What do you think?
Rate this book
Nefarious 2
Mitch Black is trying to get a fresh start to his life in Chicago after he spared Max’s life back in Baton Rouge. He also has a court appearance on Friday morning that will ultimately determine his financial future for years to come. Meanwhile, Max has to ship his partner-in-crime Tyrone’s dead body back to Chicago and explain his murder to his family in addition to planning his funeral. Max is also testing fate by going back to Chicago after drug kingpin Cedric Nash warned him to stay away. And last but not least, Brea is scheduled to give her first live performance at a club in Harlem Saturday night, but all hell breaks loose because her scheduled concert appearance at this particular club is unbeknown to Mitch when he shows up there with his new fiancee, Jada. Will Mitch and Brea mend their broken relationship and get back together? Will karma catch up with Max and Cedric and put them on the path of destruction? Nefarious 2 is the second installment of the Mitch Black series.
151 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 25, 2019
7 people want to read
About the author
Mark Stephen O'Neal
17 books4 followersI'm an independent author who currently resides in Chicago and writes urban crime fiction books. I enjoy watching crime dramas, comedy and sports; and I love traveling in my spare time. I'm also a follower of Christ who strives to be a positive influence daily. Look out for various new releases in the near future.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 17, 2019
Wanting to get married and the last one standing.
I think those two pieces basically sum up this book. First part: Mitch is a sort of shady guy who is pretty much just living his life and looking for a wife. He probably wouldn't phrase it like that but I think it's a fair assessment as he goes from relationship to relationship, getting engaged twice and actually getting married... Was that a spoiler? I suppose, but if you think about it from how the guy goes around I don't see how anyone would really be surprised that he manages to catch a gal. Nor what ends ups happening right after the wedding, but what happens much later that *is* a spoiler so I'll leave it at that (and no, not the baby because after all he very clearly expressed the desire for a family).
So in case you haven't caught on yet (or didn't think so from the 3 star rating which to me means 'ok') I'm not really a fan of this book. I'm actually not big on crime fiction in general but this one sounded ok and I gave it a shot. Shot missed, but before getting into all the reasons why first let me share a few positives.
First, for a “serious” novel this book has several funny moments. In fact within the first line I was laughing: “Mitch Black was still very upset for several minutes after his ex-girlfriend Brea's hit single “You Should've Loved Me Better” played on the radio. He quickly realized that the song was a semi-diss track about him not being the man he'd professed to be...”
No, it wasn't a HILARIOUS comment but to me *it was* funny that a song that sounds purely like a diss track is referred to as “semi” and it foretold about the sort of man that he is. Also because of the type of book it is I wasn't really expecting any laughs so that was nice.
Second, I have to give it that this book IS GOOD at catching you up with what happened, in fact I think you don't really have to read the first one to know pretty much all the action that came before...And that swiftly brings me to the negatives.
Starting with that last pro; it quickly becomes a con because explanations are fine and dandy, *once*. Yet the book often retells the past in such a way that gets repetitive real quick and, well, boring. Like, sure thanks for letting me know that blank was behind the robbery that took out the night club (blank, due to spoilers even if you'll know from the first book) but once you've told me I don't have to hear it again the next chapter, or the one after that, or the one after that...
Second con. The dialogue at times just isn't believable. For example (this isTish calling Mitch): “Hey Tish, what's going on? Mitch asked. “It's my daughter's father, Jimmy,” Tisha answered. “He tried to commit suicide and we're at...” For starters, who calls someone up and starts the conversation with my daughter's father? Even if Mitch didn't know the man (which by the way I do believe he did) isn't it more natural to say something like Baby Daddy? And that's not the only problem that I have with this scene, because Mitch was “on the run” when he got this call yet he turns around to go see Tish claiming that it's because he can't turn his back on family yet when he actually gets to the hospital it's a quick “how are you? Good. Great, later!” sort of situation that follows. Am I the only one that sees that as a waste of time, logic and/or as something plain old weird?!
And that's what I'd call the third con. Sometimes it feels like commonsense is just thrown out the window, like in that last example or like how Mitch tells us that he's broke but then we learn he actually hid away his assets (he asks his Momma to withdraw 100K from a secret account and gave her 25k for her trouble, insert eye roll even if his street smarts are showing here) but then as soon as a lady friend calls him up, what's one of the first things out of his mouth when she asks what's going on with him? “I have a stash that the IRS doesn't know about, so I'm getting by.” Facepalm.
Here we might be tempted to say, well the guy WANTS a lady, so maybe that's why he “slipped” and I might've agreed, except that in another part of the book when he's talking to a different lady (yes, one he's interested in too, it's the one he ends up marrying so...) and they're talking about his circumstances and she asks if he wants to talk about it, instead of quickly confessing like before he replies with a “not in public.” Really Mitch, *really*? All I said at the time was “oh sure NOW you're careful.” But fine, it's not necessarily the world's worst sin, but I can't really list it as a pro.
Last but not least, the sentence that started this review. You already know why the first part, and the second is because the book is pretty much alternating chapters between Mitch's POV and his ex's POV and it's during hers that besides the “I still love him drama” that the “one left standing” comes in. However, I can't really say much on her without it becoming a spoiler so let's just leave it at that things don't go much deeper than the starting sentence being stretched out. Oh, and it all abruptly ends after a car chase.
Yeah.
