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Shetani's Sister
From the multi-million copy master of vernacular black literature and pioneeer of hip hop culture, a masterpiece of crime fiction set in Los Angeles' meanest, toughest streets.Here is the newly discovered novel by Iceberg Slim, the creator and undisputed master of African-American "street literature," a man who profoundly influenced hip hop and rap culture and probably has sold more books than any other black American author of the twentieth century (not that he saw the royalties from those sales). In many ways Iceberg Slim's most mature fictional work, Shetani's Sister relates, in taut, evocative vernacular torn straight from the street corner, the deadly duel between two complex Sergeant Russell Rucker, an LAPD vice detective attempting to clean up street prostitution and police corruption, and Shetani (Swahili for Satan), a veteran master pimp who controls his stable of whores with violence and daily doses of heroin.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 21, 2015
26 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
About the author
Iceberg Slim
25 books510 followersIceberg Slim, also known as Robert Beck, was born as Robert Lee Maupin. Novelist and poet whose most famous novel, Pimp, is semi-autobiographical.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 15, 2024
The list of Great Black American Crime writers is a long and honored one, and it’s getting longer, especially with a growing number of female black crime writers. Chester Himes, Robert Beck, Walter Mosley, SA Cosby, and Rachel Howzell Hall are just a few of the well-known black authors you will find on bestseller lists.
If the name Robert Beck doesn’t ring a bell, it may be because he is known by his more popular “street” name, Iceberg Slim.
Slim, who died in 1992, was best known for his autobiography “Pimp”, first published in 1967. Slim served hard time for his criminal life of pimping, but he swore off the life after getting out of prison. He also got married and had kids, and it was his wife that suggested he write about his experiences.
He took to writing with as much gusto as he allegedly took to pimping, and his crime novels became underground classics. They are still published today.
In 2015, one of several unpublished manuscripts by Slim was discovered. “Shetani’s Sister” was published 23 years after he died.
Slim told a whopper of a good crime story, full of gratuitous blood, guts, and sex. He also spoke the language of the street, a lingo so full of specific regional jargon and slang that previous white publishers asked him to include a glossary at the end of each book.
“Shetani’s Sister” tells the story of two men on different sides of the law: Russell Rucker, a white L.A. detective with a lot of baggage; Albert “Shetani” Spires, a notorious New York City pimp with an extremely violent reputation. The two men are runaway trains on a collision course. Between their mutual destruction, a body count of corrupt cops, hookers, and innocent bystanders ticks upward.
Slim wasn’t a masterful writer: his dialogue could be stilted at times and he was prone to over-the-top scenes of violence that sometimes defied physical laws along with good taste. But what he lacked in eloquence, he certainly made up for in sheer enthusiasm.
Slim also had a pretty innate sense of human emotion and what makes humans tick. He was fascinated by human psychology, and his years of amateur research both in and out of prison paid off.
I’m looking forward to this novel being adapted as Season 5 of “True Detective”. (HBO, if you’re listening…)
If the name Robert Beck doesn’t ring a bell, it may be because he is known by his more popular “street” name, Iceberg Slim.
Slim, who died in 1992, was best known for his autobiography “Pimp”, first published in 1967. Slim served hard time for his criminal life of pimping, but he swore off the life after getting out of prison. He also got married and had kids, and it was his wife that suggested he write about his experiences.
He took to writing with as much gusto as he allegedly took to pimping, and his crime novels became underground classics. They are still published today.
In 2015, one of several unpublished manuscripts by Slim was discovered. “Shetani’s Sister” was published 23 years after he died.
Slim told a whopper of a good crime story, full of gratuitous blood, guts, and sex. He also spoke the language of the street, a lingo so full of specific regional jargon and slang that previous white publishers asked him to include a glossary at the end of each book.
“Shetani’s Sister” tells the story of two men on different sides of the law: Russell Rucker, a white L.A. detective with a lot of baggage; Albert “Shetani” Spires, a notorious New York City pimp with an extremely violent reputation. The two men are runaway trains on a collision course. Between their mutual destruction, a body count of corrupt cops, hookers, and innocent bystanders ticks upward.
Slim wasn’t a masterful writer: his dialogue could be stilted at times and he was prone to over-the-top scenes of violence that sometimes defied physical laws along with good taste. But what he lacked in eloquence, he certainly made up for in sheer enthusiasm.
Slim also had a pretty innate sense of human emotion and what makes humans tick. He was fascinated by human psychology, and his years of amateur research both in and out of prison paid off.
