Troubleman

by K'wan

The legendary urban lit author returns with a new character, a new city, a new series, as AUWA Books makes its first foray into fiction.

Toussaint Batiste is returning home to the City of Brotherly Love hoping he can, for once in his life, outrun his Trouble.

Toussaint has been in prison, but before that he was a Philadelphia police officer. He’s returning home with few friends on either side of the law, but with a little apartment in Chinatown and a vested interest in taking care of the family restaurant downstairs, he expects to have enough to keep himself busy.

But as ever, Trouble has other ideas.

K’wan made his name publishing urban crime fiction series like Animal and Hood Rat and rose to the top ranks of the genre, creating his own literary Harlem as rich as anything out of Mario Puzo or Elmore Leonard. Now, he is teaming up with Questlove to take on a whole new territory—a whole new jawn—with Troubleman, the beginning of a brand new series that brings Philadelphia to literary life in a way that’s never been done before. Trouble.

320 pages, Paperback

Published June 2, 2026

About the author

In 2002 K'wan hit the scene with his debut novel Gangsta, under Triple Crown Publications. It was the first novel released by the budding house and would eventually become the building block for what is now a multimillion dollar company. What started as a therapeutic release went on to become a part of urban-lit history and an Essence bestseller, as well as drawing rave reviews overseas.
After penning his second novel, Road Dawgz (2003), K'wan drew the attention of St. Martins press. The literary powerhouse quickly signed K'wan to a multi-book deal, the first of which being Street Dreams (2004). In 2008 he received the Black Author of the year award from Black Press Radio for the novella Blow.
Since his insertion into the publishing world K'wan has been featured in Vibe, Pages, King, Felon, Big News, The Library Journal, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Press, Clutch and most notably Time Magazine, to name a few. He was also interviewed by MTV News for a feature on Hip-Hop fiction, and a guest on Power 105s morning show as well as NPR (national public radio). In addition to being an accomplished author, K'wan is also a motivational speaker, mentor to at risk children and the C.E.O of Black Dawn, Inc.
K'wan currently resides in New Jersey where he is working on his next novel.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/kwan

Reviews

[Myestorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something about the way K’wan has been dropping books these last few years that really feels like he’s taking us back to the early 2000s. He’s truly been in his bag lately.

Troubleman follows Toussaint Batiste, an ex cop turned convicted murderer, who comes home from prison just wanting to live a quiet life, work, and stay out of trouble. But with a name like Troubleman, I honestly don’t know if trouble found him or if he found trouble. His longtime friends, the Weis, find themselves in a nightmare when their son gets wrapped up in a murder case that nobody close to him believes he committed.

Being an ex cop, Troubleman naturally starts digging into what really happened to help clear the boy’s name. Along the way, we get dirty politicians, underground sex trafficking rings, deceit, betrayal, and ultimately redemption. There are definitely a lot of characters to keep up with, but somehow K’wan still manages to make everything come together without the story feeling confusing or all over the place. Every character had a purpose and added something to the story.

I really hope this turns into a series because it feels like Troubleman is only getting started. I love that even though he is no longer a cop, he still carries a lot of those same principles with him, even if sometimes his hands have to get dirty to get the job done. It probably should not work as well as it does, but somehow it really does.

I definitely want more of him and Natasha, and I would also love to see more of his partnership with Darkhart, Asha, and the Azuma. The slight supernatural element added such a good touch to the story too. It never felt overdone, it just blended perfectly into everything else happening.

K’wan is honestly one of my favorite authors, so I am usually going to pick up anything he releases anyway, but he really did his thing with this one. And as always, Cary Hite absolutely killed the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this advance copy.

[Anniee Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Troubleman by K'wan.
This book pulled me in immediately and never really let go. The tension, the pacing, the atmosphere everything felt intense in the best way possible. K’wan has a way of creating characters that feel raw, flawed, and believable, and Trouble was no exception. Every decision carried weight, which made the story feel even more gripping.
What stood out most to me was how cinematic the writing felt. You can practically see every scene unfolding while reading. The blend of street drama, loyalty, betrayal, and survival kept the momentum strong from beginning to end. Definitely one of those books where “just one more chapter” turns into staying up way too late.
If you love fast-paced urban thrillers with layered characters and nonstop tension, this is absolutely worth picking up.

[Brandy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toussaint Batiste can’t seem to catch a break. A former cop turned convicted murderer, he’s determined to move beyond his past and build a peaceful life. However, with a nickname like “Trouble Man,” it quickly becomes clear that trouble is never far behind.

K’wan delivers a compelling story filled with suspense, drama, and well-developed characters. One of the book’s greatest strengths is its cast—every character serves a purpose and contributes to the progression of the story. The narrative moves at a steady pace, keeping the tension high while allowing readers to become invested in Toussaint’s journey.

Fans of K’wan’s work will appreciate the authentic dialogue, layered characters, and engaging plot. Overall, this was an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next.
Thank you NetGalley for the Arc

[Leese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you AUWA Books for providing this book for review via NetGalley.

