Dirty Game

by Shannon Holmes

Kenny 'Ken-Ken' Greene left his days as a hustler behind him when his wife was killed during a scam gone bad, leaving him with a baby daughter. Now he's a cab driver, doing what he can to put food on the table and give his daughter, Destiny, everything she needs. In spite of his past or because of it, he's willing to do whatever it takes to keep Destiny off the streets.
But when he is shot and paralyzed during a robbery while on the job, Destiny knows that she has to step up to the plate to take care of the father who has provided for her. Allowing herself to learn from one of the fiercest street hustlers, Destiny becomes his lover and soon her skills rival his. But the longer she stays in the game, the deeper into the game she falls.

Genres: Romance, Fiction

297 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Shannon Holmes was born and raised in New York City’s most northern borough; the Bronx. Holmes’ entrance into the literary world was anything but ordinary. Armed only with a G.E.D. and the desire to change his life, Mr. Holmes crafted his first novel and signed his first literary contract from prison, while serving a five year sentence for various drug convictions. This was truly an amazing feat when you consider Mr. Holmes had never even written a short story in his life. He truly made the best of a bad situation.
He first achieved success with his first novel B-more Careful, which has gone on to sell a half a million copies to date. This may not sound like a lot of to the general public, but in the literary world Mr. Holmes is platinum. By producing such lofty sales numbers, Shannon was able to parlay the success of his first novel into a two book, six figure deal, with publishing giant Simon & Schuster.
Avoiding the sophomore jinx, Shannon Holmes crafted the critically acclaimed Bad Girlz, which sold fifty thousand copies in its first week. His next novel Never Go Home Again was hailed as best work... With this he achieved yet another milestone, he became the first author of the street genre to have his novel printed in hardcover. Since then Mr. Holmes has signed an even bigger deal publishing deal with St. Martin’s Press, it’s rumored to be in the high six figures, for two novels.

Reviews

[OOSA · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Mixed Blessing

I'm not one for reading a synopsis because I know that it may not be an accurate description. Once I cracked Dirty Game open, I had an instant feeling of déjà vu. Could it be? Have I read this story previously? Unfortunately, I did and I wish I'd been pre-warned. Dirty Game was one of the stories featured in a terribly written anthology by a bootleg publishing company. I felt like I've been hoodwinked! But after I trekked across the city of Chicago to meet Shannon Holmes, I decided to give him a reprieve in an effort to see how things would fair...

After losing his wife to a scam gone awry, Kenny "Ken-Ken" Green without delay modifies his life from hustler to daddy. The only thing Ken-Ken wants is to give his baby girl everything she'll need. Whether its precious jewels of knowledge, how her body is changing, or what he and her mother used to do in the streets of New York, Ken-Ken is destined to keep their daughter away from the game. Unfortunately, karma and/or fate will render Ken-Ken powerless and removes him from the position as the provider. Will Destiny make use of her inherited ways?

With the assistance of Jerome "Rome" Wells, a known thug, Destiny becomes his prized student of the streets. Honing in on her skills seems to be a quick payoff. Destiny is sure to hide her new found activities from her dad for fear that she'll disappoint him. However, once her secret is out in the open, will the unique bond between father and daughter lessen?

Rome is away doing time so Destiny is forced to make ends meet. She inducts her girl, Makeba, in on her plots. A reversal of roles soon causes a rift in their friendship. Power struggles lead to jail time and revenge in order to obtain those ill gotten gains. Is Destiny prepared to battle the hard core streets to reclaim her shattered dreams and lost soul?

Dirty Game is at best a run of the mill read. Booklovers copping this book looking for the Shannon Holmes who wrote B-More Careful, in my opinion, will be greatly disappointed. Not only do you overdose on the Ebonics, but the editing as well. The story builds up with drama, yet it always fizzles out leaving you desperate for some sort of encounter. While the father and daughter relationship is endearing, and you pity the sorrow that seems to plague Destiny's poor soul, the fact still remains that the book itself is a Dirty Game as it leaves you with a faux ending.

