The Mark

The Score #2

by Kiki Swinson

Her "unrelenting" (Publishers Weekly) and "tension-packed" (Library Journal) novels have made Kiki Swinson a bestselling chronicler of the Virginia's most glittering, treacherous streets. In the explosive follow-up to her high-octane The Score, amaster thief's ultimate payday delivers the deadliest game of all...

Two for the money. . .
Identity thief Lauren Kelly thought she was safe. The millions she stole from her double-crossing accomplice and ex-lover Matt Connors bought a quiet upscale life for her, her unsuspecting new husband Drake, and their precious baby. But betrayal was just the beginning. . .

Three to throw down. . .
When both Drake and the baby go missing, it's courtesy of a vengeful Matt. Lauren has less than twenty-four hours to give him back the money. She's prepared for any payback--but nothing can keep this exchange from going all-the-way wrong. . .

No price is too high. . .
Now Lauren lives to hunt Matt down. She'll strip away his fortune, work all his weaknesses--and destroy his every strength. But she's heading straight into an insidious trap that could turn sweet revenge into mutually-assured destruction. . .

Praise for Kiki Swinson and The Score

"A well-crafted plot. Pitch-perfect dialogue, juicy sexual trysts, cold-blooded betrayal, and ruthless violence mark this suspenseful fast-moving tale that is topped off by a shocking epilogue." --Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Treachery, betrayal and revenge add to the twists and turns... Loved it!" --RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

"Reads like a block-buster movie." --AAMBC Reviewer

Genres: Thriller

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2017

About the author

Kiki Swinson was born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia. She discovered her flair for writing after completing her first novel, Mad Shambles, while serving a five-year sentence at a federal prison.
After being released in December 1996, Kiki later went on to self-publish Mad Shambles. Her passion for writing didn't stop there. Writing feverishly into the wee hours of the night, she completed her second novel, Wifey, which was published by Melodrama Publishing. After the success of Wifey, Kiki penned the sequels I'm Still Wifey and Life After Wifey, as well as The Candy Shop and A Sticky Situation.

Reviews

[H.M. Trey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second read from this author. And just like the first read, The Mark was pretty good. The book is suspenseful and contains a lot of grit. The pace of the book was really fast, some of the scenes could have been fleshed out some. This Urban Lit, is definitely for those that like story lines that center around street life. Topics hit on in this novel is domestic violence, sexual abuse, revenge, deception, criminal activity, and the need for persistence to get what you want at times in life.

The protagonist, Lauren, is not a quitter in life. Lauren, who has a past of being involved in criminal activity, is now brought back into that life when her past comes back to haunt her. She has to face the monster that she thought that she left behind when she started a new life in NY. Even though she has managed to get herself wrapped up in some life-altering drama, she remains focused throughout the novel on the goal that she has set out to accomplish…revenge, redemption, and finding and saving her son. The path to get to that goal is definitely not a straight line. She has to get through her physical pains from recently having a baby; she has to travel back to her hometown in VA where the hell she ran from when moving to NY is; she has to get over the challenge of remaining unnoticed as she seeks out the people that she is after; she has to get over the guilt of innocent bystanders getting hurt from her trying to get what she seeks; she witnesses violence and murder and is a victim and witness of domestic violence all while trying to get back her stolen son. The ending of this novel has you to believe that there will be another part to this novel.

If you like Urban Fiction, I recommend reading this book and so you can form your own opinion. Overall, in my opinion as mentioned before, this was a good read.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Mark by Kiki Swinson
The Score #2

Not my cup of tea – nope – not at all.

Why? Let me count the ways…

*I don’t like the use of the “N” word…nope…not at all
*I did not find the style of writing easy to read
*I felt that death was too easy – boom boom – everywhere
*I found the book unbelievable – in more ways than one
*I found it unrealistic – in many ways
*I did not like any of the characters – except perhaps the murdered husband and just born baby.

I had high hopes for the book from the blurb but was disappointed. I believe that this book will appeal to some but it did not appeal to me.

What was positive about the book?
*It was fast-paced
*The main female character was strong
*The plot flowed
*I was happy to finish the book and put it away.

