The Nightmare on Trap Street

by C.N. Phillips

Sometimes death births new life, and that is fact for sisters Rhonnie and Ahli Malone. After facing the wrath of Madame, the young women take on the job of being security detail for none other than Sadie Thomas, the head of The Last Kings. With a new drug, Vita E Morte doing numbers under her belt, it is apparent that Sadie has plans to distribute it all over the United States. However, after seeing the deadly side effects of the drug, Sadie agrees to get rid of the formula and take it off the market for good. Only… somebody doesn’t want her to. In fact, they’ll do anything to get the formula for themselves, including taking out the leader of The Last Kings.

          With a phantom gunning for her head and her own camp’s loyalty being tested, Rhonnie and Ahli are the only ones that Sadie can trust with the location of the formula—Trap Street. It’s a place only spoken of in hood myth. Legend is that not only is Trap Street a neutral ground for the most elite hustlers, but it a fortress for their secrets. Once there, the only objective is to destroy the formula for Vita E Morte so no one can ever sell or take it again, but not even Sadie is prepared for the gory nightmare that awaits her.

240 pages, Paperback

Published August 25, 2020

About the author

C. N. Phillips is an author from Omaha, NE. She realized her passion at the ripe age of eight and her love for words never went away. She is most known for her ability to weave a heart pounding and gritty story from nothing.

Currently signed to Carl Weber's publishing house, Urban Books, C. N. Phillips is already trailblazing alongside her predecessors. With titles such as The Last Kings, Kingpins Los Angeles, and Me & My Girl she wants the world to know that she's getting started.

Reviews

[Nate D]

So urban fiction as a modern pulp genre has been around awhile, but outside a few better-known examples like Sister Souljah or Sapphire, I don't see it turning up much in lit discourse. But it's clearly popular -- living in New York you can't miss people reading it on the subway (even now that phones have mostly supplanted books there) and the Brooklyn library system is well-stocked with new cuts from small publishers. I know I'm not the target audience here, but how can I resist a newish genre flooding out still kinda under the radar (of under the radar of clueless white people like me at least.) A lot of examples I see at the library seem to be parts of long-running serials (ie, numbers in the title) which can be daunting, but this one looked like a stand-along example, and who can possibly resist a title like this one?

Well, it turns out to be just one episode of a longer saga anyway BUT it's also a completely wild story on its own. Gritty views of drug cartels and gang violence on the city streets (in this case Detroit, a bonus) with the glamor of gangsta rap -- part social realist, part pure fantasy -- were more or less what I was expecting here, and even the tough female leads seem like a fairly common feature (lots of these are written by and for women, flickers of romance temper the action) but I wasn't expecting it to deal with a mythical drug created by an Italian witch in the distant past or for the titular Trap Street to be a fabled hustler utopia on a secret island. After being hidden for years, as the story opens a little pill called Vita E Morte is about to go out on the streets. The protagonists are hoping for a something "bigger than the crack epidemic" while also safe from withdrawal, overdose, or other negative effects (they're in it for the money...but also naive humanitarians), but the results quickly get apocalyptically out of hand anyway. If bits of the tale can feel a bit rote, there are borderline-mystical details later on take this far beyond. The nightmare could have been a bit more nightmarish, but what could ever completely deliver on that title.

Nit-picking plot holes in genre fiction is a joyless and misguided undertaking, but in this case the entire plot hinges on some serious negligence from a team of “the best” scientists, who ran clinical trials with the new drug in order to determine that it was safe and free of withdrawal symptoms. Which it very much is not. All it would have taken to get around this would have been an extra qualifier, like addicts are just fine until there’s a supermoon or some such. We’ve already got Italian witches and, essentially, strung-out zombies, why not werewolves?

But as far as this goes, it's not actually fantasy, or horror -- the core story is about finding family with others you can depend on under extremely trying circumstances. And the characters, if thinly drawn in places, are really what drives the book. I'd like to see what they're up to next. If another installment pops up at the library, I'll be tempted.

[KayReads__]

I already loved Sadie and The Last Kings series but having Ahli, Rhonnie & Cyril plus Sadie, Ray and Tyler all in one book was AMAZING!!! Nightmare on Trap Street was exactly what the book said it was! Lol it made me fall in love with the characters all over again, I truly LOVE & ADORE Rhonnie and Cyril relationships made me cry happy tears I really hope she does a book that’s all about them! Highly recommended book!!

[Sylvester Barzey]

C.N. Phillips has this amazing way of building found families within her stories and I’m always up to see how she test those bonds with each tale. Now with the title of this one, I felt like I was in for a wild ride and Phillips did not disappoint. I don’t even want to share anything because I don’t wait to spoil it but this is a genre blended story and I love it.

[Emily L. Smith]

Fascinating book.

The friendship between Sadie and the sisters are still strong. That new drug was a killer. I was disappointed in it's. deception. Was glad Sadie and Tyler reunited. Cyril appears to be good for the sister. An enjoyable book to read.

[Ann Merriweather]

Exciting book, the plot and the characters were on point. Even though Sadie was an elite, you could see her gentle side. I absolutely loved Rhonnie's sense of humor and her soft side as well. I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm definitely going to read more from C.N. Phillips.

[Page Turner]

I've read a good amount of books from this author and I enjoy their writing style. This book kept me interested and entertained, though there wee some lulls and moments of ridiculousness. Still, I thought it was an interesting storyline and the execution of the story was good. Good read.

[Cheryce Johnson]

I love it could not put it down

[Jacqueline]

Very good

Amazing story felt it from beginning to end. Please keep these stories coming! Thank you for a great everything! 👍

[Octavia Grant]

This was really good. Somehow I believed the island keeper that Ronnie that she saw was Rebecca. Hopefully there’s a part 3 in the future so we can figure out why that tidbit was added.

[Tiffany Champion]

This book was so good.. I bought it not knowing it is part 3 of a series.. Patiently waiting on book 1 & 2 so I can find out how tbe whole story begins.. I just hope they are as good as this one

[Melissa]

Slowly adding C.N. Phillips to the list of urban fictions authors I like.
I should have read the prior books in the series. But, this is an interesting premise on it's own.