I’m looking forward to this novel being adapted as Season 5 of “True Detective”. (HBO, if you’re listening…)
November 2, 2015
(3) Wow, what a storyteller! This is old school, down in the dirt, blacksploitation stuff. Those old movies should have had Iceberg Slim as their screenwriter because this one is just plain wild and wooly. A really crazy bad guy running a stable of drug addicted girls gets into it with his own head and a tough cop. There is hard to read stuff in here but there is great writing as well. Tremendous retro trip.
June 11, 2015
Read full review HERE
Have you ever read a book that tests your limits? Like…. this book is some heavy s**t! Seriously! It’s centered around murder, prostitution, drugs, adultery, corruptness, and anything else you may want to tack on. Trust me, you will find something of everything in this book. I was torn between a 3.5 or 4.5 star rating. I finally went with a 4 since it’s not exactly a 5 star read for me, but this book was nothing if not addictive. All of the things that went down with these characters is something that I don’t stand for, but I was hooked on finding out how this chaotic story would end. It’s told in third person alternating perspectives, so it’s easy to understand who is in what scene and the setting that it was taking place.
Los Angeles, CA starts off with a bang. Sergeant Rucker is the leader of a special task force that takes down prostitution on Hollywood Boulevard. He wants to keep the streets clean and is doing a fine job of taking down pimps and whores. After a run in with a hooker thief, Pee Wee, he is involved in something that, to this day, is very controversial; cop kills man. The thing is, it was justified. Come at me with a blade, and I’ll defend myself. Enough said. So, he takes his vacation leave to go spend time with his girlfriend in New York, leaving his partner Crane in charge of keeping the streets clean. Except, Crane has his own secrets and soon things get out of hand. While Rucker is gone, Hollywood Blvd is swarmed with prostitutes that seem immune to arrest. None of the undercover cops can proposition any of them.
On the East Coast in New York, Shetani (Albert Spires) controls his stable of addicts and whores with an iron fist. The man is truly the devil, as his nickname states. Shetani means Satan in Swahili – who knew? Hooking his girls to heroin and cocaine to keep them submissive and bring in his money, he’s ready to set up shop on the West Coast. He sends his main girl, Petra, to scout L.A. and find someplace to call home. Shetani is truly a disturbed individual. He grew up in an abusive home with his mother, whom he killed by shoving her head first out of their apartment window, when he was barely a 12 year old kid. It was ruled “junkie-takes-a-tumble-out-the-window”. After reconnecting with his little sister years later, she dies of leukemia. What did he do? He beat the crap out of the hospital staff for failing to save her. He spent the rest of his teen years in a mental institution, but was set free at 18. He soon has a new girl in his stable, and he thinks that she is the reincarnation of his sister Tuta.
Have you ever read a book that tests your limits? Like…. this book is some heavy s**t! Seriously! It’s centered around murder, prostitution, drugs, adultery, corruptness, and anything else you may want to tack on. Trust me, you will find something of everything in this book. I was torn between a 3.5 or 4.5 star rating. I finally went with a 4 since it’s not exactly a 5 star read for me, but this book was nothing if not addictive. All of the things that went down with these characters is something that I don’t stand for, but I was hooked on finding out how this chaotic story would end. It’s told in third person alternating perspectives, so it’s easy to understand who is in what scene and the setting that it was taking place.
Los Angeles, CA starts off with a bang. Sergeant Rucker is the leader of a special task force that takes down prostitution on Hollywood Boulevard. He wants to keep the streets clean and is doing a fine job of taking down pimps and whores. After a run in with a hooker thief, Pee Wee, he is involved in something that, to this day, is very controversial; cop kills man. The thing is, it was justified. Come at me with a blade, and I’ll defend myself. Enough said. So, he takes his vacation leave to go spend time with his girlfriend in New York, leaving his partner Crane in charge of keeping the streets clean. Except, Crane has his own secrets and soon things get out of hand. While Rucker is gone, Hollywood Blvd is swarmed with prostitutes that seem immune to arrest. None of the undercover cops can proposition any of them.
On the East Coast in New York, Shetani (Albert Spires) controls his stable of addicts and whores with an iron fist. The man is truly the devil, as his nickname states. Shetani means Satan in Swahili – who knew? Hooking his girls to heroin and cocaine to keep them submissive and bring in his money, he’s ready to set up shop on the West Coast. He sends his main girl, Petra, to scout L.A. and find someplace to call home. Shetani is truly a disturbed individual. He grew up in an abusive home with his mother, whom he killed by shoving her head first out of their apartment window, when he was barely a 12 year old kid. It was ruled “junkie-takes-a-tumble-out-the-window”. After reconnecting with his little sister years later, she dies of leukemia. What did he do? He beat the crap out of the hospital staff for failing to save her. He spent the rest of his teen years in a mental institution, but was set free at 18. He soon has a new girl in his stable, and he thinks that she is the reincarnation of his sister Tuta.