Sigh. I was looking forward to venturing into a genre I don’t read too often but unfortunately, I wasn’t the target audience for this story.
The characters and the plot felt very two dimensional to me. The entire time I could envision the author sitting in front of their laptop instead of being fully immersed in the story as if these characters were real people.
Because I saw this book marketed somewhere as a thriller, incorrectly, I went through the story awaiting suspense and crazy twists but I didn’t have many emotions evoked while reading. The most visceral reaction was towards how this author wrote about women. There were way too many lines that I couldn’t fathom being written much less approved by multiple people, knowing that they’re being delivered by a character we’re supposedly rooting for.

[RaeReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a different kind of read than I’m used to but when K’wan writes it you know it’s a hit!

Toussaint is a deeply layered protagonis, caught between his history as a Philly police officer and his time behind bars. Moving the setting to Philadelphia's Chinatown brings a unique flavor and an entirely fresh atmosphere to the narrative.The dialogue is snappy, and the action sequences are orchestrated beautifully. It gave chaotic and y’all know i love chaos! K'wan builds the tension perfectly toward a movie-worthy finale. I can see Michael B Jordan playing him in a movie lol I will definitely be back for book two to see what my dude Trouble gets into next. 😝

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillian for this ALC. All opinions are my own!

[Anissa Sheppard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Troubleman will never be able to shake that name. Seems like once everybody knows your name, you're stuck with it.
So Trouble gets released from jail and it's the start of more trouble. The young kid who picks him up has grown up and thinks the gangster life is the good life. But as you read you see he's not really cut out for that life. He's supposed to be delivering Trouble to his family home. Of course they get sidetracked. That one detour leads to a whole mess of things and everybody has got something to hide. Even the "nice" family who took him in. I wasn't so surprised by some of the things that happened at the end but I did enjoy the read. Can't wait for more.

[Carrie Campbell-jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowwww! This was an interesting book and different than K’wan’s other books. This one was a detective novel and I enjoyed the storyline and action! After listening to the book on a long drive recently my husband even got caught up in the story and later inquired about what happened to one of the characters. 😂 This may be the start of a new detective series by K’wan. If so, I’d definitely read it.

[Nadia Jonesy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this read. This was good right from the start of the book. It jumps right into it, and it never let go. I have read K'wan in the past and I have enjoyed his two most recent reads. This was good and ready to see where this story line is going. As a thriller reader, I am not providing any spoilers, and I suggest reading it without any back story.

[Sharise Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Page Turner

K'Wan never fails! He's the best when penning crime fiction. There were many plot twists which led to a few sleepless nights for me. I couldn't put the book down. I'm rooting for a sequel. I have to know what will happen next with Toussaint, his new "family", and the monkey. This was a fantastic read overall.

[Katii · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quickly sucked into the world of Toussaint Batiste, finishing this book pretty quickly over three days. The writing was vivid, the tension and risks high, and there were flawed characters to root for. The pacing did feel a tad off. A lot of things happened in that first 24 hours, and then quickly resolved at the end of the book with a small dose of deus ex machina (or should I say deus ex simia?).

Overall, it was a wild, engaging read, and I’m looking forward to Toussaint’s future adventures!


Thank you to AUWA and NetGalley for my advance copy - all thoughts are my own.

[Dilon Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story with a few turns you don’t see coming. It had a lot of action. I could see it becoming a series. It was different from most of the K’wan books I’ve read since the main character wasn’t technically on the wrong side of the law.

[Karoz Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's different, but it's a great read!

I've been reading K'wan Books since Gangsta and Eve, and this was something different. Lots of twists, turns, and guesses. I look forward to reading more stories about Troubleman.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narration: 🎙️🎙️🎙️.5
This is my first K’wan book. It was…interesting. The plot kept me going. I’m very much Acab though so him being ex police and a dirty officer at that. Very much not my style. I guess it was a descent redemption story.
Courtesy out Macmillan Audio Early listen program

[Sarah]

I am going to dnf this book. In the prologue the author describes a Black womans skin color as “unprocessed chocolate” and that made me so upset. Thanks Macmillan for the alc.

[Fadeless Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

Review of advanced listening copy received from NetGalley

My goodness Toussaint Batiste couldn't catch a break 😮‍💨. This man hit the ground running as soon as he got out of the gates!!!

This was my 1st read by this author and I must read more from his catalog. I enjoyed the book but it was a little slow at the beginning but once the action started there was no stopping.

I definitely didn't expect all the twist 🌪️and turns↪️...... And they were MESSY 😂. I can see why K'wan is a popular!

Cary Hite, did an amazing job with the narration. Honestly, every audiobook I've listened to with him as narrator had been a 10/10.

[Jacqueline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite

This was one of K’Wan’s least favorite books for me and I’ve read them all. Otherwise, he’s still one of my favorite street literature authors.

[Linda Strickland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as some of his previous ones. Too cartoonish!

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Kwans books are always amazing! I hope that this book becomes a series.

[Tazz 7906 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! K'Wan never misses