Would I read another book by this author? Probably not.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC. This is my honest review.

1 Star – I did not like it

[Lesa Divine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 🌟

Continuing from book 1.

Lauren out to get what's hers. With so much blood on her hands its ridiculous.

Just ok.

[Stven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a non-stop story told by a merciless ravenously self-serving dangerous woman. Crime after crime, consequence after consequence, and she just keeps moving. I like action in a story and it was fascinating and startling to be inside her head for a while listening to her purely selfish motivations and machinations, observing the world from that kind of scary point of view. But I don't think I'll feel like reading another one.

[Jerricka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story on revenge.

[Amy (Gabs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was face paced, an easy read. Expected the ending, but not the way it played out.

Things I disliked about the book:
- the constant reminder that Lauren had her baby 2-3 days ago and she was making all these super hero moves. Considering you are on a mission to save your newborn baby, the point does not need to be made every few pages. Giver your readers some credit.

- the multiple rape scenes. Ok, I understand that Ms. Swinson is reiterating the point that Matt has some control and anger issues towards women and specifically towards Lauren. He's also not a good guy. In fact, he's a real jerk. One rape scene was plenty.

- I wish I would have read the first book in the series first

Things I liked about the book:
- The entire story concept
- It kept me entertained on a 2 hr flight
- Lauren and Lisa (no spoilers, so I'm going to leave it at that

[Bless · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish Lisa didn't have to take her life for such an idiot. But let's at least hope that Lauren and little D has the perfect life she in visionned and at least decides to invest the money and get a job. Nice job again Mrs. Swinson. Lauren's husband should not have died so easily, but it is what it is. At least somewhat Lauren eliminated bad people.

[Elise Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. All I can say is what a book? An amazing read, I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Determination is powerful, she wanted her son & she got him. I'm so glad that he wasn't hurt, poor Derek and Quincy. She did what she had to do to save the baby & herself. I wonder if there will be another book to talk about Yancy, Matt, & Lauren.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very interesting storyline picks right up where it ended in The Score. Character development unfolded in more details with these characters, as we get to see a more intense side of Matt and Lauren. I enjoyed and recommend this five star read. I would be interested to read just a little bit more on Matt. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Tatyana Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really like this one. It was fast-paced, everything (drama) started right after she had her baby which was ridiculous. I wasn't really feeling the whole rape scenes, took me forever to get through them. So I rate this book a 3 out of 5.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped all the rape scenes, too much. Matt was def psychotic in this book. Why won't he just die already!

[Letesa Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

have to read The Score the very first book cause this one was sooooo good!!!

[Shannan Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truthfully, I had higher hopes for this book and was disappointed. I didn't think it was as good as the first one, which I loved immensely, and I rarely read street lit.

[Deliah Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first time I’m reading anything by this author. The synopsis drew me in: Lauren exacting revenge on Matt, her hustler ex-boyfriend who kills her husband and kidnaps her baby because she stole money from him. She then tracks him down from New York to Virginia and when she finds him, he forces her to commit a bank robbery in order to get her baby back. Interesting storyline, but I was sadly disappointed in its execution and resolution.

Nevertheless, I thought it gave readers a good snapshot into the criminal/street life (drugs, bank robberies, and murders). The dialogue was authentic, the actions of Matt’s soldiers (Preech, Kanan and Juice) were realistic including the treatment of women (no respect whatsoever). There were frequent acts of violence some of which I thought was unnecessary.

Overall, this was a fast read. The author did a good job of depicting Matt’s craziness, Lauren’s strength in enduring his vicious actions against her in the quest for getting her child back, Lisa being in an abusive relationship as Matt’s girlfriend, and the naivete of the college students who tried to help Lauren get her baby back.