Reviewed by: Crystal

[Ms.Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It Just Didn't Do It For Me

In this cold, cruel world young hustler Kenny "Ken-Ken" Greene would be left alone to raise his daughter, Destiny. Vowing to give her what he didn't have and leading by example, Ken-Ken provided as best as he could for them leaving the streets behind. A twist of fate renders him incapable of caring for them and Destiny finds herself in the very streets he father fought so hard to keep her away from.

Had I not read anything by the author previously I might not have been so disappointed. To go from "B-More Careful" to "Dirty Game" has me wondering what in the world happened. I mean really, what happened? Will the real Shannon Holmes please stand up?!?! I try not to compare and let each work stand on its own merit, but in this case, I couldn't help it. "Dirty Game" was slow and the ending anti-climactic. This was better left as a short story as there wasn't enough to carry a full-length novel. I was feeling the quote at the beginning about not forgetting. But what was the point of the slang glossary? Most of those words were givens. Who doesn't know what coochie is? Come on now! And if you don't, you don't need to be reading this book or any other in the genre. Shannon Holmes is gonna have to really bring it with his next endeavor to keep this reader's interest. BUT, I am happy to know that he is no longer with The Clown Posse. When you know better, you must do better.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read other books by Shannon Holmes. All very good. B-More Careful made me a big fan.
This book was a departure. Not as well written, disjointed, not cohesive... Then the AAVE was crazy. Was it even AAVE? (ie "Now I wanna know how ya azz plan ta support dis baby?"). It was a lot going through pages of that.
Destiny's mom Maria dies after being shot while she was pregnant with her. She's raised by her father Ken Ken who starts driving a taxi after going straight when Maria was killed. She was killed as they are trying to pull off a lick. Years later Ken Ken gets shot and paralyzed. So he can't provide as he used to. As she grows up, Destiny becomes involved with neighborhood con man/hustler/stick up kid/etc. Rome and sets off to con folks herself. At first to make money to support herself and her father. But then it becomes addictive and all she knows.
A few things:
Destiny and her "best friend" Makeba were horrible. Their "friendship" was questionable. Who lets a guy insult her friend? Who short changes their friend (even if they are doing things that are against the law?)
Rome's wife and kids popping up? The character wasn't a character that was written to care about anyone else, much less have a wife and children.
The premise was good. It would have been nice if there was some sort of character arc. The scams and backstabbing are expected. But, I expected Destiny to put a plan in place to get even with the people that wronged her. But no, we got an anticlimactic, ambiguous ending.

[Katala Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, another great book from Holmes. Being a mixed girl from the south Bronx like Destiny from this story, I LOVE how the dialogue is typed the way we actually speak here. It's giving readers from other location a real feel of the boogie down and NYC. For example, instead of saying "go to your room and think about what you've done" it's written like "go ta ya room an think bout whut ya dun" and I like that because that's HOW WE "TAWK" HERE!! I personally think AAVE should be used more in literature, and giving youth in the hood books to read about things we can relate to or seen, it's cool to see that we not alone.
I'm almost done wit dis book and I will be reading the newest one, the B-more Careful prequel.. my local library ordered the book from Amazon just for me!! I was very surprised that they did that and I'm glad that others will get a chance to read more good books by Shannon Holmes!!

[Michael Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am going to stop reading these ghetto books with an overarching use of slang. Destiny Greene was born after her mother was shot and killed trying to rob a homicidal trick. Her Dad suffered a horrible fate also. Destiny's life was one mishap after another. She tried to stay true to small time robberies and you know where she ended up. No plot. Terrible writing.

[thee.millennialreader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ummm I don’t really know what to say about this book. It wasn’t super terrible but it wasn’t good. The writing was mediocre, but that may just be my thoughts because I haven’t been reading much urban novels lately (although there are better written urban novels out there). The plot of the story was weak in my opinion. There were parts I appreciated, but majority was just ehh…

[BossyLadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was ok but the story was awful. The ending was not satisfying at all. Destiny had a lot of tragedy in her young life. Lots of betrayal. And not a lot of growth. I'm unsettled by the ending.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Audible

[Micah Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow to take off. But overall a good book

[Shalandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only gave this book 4 stars because the ending was horrible.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

[Dione Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Revisit..I wonder what was Up here..It just doesn't give Me Vibes of Shannon Holmes..🤔🙄

[Alondra Salazar · Rating 1 out of 5]

didnt like this book at all

[Donna Brown]

Not my cup of tea.

