Property of the State

by Kiki Swinson

Kiki Swinson's novels crackle with breakneck triple-twists and no-limits characters. Now she shatters all expectations, as a young woman serving time must survive a prisoner-abuse conspiracy...

Trust no one
Misty Heiress killed her abusive boyfriend in self-defense. But in jail, violent female gangs paid off by her enemies keep her fearing for her life--and land her in the hospital. From there, a medical testing facility is her one dubious hope for some kind of safety.

Watch your back
But from the moment she hits the yard, she and other prisoners are victimized by illegal medical experiments. Injected with lethal diseases and made a test subject for experimental vaccines, she's clinging to determination by the slimmest thread--until she forms an alliance with a Corrections Officer.

Survive the night
Now she's got unexpected help--and thanks to the Corrections Officer, a risky plan to escape. But her only way out means racking up bodies. And as lethal obstacles pile ever higher, she soon may not have any future to save.

240 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 2021

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

[Kelsie Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Property of the State is a gritty urban fiction novel from author, Kiki Swinson. This is book three in her Black Market series and picks up the story immediately where book two, The Safe House, left off.

Misty Heiress believes that locking people away in prisons is the new form of slavery. Unfortunately, when she’s arrested and charged with the murder of her ex-boyfriend, she learns that incarceration is worse than slavery. She’s beaten, raped and subjected to illegal medical experiments. Prison brings her to an all time low.

The Black Market series got progressively better and culminates in this, the third and probable final installment. The action is continuous but sometimes unbelievable. Misty is still totally irrational, bordering on ridiculous. The situations she’s in are somewhat believable but her reactions aren’t. The ending is exciting and satisfying. All-in-all this is still a good read and I recommend it to readers of urban fiction. I would like to give it 5 out of 5 stars based solely on the premise, but the unbelievable character reactions force me to lower my rating to 4 out of 5.

My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

[Sue Plant · Rating 4 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

think wentworth and cell block h...
this is about a woman being sent down for a crime she did commit but how she was railroaded into something else...

misty is an abused woman, her boyfriend treats her like sh*t but as yet she hasnt done anything to change anything then one day she fights back and opens a whole mess of worms

her boyfriend was also from an abusive family and they were also backed by big drugs company who were out for blood mistys blood

and in prison she falls foul of the prison officers and doctors..what happens next is frightening and wild...

not a bad storyline and one you can see that could happen with dishonest people in charge of these types of facilities

[EricaLenise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting a series on the third book puts the reader at a disadvantage, but the action almost made up for it. Property of the State is the third book in The Black Market Series. Bad guys abound in this novel, and I found myself rooting for Misty and some of the other inmates for what they had to endure. I believe that there is always some truth in fiction, but I hope that is not the case for this story, though I suspect that it is. Many of the things that were done to Misty and her fellow inmates was highly disturbing. I will admit that the ending was not what I wanted, but I did enjoy the story. I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would’ve been a strong 4, but the events just got too outlandish to be taken seriously. I will give 5 stars for imagination. Could these type of events occur without detection and with compliance from authorities? Sure, but it went over the top and lost me.

I’m exhausted. I had to press on and finish. Also, since I didn’t read the first in the trilogy, I found it on Scribd and will read it tomorrow.

Full RTC

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this author. I can say that I did like this book and do want to check out more books by this author. It had a gritty feel to it. Ms. Swinson really knows how to write as I was transported within the pages of this book from the court room, to the cell that Misty was housed in, to the hidden torture room where Misty endured such horrific acts.

Which speaking of the torture. It is hard to read. Misty endures rape on several occasions before it is stopped. Yet, I like how she came out on top...stronger and a fighter. She experienced a lot during her time in prison. She could have just given up but she didn't give up hope. Part of this was due to the help of others. My favorite quote from this book was at the end. Misty says she is no longer "property of the state" but "property of God".

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Property of the State is the third book in The Black Market Series and picks up where The Safe House (Book Two) leaves off. It is possible to read this book without having read the prior two books in the series. However, you will have a better understanding of the references and have the ability to follow the plot better, if you read them in order.

Misty Heiress finds herself in quite the pickle now. Misty has had her troubles with the drug cartel, the local gangsters and the FBI. Now the death of her former, abusive boyfriend has come back to haunt her, and she finds herself about to be incarcerated. Everything that she has fought for is taken away from her—her job, the ability to go to school, and now her freedom is on the line.

Unfortunately, as soon as she is incarcerated, she becomes a target of the other prisoners and the corrections officers who should be there to protect her. Unbeknownst to Misty, there are things going on in prison that are beyond her wildest imagination, such as illegal medical experiments on the prisoners.