However, there were too many instances where the author repeated things like Lauren just giving birth a few days ago (as readers we know that), looping scenes (going back and forth to her apartment and the hotel), over-the-top instances of violence (senseless murders), cringe moments of abuse that went on for a while, almost every other page was laced with the b-word, the n-word, etc. Furthermore, the title, The Mark, was not really explored in the novel. All of which took away the potential of a good read.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fast read. Not fast paced, fast. It might be 2.5 stars. But there were a few things I couldn't get past.
We are CONSTANTLY being reminded that Lauren has just had a baby a few days prior.
Constantly. Not sure why.
So why is it that she just had the baby? But when that baby is kidnapped someone (kidnappers girlfriend) says that the baby is "having a bottle"??? At a few days old? OK...
That brings me to my second issue. Lauren meets a college guy (Quincy) on the bus (who I'm assuming develops a crush on her). He gets his friend to driver her around after hearing this questionable story about her kidnapped baby and his father. There are a lot of kind hearted people out there. But really?
Also, how was Trevor (college guys friend) brave enough to knock on the door after being terrified of the neighborhood a day or so earlier?
The fact that Trevor died so stupidly... I don't know. It was entertaining. I guess.
But certain things could have been left out and/or tweaked.

[Jasmine Andras · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AWESOME! I love The Mark. Unfortunately I did not know it was a continuation of The Score. I just finished The Mark now I know ill DEFINITELY be reading The Score.

I love the characters, Lauren was great but I felt so bad for Trevor and Quincy. Trevor did NOT deserve to die he just wanted to be helpful and a doctor one day. 😭💔💔 at first i didnt care what happened to him but then his character development happened and he grew on me

This book is mostly realistic, except for the part where Quincy met Lauren and immediately just offered her rides and stuff just off meeting her on the bus.

I dont like Juice, Preech, or Kannan (or however you spell his name), they deserved their deaths honestly. Lisa was ehhh. Honestly I didn’t feel that bad when she died.

I felt bad for Matt tho. Good thing he didnt die. The ending where he said he prayed for Lauren to be safe made me liikeee 🤭 omg hes so perfect and if I were Lauren id take him back honestly even tho all the stuff he did. I wish there was a part 3 but at least i get to read part 1 now <33

[John Johnstone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes you get something you don't expect and this is one. This is the story of a bank robber trying to go clean, however her ex from whom she stole more than her fare share has caught up with her. Not surprisingly he wants his money back. Okay this appears like your normal crime novel but it is written from the perspective of the girlfriend who like all the characters are black and criminals. The author has chosen for authenticity to use the totally alien language of a black gangsta. With every sentence peppered with profanity and double negatives it is not that easy or pleasant to read. The storyline itself is okay but the style chosen takes all the limelight and unfortunately  tends to portray violence, criminality and drugs as acceptable behaviour. 

[Classy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like the author rushed to write this story. I was looking for "The Mark" and couldn't quite put my finger on it. I would have loved more character development too. I knew the characters pretty well in "The Score" (first in this series), but not so much in this book. We didn't get know Lisa's story until the end and she definitely had a story to tell. Overall it was a good read.

***note*** - I looked up "Mark" in the urban dictionary and I guess Lauren was the mark. I thought the term meant something totally different.

[Lakecia Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book but I kept getting so angry with Lauren! How do you manage to lose a gun TWICE when your survival depends on it?! Just glad all worked out in her favor....or did it? Will Matt survive the fire and hunt her down again?

[Rainy Gipson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was much slower than the first book.... End on a cliffhanger so not sure if there is a third book or if I'll even read it. I felt like this book became very repetitive and dragged on I was more than ready to see the end of the book.

[Cherise Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Score had me waiting for The Mark however, it wasn't what I expected. Sometimes the story didn't feel realistic enough. I am still anxious to read #3.

[Sheryl Boyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was GREAT! The way it ended, she could get another one out of this storyline!

[Michael Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book lacked a plot. The action was unbelievable. It was a waste of time.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book was better. This was ok.

[Rosie Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book was way better. It was hard to finish this book. And some of the stories don’t match up from the first book to the second.

[Angela S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable

Interesting read. I have to go back to read the other books in the series. This one threw me. Interesting set up and storyline.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love her love it

I like her everything she is the very best i only read her books the thrill in the books keep my heart racing

[andrea williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

This book was good from the beginning to the end. Is there going to be a part 3. I would recommend this book.

[Kandise Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced, page turner!!

[Karen Bourne-Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am assuming there will be another one coming...