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today I made 11 weeks pregnant so I tend to read books to help me stay stress free. I love Shannon Holmes books I thought this book was going to be something I've already read but nah it was completely different at times I was crying for Destiny, mad at Destiny, and just throw in the ball on reading this... But I'm glad I finished because if I didn't I wouldn't be able to tell y'all how good this book was. I wouldn't mind if it was a part to the two characters I liked in the book was
Kenny/Ken-Ken
And Destiny at times. That girl has been through a lot I wonder if she chose to get a 9 to 5 job and dated better people would her life be different and she wouldn't have experienced soo many loses my heart goes out to her. She was hurt and betrayed her she still pushed forward now that's what life is all about. I hated that Destiny was left alone ; I wouldn't wish that shit on anybody. Shannon Holmes is a legend with the pen I haven't came across a book of his I don't like

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've gone halfway through and that's as far as I'm going to go.

The first half isn't bad. It works for what it is. A good story set in a dark urban street environment. About halfway through the story ends...and then repeats itself in a minor key. When I realized that I gave up and skipped to the end.

Destiny's destiny is predictable although I'm sure how she gets there is filled with precarious turns and street language and other stereotyped behaviors. Questions of value to any young person at any time in history are raised throughout. The characters rarely voice these questions but their actions will lead the prudent reader to ask these questions.

It's a nicely woven tale and it fills the bill as a genre. It uses Soap Opera techniques to bring up questions and that's a valid approach. Soaps are not all bad. In the 1980s, General Hospital raised many a college-student's debate skills as the Luke and Laura rape scene was debated, rehashed, and debated again. Consciousness was raised. So be it.

To some it's dull. To some it's tedious. To others it's an effective way to tell a tale and raise questions. I get now why the kids dig the Urban Lit and its value in my library. I have accomplished my goal. Fair enough!

Posted by Anne in AZ at 6:22 PM 0 comments

[Chante · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I couldn't get into to dirty game. In the beginning it was just like any other book that I read before. After giving it another try I learned that this book was unique in its own way. It showed lesson after lesson, and several struggles in life that people have to deal with. Destiny had to deal with growing up without her mother, losing her father, a friend and her baby boy who she named after her deceased father. She couldn't find a real job so she decided to make money in an illegal way, all throughout her life. Destiny hustled in many different ways, until one day she got caught, and at the time she was a few months pregnant. Being sent to jail, made her realize that she had to do what was right for her baby. She wanted to give her unbron child the life she nver had. After being released from jail she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The the day came when he passed away. Soon after Destiny's baby died she moved away and left everyone without a trace, while on a mission to figure out what her purpose to live for was.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's about this qirl who's mom died when she was born.
both her parents were hustlers.
now her dad is raisinqq her alonee && is tryinqq to raise her riqht.
she has to make sum hard decisions when times qet rouqhh && her dad becomess unable to walk.
&& dats all i can say so i cnt ruin tha book =]

[Antoinette Witcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book,but it felt like this book was a rush job. There were moments when I thought the book would give more details in some areas of the book. This book would have been great if he had elaborated just a bit more on the characters like Rome to grab and keep the readers attention. I'm still a big fan of Shannon H.

[Tamara]

I am in the process of reading this right now! So far so Good!

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a slow read so far, but I'm going to hang in there, sometimes books usually pick up.

[Monie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All i have to say about this book is that it is so good that i couldn't stop reading until why it happen how it happne and everything..

[Keyona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot even remember the book exactly. So, I wasn't crazy about it at all. It was just OK. I expected more from Shannon Holmes.

[Shante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of my faves by him but I still like it!

[Atiya · Rating 1 out of 5]

hated it

[Jasmine Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

good