I had been looking forward to following the story of Misty to its completion. There is a lot going on in this third book, and I found myself rooting for Misty and some of the other inmates for what they had to endure. I believe that there is always some truth in fiction, but I hope that is not the case for this story, though I suspect that it is. Many of the things that were done to Misty and her fellow inmates was highly disturbing. I will admit that the ending was not what I wanted, but I did enjoy the story. Thank you to NetGalley, Kiki Swinson, and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

[Denise Gilliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book started off where the other book left off. The justices system did Misty so bad from start to finish. They knew that she didn’t kill that boy in a malice situation she was definitely fighting for her damn life. Then to get put through all kinds of torture in that damn place because of the crooked feds abs to get out and get justice on all the people that did her wrong. The ending of this book shocked the hell out of me. I tell you one thing Kiki definitely did her thang in this book because you couldn’t predict this book out at all. Kiki made it totally impossible for you to see what was going to happen once I thought it was going this way it went totally left great damn book. This series is phenomenal can’t wait to start a new series by her.....

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taken to jail for her ex boyfriend Terrell's murder, Misty is taken to prison. Fearing for her life by her enemies, she lands in the hospital at prison and from there, a medical testing facility, injected with lethal diseases and made a test subject, where unspeakable torture and cruelty at the hands of a sadistic Dr.
Will she and the others survive?
This book was not anything like I thought. You will be turning the pages until the end.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC

[LInda L · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had not read any of Swinson't previous books, but found this one to be extremely unbelievable. The young woman made a lot of bad choices -- the first one being the abusive boyfriend -- but the business which went on in the prison was totally sci-fi material. What doctor would risk his license for "experimental" kinds of things? Also, toward the end Misty was handcuffed by Ahmad, but when the FBI caught up to them, she put up her hands? And they handcuffed her. How many handcuffs did she have on?? There were other questionable things as well, but I guess I remember that because it was toward the end of the book. Anyway, this was pretty bad in my opinion -- not that I don't understand that there is cruelty in prisons as well as cruel guards, but torture rooms???

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really realize that this was part of a series (that I read) until I read it for a while.
Misty's now in jail and everyone is plotting against her. Everyone being Terrell's family and Ahmad and co.
Terrell being the abusive boyfriend she killed in self defense. Ahmad being the shady pharmacist she went into "business" of sorts with.
Things take a turn for the much worse after she's attacked. She's then used as a guinea pig and worse.
I liked that spin. How some people are seen as disposable and dispensable. People think they can do whatever they want to them. The end read as Urban action.
It was a solid read by an author I sometimes have an iffy opinion about.

[Nadia Jonesy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. This is the 3rd book of the series..(which I didnt know it was a series.). I have read books by Kiki Swinson before so when I saw it, I decided to read it. When I read these type of book...I am always screaming why. Why do we miss the signs????? But anyway (sigh). This was a good book. It kept my interest but I think I need to read the other parts of the series to get a better understanding of the main character and to understand why she is so crazy.

Thank you once again

[LaGina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kiki has given me a story that I could really sink into. I loved how book 3 picks up right where book 2 left off. I have grown invested in Mistys journey and how it will all end. I liked the secret experiment lab testing that was thrown in to give the story some more OMG moments. While I would hope that this wasnt true I cant help to go with the fact that people are greedy and if enough money is thrown in their direction anyone is capable of anything. Be warned that there maybe some triggers in this book (rape, torture and restraints).

[Ariya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, even read by itself with no prior knowledge of the series. I was surprised at how into this novel that I got. I did not want to put it down and ended up reading almost all of it in an hour. Despite it being a short read (for me that it), it was a book that once it grabs hold of you, you will want to finish it. There was a chapter or two that disturbed me but it made sense and I wouldn't have it any other way. Great book.

[Doug Yonce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting a series on the third book puts the reader at a disadvantage, but the action almost made up for it. Bad guys abound in this novel, and Misty navigates unbelievable obstacles and enemies as she reaches an unexpected conclusion. I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Suprina Bracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Blank Stare) First off all there was just way too much going on in this book. How in the heck do you go from working in a Drug Store to out killing people and on the run...what the what? Misty was doing way to much and the Prison system was terrible. Lord what they did to those women....
I did not like the ending at all smh......

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a lot of action from start to finish. It was entertaining and a page turner. I’m kind of mad at the ending, though. I finished it and was like “ is that it?!” Over all, it’s a good book.

[Kandise Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series is a must read. I wish the ending could have been different but I'm glad the author left well enough alone.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first two books in this series but was disappointed in this one. It didn’t hold my interest. It took me all week to finish. It just didn’t do it for me.

[Joi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what happened. I just didn't enjoy this book like I did the other two. I'm just so disappointed. This was more of a sci-fi novel than anything. It could have been so much more.

[Letesa Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of action in this one.

[Calientell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast past
Good story line

[Tywanna Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another explosive book. It would not surprise me if prisoners are used for scientific testing. Revenge is a killer. Two Thumbs Up!

[Shayy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t like the turn this book took and def could have went without it. But I had to finish the series.