January 12, 2019
My first read by the legendary IceBerg Slim. The foreword was also good b/c I had no clue about Mr.Slim's back story. From the first page I knew this book was going to be a page - turner.
I really found no likeable characters. As an alpha woman myself I felt angry seeing how these women were so weak and dependent on such a satanic bizzare man like Shetani.
He seemed untouchable but the more arrogant he became and shot more poison inside himself IT ALL CAME CRASHING DOWN. His backstory at times seemed so unreal but that's his reality.
Rucker should've focused on other crimes that were bigger than prostitution. I felt like he was just wasting time because 9 times out of 10 the women would get out of jail and do the same stuff. His protegè was so reckless and weak smh Rucker should've never covered him.
Shetani killed his own team then became paranoid and got himself killed or him and Rucker killed.
If this became a movie I think this would be the cast :
Rucker: Danny Glover
Shetani: Gary Dourdan
Officer Crane:Alec Baldwin
Petra: Christina Hendricks
Pee Wee : Solange
Tutu: Zoe Kravitz
I really found no likeable characters. As an alpha woman myself I felt angry seeing how these women were so weak and dependent on such a satanic bizzare man like Shetani.
He seemed untouchable but the more arrogant he became and shot more poison inside himself IT ALL CAME CRASHING DOWN. His backstory at times seemed so unreal but that's his reality.
Rucker should've focused on other crimes that were bigger than prostitution. I felt like he was just wasting time because 9 times out of 10 the women would get out of jail and do the same stuff. His protegè was so reckless and weak smh Rucker should've never covered him.
Shetani killed his own team then became paranoid and got himself killed or him and Rucker killed.
If this became a movie I think this would be the cast :
Rucker: Danny Glover
Shetani: Gary Dourdan
Officer Crane:Alec Baldwin
Petra: Christina Hendricks
Pee Wee : Solange
Tutu: Zoe Kravitz
August 8, 2015
Iceberg Slim's writing just pulls you into this taboo world. There's something about the rawness of it all that hooks the readers. I enjoyed reading this story very much and all the twists and turns kept me on my toes. The pace is amazing down to the very end where you can't help but groan in frustration wanting to know more. I was introduced to Iceberg by a friend and don't regret opening up my literary world just a bit more with his books.
October 29, 2015
I can tell you, from beginning to end this book was a page turner!! The thrill of a the chase between the cops and Shetani plus the hoes!! OMG!! I was mad about the way it ended.......I wanted more.......
January 23, 2018
sorta like a pimp version of Bukowski's "Pulp" except not in the first person and without the intentional irony.
April 5, 2021
Během čtení jsem si asi nejčastěji vzpomněl na Bukowského, jenže 'Shetani's Sister' se odehrává víc v prostředí: ulice, pasák dávající čistej fet svým děvkám a konstantně pracující na tom udržet si jejich loajalitu a touhu, že ho potřebují, každej se snaží donekonečna ojebat každýho o peníze, postavení, nebo život, je to spíš o principech toho, jak to na ulici chodí a jak každej musí hájit svoji existenci. Ale není to tak, že by se v téhle špíně příběh tolik pachtil, jsou to pořád jen kulisy a kniha sleduje víceméně několik postav, okolo kterých se to pořád dokola, skoro až filmovou dynamikou, točí. Asi nejvíc mě ale zaujalo to, že je to vážně dobře napsaný samo o sobě, ne že bych od Roberta Becka neočekával po jeho životě pasáka něco třeskutýho... jen mě spíš zarazilo, že literárně je to dost dobře zpracovaný, i když je to ve výsledku jen thriller, který se víceméně narouboval na kostru jeho životních zkušeností. Některé detaily opravdu dávají pocítit tu autenticitu. Škoda, že je u nás absolutně neznámý, minimálně jeho autobiografie 'Pimp: Story of my Life' by v dnešní přefeminizované době stála z recese za překlad.
April 3, 2025
I'm not too sure how I could summarize or even review the book. To me, the aburpt ending left a lot more questions than answers. Mainly two major questions to me .. just what happened, honestly.
