer seems impossible since there were no ...

A beautiful college student is killed in Audubon Park - just a few feet away from St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. There were no witnesses. The case is handed to newly minted detective, Elizabeth Silverman. It isn't long before Elizabeth realizes there are multiple people who had a motive to murder the young woman. Elizabeth is in over her head on this one, but she has a secret weapon - legendary detective Donald "Sleepy" Carter. But, there is one catch, everyone at the New Orleans Police Department believes Sleepy Carter is dead - and that's exactly the way Elizabeth and Sleepy like it.

Is voodoo real? Detective Lizzy Silverman is about to find herself face-to-face with that question. When Corey Simon, a delivery truck driver, is found dead with his throat slit near the tomb of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, police are shocked by the gruesome crime scene. Guinevere Laveau, a woman who claims to be the descendant of Marie Laveau, confesses to placing a voodoo spell on the victim; a spell that assured his death. With no other suspects, Detective Lizzy Silverman feels compelled to arrest Laveau, but that would also mean Lizzy would have to believe that voodoo ...

Robyn Russo owns Big Eazy Beignets, one of the oldest and most popular beignet diners in the city of New Orleans. Robyn has spent over forty years feeding New Orleanians - the good and corrupt. As a result, she has learned how to love and fight. And when the city threatens to wipe out the stretch of Tchoupitoulas Street that has served as home for her business and other small businesses so that high-rise condominiums can be erected, Robyn dips into her bag of tricks to stave off the prominent city vultures who are spearheading the effort. Her efforts seem to have worked, until she drops ...

Evelyn Quick is a feisty, smart, attractive young entrepreneur. But her troubled past has left her fractured emotionally and is the genesis for a deep dark secret she has struggled to keep from her friends and co-workers...she's a hoarder. Hoarding is a way for her to emotionally bury the secrets of her past...as well as some other things.

There is a serial killer loose in the French Quarter. He's hunting psychics and palm readers, and won't stop until he rids the world renowned tourist area of them all. The police are baffled by this elusive killer, but super sleuth, Sleepy Carter isn't.

Tammy Hill is physically abused by her husband, Chris. She manages to escape Chris' wrath and hides out at a neighbors house. While in hiding, Tammy contacts her three older brothers and ask them to come and rescue her. The brothers quickly run to her rescue, but in doing so, they overlook their own flaws: one of the brothers physically abuses his own wife; a second other brother is a deadbeat dad who is supposed to see his kids the day they leave to get Tammy; and the last brother is a minister - the ultimate conflict of interest. The three men are forced to face their own demons and ...