Fruits of the Poisonous Tree

by Wade Bey

Raised in the gang-controlled projects of Chicago, Tommy and his brother, Carl had little hope of escape. When Tommy pulls the trigger on the drug pusher who's been molesting him for years, the brothers situation becomes even more desperate. The court imprisons their father for turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse while their mother, overwhelmed by problems of her own, disowns the boys.

The only way the brothers can survive their concrete hell is by hitching up with the Gangster Disciples who control their project and by joining the crusade of an all-out gang war.

By the time their father--now a repentent, born-again Christian--is released from prison, the brothers are street-hardened and embittered. Carl is willing to forgive the man for his grievous mistakes, but tommy clings to the vow of vengeance he made a decade before. On an inner-city street once ruled by likes of Al Capone, the three meet in an explosive confrontation that will decide the bounds between loyaty and family.

Drawing on his own Chicago roots and gang ties, author Wade Bey takes the reader deep inside a surprisingly and frighteningly organized black street gang. From there, he explores how these gangs feed the depressing poverty and drug-consumed projects in a city renowned for its corruption and the highest homicide rate in the U.S.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2011