Borrow Trouble

by Mary Monroe

A woman lets herself go and finally does something wrong. Down on his luck, a man tries to do something right. For both, the consequences are as surprising as they are rewarding in two tales of lost souls by two rising stars in contemporary African-American fiction.

"Nightmare in Paradise" by Mary Monroe

Good-looking and as dutiful a wife as she is a devoted friend, reserved and respectful Renee Webb always does the right thing. So when she gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to let her hair down on a Caribbean vacation with her uninhibited friend Inez, Renee is more than ready to let go. But the sun-splashed isle of Paraiso is not what it seems, and Renee finds out that doing the wrong thing--a sizzling night of pleasure with a sexy stranger--might cost her more than she ever imagined. . .

"Bad Luck Shadow" by Victor McGlothin

Bad luck's been shadowing handsome Baltimore Floyd ever since he hopped a train out of New York City. On the run from some of Harlem's baddest hitmen, Baltimore's luck takes a turn for the worse after he murders a big-time white businessman and gets thrown off the train in Kansas City. Alone and on the lam, Baltimore's got only one shot to get out alive--the biggest heist in KC's history. Lucky for him, Henry Taylor's got his back, and he'll have to use every trick he knows to save Baltimore from going down for good. . .

Genres: African American

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

I am the third child of Alabama sharecroppers and the first and only member of my family to finish high school. I never attended college or any writing classes. I taught myself how to write and started writing short stories around age four. I spent the first part of my life in Alabama and Ohio and moved to Richmond, California in 1973. I have lived in Oakland since 1984.

My first novel THE UPPER ROOM was published by St. Martin's Press in 1985 and was widely reviewed throughout the U.S. and in Great Britain. An excerpt is included in Terry McMillan's anthology BREAKING ICE. I endured fifteen years and hundreds of more rejection letters before I landed a contract for my second novel, GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY. It was published in October 2000 by Kensington Books. GOD DON'T PLAY is my seventh novel to be published, and it landed me a spot on the prestigious New York Times Bestsellers list for the first time! My eighth novel, "BORROW TROUBLE," was released December 2006. My ninth novel, DELIVER ME FROM EVIL, was released September 2007 and my tenth novel, SHE HAD IT COMING, was released in September 2008, and my eleventh novel THE COMPANY WE KEEP, will be released March 2009.

I won the Oakland Pen Award for Best Fiction of the Year in 2001 for GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY. I won the Best Southern Author Award for GONNA LAY DOWN MY BURDENS, in 2004.

I am divorced, I love to travel, I love to mingle with other authors, and I love to read anything by Ernest Gaines, Stephen King, Alice Walker, and James Patterson. I still write seven days a week and I get most of my ideas from current events, the people around me, but most of my material is autobiographical.

Reviews

[Tamyka · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 for Mary Monroe’s story and 3 for the other one. The other one was a struggle and I had a lot of stop and restarts. I didn’t get interested in the story or felt like it got going until chapter 10.

[Unapologetic_Bookaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has 2 parts the first story I have finished it is called. Nightmare in Paradise By Mary Monroe- This story revolves around a woman going on vacation and getting arrested for Prostitution. What's worst her husband refuses to bail her her out and she spends 3 months in jail. Then the story flashes back to before she meets her husband and the way Mary Monroe tells a story your drawn in and get inside the character and enjoy thier POV. She's a great author. I'd recommend God don't like ugly and The Upper Room for more reading. BAD LUCK SHADOW By Victor McGlothin- Victor's characters reminded me of an old 1940's black )character)established movie about hard times and fast women. It starts out with a White man asking the help 2 Black men to serve up the ice to thier drinks at a poker game, even though they are off duty. They are on a train and so when Baltimore (one of the Black men) decided he's had enough and stabs the White man, he's not even worried about getting caught. He just tells Henry to help him out of his clothes and not to take his ring. As the story progesses I can see that Victor McGlothin loves to keep you right in the middle of the 1940's with the speak, the visuals, and the characters. Everything from the scams they pull to the times they have you can imagine anre things people did to get by. I believe Baltimore was neither a good or bad guy for the things he did just a man with circumstances and the only way he knew to live.

[Kendall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorrow for not giving this a higher review, I started with high expectations. The characters are just too dysfunctional--and it ways the authors don't really give us a good excuse for--for me to invest in them or to bring forth my sympathy.

[Kasey Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The women was a little naiive for me. But overall a decent read

[Chantell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Monroe took a while to get to the point. But damn, dude really did her dirty. Another reason why I fear marriage.
Victor Mcglothin cracked me up in his action packed novel. I absolutely love Baltimore Floyd !

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all books by Mary Monroe. I am not sure of the dates that I have read this but it was a while ago.

[Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book combines two stories. 4 ⭐️ for Mary Monroe’s story. 2 ⭐️ for Victor McGlothin story disinterest me.

[melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was never convinced of the motivations behind the driving action which the plot revolved around. The characters would have been more believable if it were set in a time period two or so decades back. I was unable to relate to either of the female characters as modern women.

[Aone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nightmare in Paradise was pretty cool. I don't doubt that things like that actually happen on exotic vacations. The second story by Victor took me a little longer to get through. I guess I'm not a big fan of stories that take place that far back in the day.

[Michelle Johnson-lane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mary Monroe took a little too long to get to the plot, but overall, it was a great book. Victor McGlothin is a fantastic writer. He's captivating and had me hook from the first page.

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Mary Monroe. The first half of the book is by her. I enjoyed it as I do all her books.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Nancy Glaz]

ok book to pass the drive time

[Tye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't really fond of the second story.

[Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book was very good. I could not get through the second book-- which is very rare

[Dee Musa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the first story

[Ruth Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

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