Now, to get to the storyline itself. I could say it was packed with action, grittiness in a way, and pure the plotting nature of everyone who has their own agenda in the end. From the crooked cop down to the conniving Shetani and Peewee. But if anything, Shetani was on one hell of a trip at the idea of his deceased sister coming back to life and as we dive deeper and deeper into the story, he became more unhinged and twisted.
It took a minute to keep up with the characters at one point, but only because it seemed like a lot at first until broken down better. Overall, this was a read that was something that kept my attention, but it does show the way he viewed women at the same time. Was it a good and attention grabbing read? Yes. Would it be everyone cup of tea? Definitely not. But it was attention grabbing and did not slack in the slightest bet.
Safe to say, Shetani was the devil in flesh as he unraveled more and more, and it showed in this book
Now, to get to the storyline itself. I could say it was packed with action, grittiness in a way, and pure the plotting nature of everyone who has their own agenda in the end. From the crooked cop down to the conniving Shetani and Peewee. But if anything, Shetani was on one hell of a trip at the idea of his deceased sister coming back to life and as we dive deeper and deeper into the story, he became more unhinged and twisted.
It took a minute to keep up with the characters at one point, but only because it seemed like a lot at first until broken down better. Overall, this was a read that was something that kept my attention, but it does show the way he viewed women at the same time. Was it a good and attention grabbing read? Yes. Would it be everyone cup of tea? Definitely not. But it was attention grabbing and did not slack in the slightest bet.
Safe to say, Shetani was the devil in flesh as he unraveled more and more, and it showed in this book
March 28, 2020
Iceberg slim never disappoints it's a few urban literature books I can tolerate in lately my tolerance level for them has been low cause it's so much easy to put the stereotypical drug dealer the egotistical pimp and the low self-esteem shallow hoe in pen them into a weak storyline scheme that will have you shaking your head in asking how much brain cells did you forfeit this is my second book I read from ice after finishing pimp the biography three years ago in was automatic won over i thought i give this a try since a friend of mine recommended it to me from his bookshelf don't want to go deep into the book but recommend this to anybody that want give urban literature a try.
February 2, 2022
While I did enjoy this as a story, I very seriously doubt that this is the work of Iceberg Slim. The writing is so filtered and clean, it reads nothing like his previous works. Iceberg Slim's previous works are so gritty and raw but this is reads like a guy, Shetani, cosplaying a pimp in the 1990s. It definitely reads like a fictional story as some of the events happening just seem so far fetched and unrealistic. It is a quick read and there is a little humor but this is my least favorite book so far.
November 2, 2018
It got good in the last 3 chapters. But before that I was barely holding on. I felt like I wanted to quit reading it, because I was lost at least 50% of the time. I couldn't keep up with the story, their where to many characters to remember. And by the time I figured out who was who, the book was over. Also I listened to it in audio book version.
February 8, 2019
Very different from what I've read, but lived up to my friend's comments on learning about black culture and remarkable for the influence it likely has on young African Americans who seek to emulate the characteristics of the characters in the book.
January 18, 2020
The book started off pretty decent then it went South for me. I will not read any moore books published by this author.
April 20, 2021
Worst Iceberg Slim book I've read. Horrible writing full of words no one uses in real life and elementary dialogue.
July 7, 2022
Masterful storytelling told by the Godfather of Urban Literature. You can really tell how much he has matured as a writer and perfected his craft in these later novels compared to his earlier work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2022
Best Book!! I think this is the Best Book so far from Iceberg Slim. The story line had me on the edge of my seat as I listened to Shetani spiral out of control.
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September 6, 2025Brutal like the streets that provide it's setting. Iceberg Slim delivers a story with low villains, few heroes, and chock full of dialogue that rings true.
February 1, 2021
This was a good book, I just didn't keep up with it at first but once I got into it ,it kept my attention But old boy "SHETANI was something out of this and the next world.
May 7, 2016
Book was on point Shetani is the Swahili word for "Satan" started with big bang straight game... Retro pimpin but it still new games cause they dont tell all the hidden steps in the middle... Game is to be sold not told...Iceberg Slim
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September 10, 2015Couldn't get into it. I think I stopped around page 50 or so. I'll try again later
March 12, 2016
Not a bad book.
November 24, 2023
Great reading, another interesting story from Iceberg Slim.
May 1, 2017
it was interesting but somewhat enjoyable
he was a complicated oxymoron of a guy
would i read it again? probably not
he was a complicated oxymoron of a guy
would i read it again? probably not
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews