Public Enemy #1

by Kiki Swinson

National bestselling author Kiki Swinson amps up the action and suspense with unpredictable characters, breakneck twists, and a gut-punch portrait of Southern surviving--and dying. Now the odds are straight-up killer when a private eye gets in way over her head...

Too much to prove...
A former journalist with a knack for unraveling dirty secrets, Khlo� Mercer figures if she's going to risk her life, she might as well make big money as a private investigator. But this reckless newbie needs a major case to make her name--and really show she can handle Norfolk, Virginia's toughest streets...

Too much to hide...
When a narcotics detective's widow needs someone to investigate her disgraced husband's so-called suicide, Khlo� jumps at the lucrative fee--and the clues that the Norfolk Police Department is rotten from top to bottom. And with formidable backup from her ex-felon uncle, she turns the city upside-down to uncover the truth...

Too late to run...
But Khlo�'s cage-rattling tactics and high-wire strategies threaten both the cops and the city's brutal underworld alike. Now, with her life in the crosshairs and no one she can trust, she'll find that building a reputation comes with a price she may not survive to pay...

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary

Audio CD

Published May 14, 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

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sorry to have to give this book 1-star but I did not like the language.

[Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story, but the ending was way too rushed and left us with too many unanswered questions. Another 14 or 20 pages would have really done this story justice.

[Coffee&Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW: sexual assault

This was a pretty easy read! It is full of "girl, what?!" Twists and drama and fast paced, intriguing action. I almost noped out at a couple of places but I stuck through. I wish that traditionally published books found The practice of using content or a trigger warnings to be useful. I just like to know that I am going to read about sexual assault. I did get a little lost toward the end and the quality of the writing could punch up some. For a Sunday morning read to entertain me, I was not disappointed.

[Shannan Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed this authors work in the past, and this book is no exception. It was exciting, emotionally charged, mysterious and fast paced so much that I was able to read it in one sitting. The characters were well developed and I was continually shocked right up until the very end. I really enjoyed this story and can't wait for the authors next book

[Sarah Gonzales · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sigh. I hate giving black women authors poor reviews and I debated whether I should. I see KiKi has written a lot of books and I would assume she’s got a solid fanbase. I also read about her background and it’s truly a “got it out the mud” type redemption story so props to her and I wish her continued success. That being said this just was not a good book. The writing style was very basic. She spent way too much time getting into unimportant and ridiculous details to fill the pages. If I’m reading a supposed thriller/crime novel I do not care how many times the phone rings before a character picks up. I’m not interested in how long it took someone to drive from one place to another. Details like “17 seconds”, “6 rings”, “2 1/2 minutes”, added nothing to the plot and unfortunately this was a pretty regular occurrence.

There was lots of simplistic ialogue that came off as fluff. Two characters meet at a food court to discuss their high stakes plan and we’re taken through how they decided on what to eat for lunch and subjected to small talk conversation like “mmm this looks good”. It felt out of place during what should have been a tense scene. Also, the author repeated certain phrases and expressions over and over. The main character said “I swear…” what felt like every five minutes. The author also used the word “sarcastically” an excessive amount of times but only one of those instances actually involved sarcasm.

The plot itself was not great. I didn’t like the MC and she wasn’t a convincing “crack investigator”. The ending was sloppy. New characters were added at the eleventh hour that went nowhere/ added nothing. One character just showed up in the final scene to assist and was explained away as “my friend I called to help”. No name, no backstory. It was just an all around frustrating read that could have greatly benefited from better editing and a few more drafts before landing on that as a final product.

[Stephanie Rohlfs-young · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book which was featured in an African American author section at our library. The characters were shallow and underdeveloped, and I never found myself falling in love with any character. As others have said, there are major gaps in the plot which gets in the way of this being a believable story. And the book definitely needs to be edited more crisply as there are entire sections or passages repeated within pages of one another. Disappointing read.

[Katrina johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying I like some of Kiki Swinson other books…however this just wasn’t it. It seems there was no proofreading done. Too many errors and to many parts of the story that contradicted other parts. This book seem to be lacking something but I also read deadline and I felt the same way about that one

[Chantell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts

Being from Norfolk, it's Curry Park, not Kerry. But the drama was real. It makes me wonder how bad my city really is. The author really put the reader in the 757 and on the edge, exposing gang activity, dirty cops and dirty money. I could barely put the book down.

[Diane Rembert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The wife of a deceased police officer, hires news reporter turned private investigator Khloé, to find out who killed her husband. What she didn’t reveal will be even more of a shocker.
💫
To aid in the investigation, Khloé gets her Uncle Ed, who is gang affiliated and doesn’t play about his niece. What he didn’t take into consideration, is this who may be directly affected by his actions.
💫
The latest release by @allthingskikiswinson was definitely a different read for me, and has me so intrigued, that I read it in one night. Unfortunately, I have to give it 💎💎💎, mainly because of one thing... too much information sharing amongst characters who were trained to walk in secret. I kept screaming at them to “SHUT UP!” There were also a few grammatical errors.

[Joyce M. H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read anything by Kiki Swinson in a long time. It’s nice to know that she just as good if not better than the first book I read.

As always there is mystery, drama and this book is fast paced that held my attention from beginning to end. Khloe is an investigative reporter and she is a likable character but she is a little crazy. This book kept me on toes and things were happening that you would not believe.

If you’re a Kiki Swinson fan, don’t miss out on “Public Enemy” you will not be disappointed.

I received an ARC via Netgalley thru Dafina and I’m voluntarily leaving my review. Thank you Netgalley and Dafina.

[Helen Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former journalist Khloé Mercer decides that if she is going to risk her life she might as well get paid. So she ventures into the life of a private investigator. But her recklessness in taking a major case will have some hard consequences.

Taking on the job from a narcotics detective's widow will reveal some dirty cops and she will pull in her ex-felon uncle for help. But nothing is as it appears and now Khloe finds herself in the cross hairs between dirty cops and the gang underworld.

[Robert White · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like Thank Publisher and Net Galley for this ARC copy. This was a interesting read but the ending I felt was rush. I know this was a Proof copy not the original but it had a lot of errors in it, like when Taylor invited Khloe to her party The Author kept calling Taylor by another name. I enjoy reading this story even with the errors, That Frances Larson was a piece of work I could not stand her trifling.

[Stacey Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It had an interesting storyline and the characters were easy to follow. I don’t recall any grammatical errors and it was typeset for the kindle. The ending was very abrupt and left me wondering how the loose ends were tied up. I wonder if there will be a part 2 - only time will tell.

[Denise Gilliam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was nothing like the first part. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t what I thought it would be like. It just didn’t grab my attention like part one but it was ok I finished it. Some parts where all over the place but I got the just of it.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not live up to hype. started with action and went off the rails. Not a thriller, or a mystery I would read again.

[Kathy Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!

[Sue Gross · Rating 2 out of 5]

hmmm, never read this type of modern day Black story, of gangs killing each other, some slang I didn't understand, I assume it's true to life

[HoneyButterfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope there will be a sequel

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I'm still reading but so far France's thought she was going to get over and she thought money was going to win. Boy oh boy

[TheBookJunkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have better. Dragged a bit with some parts. Took some time getting to the point in some chapters and the end was rushed. Overall it was interesting, although a bit predictable.

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The end was the best part, but leaves you on a cliff hanger. This book starts off slow but if you stick it out, the excitement does come.

[Shayy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. It was action all the way through! I do feel as though the ending was rushed as it related to the female main character. But still loved it!

[CoCo Finesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hate to love

The author does have a talent in creating scenarios, but the execution of this book is surprising. She has over 40 books. So the editing in this really was disappointing. There was one line In the book that was VERY poorly written. And I couldn't understand how that bad of a sentence was over looked. You couldn't even understand what she meant at all. And there were multiple grammatical errors which is okay that isnt that much of a big deal. But the author mixed up days. I gave it three stars and not 2 because I actually liked the story despite the execution of it.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Khloe is crazy as hell but she means well. Good intentions sometimes goes awry. Good follow up story though. Check out The Deadline for more on Khloe.

[Tonya Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

GOOD

I haven't read anything from Kiki Swinson in years!!! I'm glad I picked this up! A page turning read. Heading to start the next book. Let's see how it stands up!!!