Needless to say I wouldn't really recommend this book to any but those with a deep love for urban crime fiction books and maybe those who have read the first one as the story *does* continue, though I'd warn that it's not necessarily in the most satisfactory of ways. Oh, and karma sure has a time with this one, **ALL AROUND**.
I think those two pieces basically sum up this book. First part: Mitch is a sort of shady guy who is pretty much just living his life and looking for a wife. He probably wouldn't phrase it like that but I think it's a fair assessment as he goes from relationship to relationship, getting engaged twice and actually getting married... Was that a spoiler? I suppose, but if you think about it from how the guy goes around I don't see how anyone would really be surprised that he manages to catch a gal. Nor what ends ups happening right after the wedding, but what happens much later that *is* a spoiler so I'll leave it at that (and no, not the baby because after all he very clearly expressed the desire for a family).
So in case you haven't caught on yet (or didn't think so from the 3 star rating which to me means 'ok') I'm not really a fan of this book. I'm actually not big on crime fiction in general but this one sounded ok and I gave it a shot. Shot missed, but before getting into all the reasons why first let me share a few positives.
First, for a “serious” novel this book has several funny moments. In fact within the first line I was laughing: “Mitch Black was still very upset for several minutes after his ex-girlfriend Brea's hit single “You Should've Loved Me Better” played on the radio. He quickly realized that the song was a semi-diss track about him not being the man he'd professed to be...”
No, it wasn't a HILARIOUS comment but to me *it was* funny that a song that sounds purely like a diss track is referred to as “semi” and it foretold about the sort of man that he is. Also because of the type of book it is I wasn't really expecting any laughs so that was nice.
Second, I have to give it that this book IS GOOD at catching you up with what happened, in fact I think you don't really have to read the first one to know pretty much all the action that came before...And that swiftly brings me to the negatives.
Starting with that last pro; it quickly becomes a con because explanations are fine and dandy, *once*. Yet the book often retells the past in such a way that gets repetitive real quick and, well, boring. Like, sure thanks for letting me know that blank was behind the robbery that took out the night club (blank, due to spoilers even if you'll know from the first book) but once you've told me I don't have to hear it again the next chapter, or the one after that, or the one after that...
Second con. The dialogue at times just isn't believable. For example (this isTish calling Mitch): “Hey Tish, what's going on? Mitch asked. “It's my daughter's father, Jimmy,” Tisha answered. “He tried to commit suicide and we're at...” For starters, who calls someone up and starts the conversation with my daughter's father? Even if Mitch didn't know the man (which by the way I do believe he did) isn't it more natural to say something like Baby Daddy? And that's not the only problem that I have with this scene, because Mitch was “on the run” when he got this call yet he turns around to go see Tish claiming that it's because he can't turn his back on family yet when he actually gets to the hospital it's a quick “how are you? Good. Great, later!” sort of situation that follows. Am I the only one that sees that as a waste of time, logic and/or as something plain old weird?!
And that's what I'd call the third con. Sometimes it feels like commonsense is just thrown out the window, like in that last example or like how Mitch tells us that he's broke but then we learn he actually hid away his assets (he asks his Momma to withdraw 100K from a secret account and gave her 25k for her trouble, insert eye roll even if his street smarts are showing here) but then as soon as a lady friend calls him up, what's one of the first things out of his mouth when she asks what's going on with him? “I have a stash that the IRS doesn't know about, so I'm getting by.” Facepalm.
Here we might be tempted to say, well the guy WANTS a lady, so maybe that's why he “slipped” and I might've agreed, except that in another part of the book when he's talking to a different lady (yes, one he's interested in too, it's the one he ends up marrying so...) and they're talking about his circumstances and she asks if he wants to talk about it, instead of quickly confessing like before he replies with a “not in public.” Really Mitch, *really*? All I said at the time was “oh sure NOW you're careful.” But fine, it's not necessarily the world's worst sin, but I can't really list it as a pro.
Last but not least, the sentence that started this review. You already know why the first part, and the second is because the book is pretty much alternating chapters between Mitch's POV and his ex's POV and it's during hers that besides the “I still love him drama” that the “one left standing” comes in. However, I can't really say much on her without it becoming a spoiler so let's just leave it at that things don't go much deeper than the starting sentence being stretched out. Oh, and it all abruptly ends after a car chase.
Yeah.
Needless to say I wouldn't really recommend this book to any but those with a deep love for urban crime fiction books and maybe those who have read the first one as the story *does* continue, though I'd warn that it's not necessarily in the most satisfactory of ways. Oh, and karma sure has a time with this one, **ALL AROUND**.
September 16, 2020
Not as good as the 1st
I felt like this book left a lot of questions unanswered. I read to see what would happen to the characters and their stories were incomplete🤷
I felt like this book left a lot of questions unanswered. I read to see what would happen to the characters and their stories were incomplete🤷
February 23, 2020
Thrilling
I enjoyed this book. In fact, it made me want to go read the first Mitch Black novel.
Well written, thrilling and enticing - this novel kept me on the edge of my seat. I found myself engrossed in the drama, as well as the action. (And I usually hate dramas!)
I enjoyed this book. In fact, it made me want to go read the first Mitch Black novel.
Well written, thrilling and enticing - this novel kept me on the edge of my seat. I found myself engrossed in the drama, as well as the action. (And I usually hate dramas!)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews