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Price of Fame
Brice Simpson is a newly promoted heroic detective with a secret past. He's riding the waves of fame, but he still feels he has something to prove, so Detective Simpson picks up a cold case on the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl. He's convinced the case will bring him redemption for his past indiscretions, but he soon finds out that the details surrounding the girl's murder may hit closer to home than he expects. When his younger sister goes missing, Brice's life is thrown into a tailspin that may cost him everything he has worked for. Casey Pete is a famous porn queen. Dominique Branch is a newly married preacher's wife with a shameful secret. They were the best of friends until they let jealousy, lies, drugs, and Jordan Bleu take over their lives. When Casey attempts suicide, Dominique is reunited with the past she wishes she could erase. Thrust back together by fate, Casey, Dominique, and Jordan are forced to confront each other and the demons from their past--one of which is murder. When this unlikely trio crosses paths with Detective Simpson, they turn out to be the only people that might be able to help him solve the haunting cold case and find his missing sister. Will they be able to put the pieces of their lives back together in enough time, or will they all finally realize the steep price of fame?
- GenresAudiobook
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 4, 2012
This book was a great read for me. I think the girl Brice raped when he was a kid or teen was the lady that started My House. But that's just a guess.
February 26, 2019
I like how the story brings awareness of human trafficking and the abuse of women. I didn’t mind the switches from past to present, it wasn’t hard to keep up with the transitions at all! It was like collecting little puzzle pieces until you got the big picture! Just looking at the cover, I never expected the story to be about these topics, I assumed it would be a hood/romance story. I still enjoyed it though!
August 8, 2018
This would've been a better book, but the author keep switching from the past to the present, which sometimes left me confused. If the execution between those the past and present was done better, I would have rated the book higher.
January 7, 2020
The switch between past and present was very confusing and done without preparation.
January 29, 2020
Fast-paced, action packed. The price of fame will cost you indeed.
December 13, 2010
Dirty Past
Newly promoted, Brice Simpson is eager to keep the commendations coming to further his career in the NYPD. Unfortunately, he finds himself stuck in cold cases and has to, at the least, break a case in order to prove that he is in fact the right man for the job. But when the case he's working starts to resemble his personal life, Brice may find that he has to take the law in his own hands. Is he prepared for the consequences?
Casey Pete was raised to believe that women should serve and provide the men in her life with whatever it was they wanted and or needed. Once she freed herself from her past, she found that her new career path wasn't as far fetched from her past as most would believe. After years of being involved in porn, Casey is ready for it all to come to an end. Is she willing to pay with her life?
Dominique Branch is a newly married first lady. All she ever wanted was someone to love her and treat her well. After the death of her mother, Dominique was sent to live with her only known relative. Broken and bitter, sex is the only thing Dominique is proficient in. When she's finally taken all she can from her abusive aunt, she runs to the streets in search for something better. Has she traded in one devil for another?
Despite being a college educated man, Jordan Bleu cannot get his mother off his back. She's never treated him like her other sons and despite trying to keep away from the call of the streets, he finds that he has no choice when faced with his mother's demands for money. After being groomed by the best, Jordan finds that he's a gem when it comes to convincing people to work to provide for 'their' needs. With his star out of commission and the deck stacked against him, Jordan must find a way to keep the checks rolling in. Will he live to regret his decision?
PRICE OF FAME by Amaleka McCall deals with pain, struggle, murder, secrets, drugs, dirty cops, domestic violence, racism, human trafficking and love. I enjoyed how the story takes you through each person's past and brings you current. I also enjoyed seeing Myra Hudson. Readers of Amaleka's work will remember her from her first novel, A TWISTED TALE OF KARMA.
Despite the editing issues, I enjoyed the story. It pains me that so many young girls and women are sexually exploited and then tossed away like trash. Amaleka, continue to use your pen to bring light to this darkness.
Newly promoted, Brice Simpson is eager to keep the commendations coming to further his career in the NYPD. Unfortunately, he finds himself stuck in cold cases and has to, at the least, break a case in order to prove that he is in fact the right man for the job. But when the case he's working starts to resemble his personal life, Brice may find that he has to take the law in his own hands. Is he prepared for the consequences?
Casey Pete was raised to believe that women should serve and provide the men in her life with whatever it was they wanted and or needed. Once she freed herself from her past, she found that her new career path wasn't as far fetched from her past as most would believe. After years of being involved in porn, Casey is ready for it all to come to an end. Is she willing to pay with her life?
Dominique Branch is a newly married first lady. All she ever wanted was someone to love her and treat her well. After the death of her mother, Dominique was sent to live with her only known relative. Broken and bitter, sex is the only thing Dominique is proficient in. When she's finally taken all she can from her abusive aunt, she runs to the streets in search for something better. Has she traded in one devil for another?
Despite being a college educated man, Jordan Bleu cannot get his mother off his back. She's never treated him like her other sons and despite trying to keep away from the call of the streets, he finds that he has no choice when faced with his mother's demands for money. After being groomed by the best, Jordan finds that he's a gem when it comes to convincing people to work to provide for 'their' needs. With his star out of commission and the deck stacked against him, Jordan must find a way to keep the checks rolling in. Will he live to regret his decision?
PRICE OF FAME by Amaleka McCall deals with pain, struggle, murder, secrets, drugs, dirty cops, domestic violence, racism, human trafficking and love. I enjoyed how the story takes you through each person's past and brings you current. I also enjoyed seeing Myra Hudson. Readers of Amaleka's work will remember her from her first novel, A TWISTED TALE OF KARMA.
Despite the editing issues, I enjoyed the story. It pains me that so many young girls and women are sexually exploited and then tossed away like trash. Amaleka, continue to use your pen to bring light to this darkness.
May 16, 2015
I will start by saying that I know I'm not the intended audience of this book. I shouldn't have even picked this up. But then I tend to have the point of view that any book might have something to teach me, so I read, waiting to be taught.
I didn't like any of the lessons I came away with.
I'm not entirely sure exactly what the intent was here. Was this meant to be erotica? If so, then the book failed. Descriptions of abuse and the rape of children doesn't do it for me.
Is this meant to be an expose into human trafficking and how awful it is? Then the detailed descriptions of the rape and abuse might have been meant to alarm, to alert. But instead leave the reader feeling uncomfortable, feeling that there's been just too much intimacy with the details to the point where you feel like you're part of the rape or abuse yourself.
Either way, the book is uncomfortable and not one I enjoyed reading.
The two girls are interesting...they bring up a point of racism in an industry where I hadn't considered the outcome of being black. Dominique was a sad pathetic creature that I lost all respect for - she'd been one to fight for herself and somewhere she gave up the fight to the point where she'd allow herself to be hurt and degraded by her husband. The kind of girl that left LA to start over in New York, who was strong enough to give up the drugs and get off the streets should have been strong enough to say no to someone hurting her the way she was tortured and hurt afterwards.
Casey just left me confused. As did the plot (would anyone care that she'd been part of a cultish group growing up when she's a porn queen? Seriously?)
Add to that the sheer impossibility of being able to read this book easily - no scene breaks to let you know when the action was changing, head-hopping, occasionally just a confusing word of phrase that seemed out of place and misused - made this book hard to follow. And the plot and characters weren't enough to make it worth the effort.
This book was recommended to me by my library when I went hunting for African American fiction. After reading this, I'm feeling a little hurt and betrayed and not as likely to follow their recommendations. And I'm really hoping that this isn't representative of other African American fiction out there.
I didn't like any of the lessons I came away with.
I'm not entirely sure exactly what the intent was here. Was this meant to be erotica? If so, then the book failed. Descriptions of abuse and the rape of children doesn't do it for me.
Is this meant to be an expose into human trafficking and how awful it is? Then the detailed descriptions of the rape and abuse might have been meant to alarm, to alert. But instead leave the reader feeling uncomfortable, feeling that there's been just too much intimacy with the details to the point where you feel like you're part of the rape or abuse yourself.
Either way, the book is uncomfortable and not one I enjoyed reading.
The two girls are interesting...they bring up a point of racism in an industry where I hadn't considered the outcome of being black. Dominique was a sad pathetic creature that I lost all respect for - she'd been one to fight for herself and somewhere she gave up the fight to the point where she'd allow herself to be hurt and degraded by her husband. The kind of girl that left LA to start over in New York, who was strong enough to give up the drugs and get off the streets should have been strong enough to say no to someone hurting her the way she was tortured and hurt afterwards.
Casey just left me confused. As did the plot (would anyone care that she'd been part of a cultish group growing up when she's a porn queen? Seriously?)
Add to that the sheer impossibility of being able to read this book easily - no scene breaks to let you know when the action was changing, head-hopping, occasionally just a confusing word of phrase that seemed out of place and misused - made this book hard to follow. And the plot and characters weren't enough to make it worth the effort.
This book was recommended to me by my library when I went hunting for African American fiction. After reading this, I'm feeling a little hurt and betrayed and not as likely to follow their recommendations. And I'm really hoping that this isn't representative of other African American fiction out there.
October 19, 2010
Exploited (4.5 Stars)
Casey Pete and Dominique Branch were teenagers both trying desperately to escape their tragic childhoods. Dominique was from Brooklyn and the death of her mother left her living with her aunt who viewed her as nothing more than a social security check. It doesn’t take long for aunt Awilda to figure out a way in which Dominique can bring in even more money into their household. Casey was raised in Utah on a Mormon compound where she was married off at the tender age of 13 to her mother’s first cousin who already had 3 wives.
While both girls manage to flee their horrendous conditions meeting up with Jordan Bleu only places the girls in more dire straits. Jordan preys upon teenagers offering to take care of them and become their daddy. Unfortunately Jordan’s definition of daddy equates to a pimp. With Dominique and Casey Jordan decides to utilize their beauty to break out into the world of pornography. Jordan’s initial fame and fortune in the porn industry has a few setbacks and spawns his latest venture; human trafficking.
When one of Jordan’s newest protégés turns out to be the sister of a decorated detective Jordan’s sex ring just might be exposed. The sex ring is just the tip of the iceberg because Jordan is also responsible for the murder of one his disobedient teens; a murder that both Casey and Dominique may have to answer for as well. With Price of Fame Author Amaleka McCall does an excellent job exposing the dark truth of the illegal and legal sex industry and how it exploits young women, leading them into a lifestyle of drug abuse and even death! And although the tale is very entertaining it also proves to be educational as well.
Casey Pete and Dominique Branch were teenagers both trying desperately to escape their tragic childhoods. Dominique was from Brooklyn and the death of her mother left her living with her aunt who viewed her as nothing more than a social security check. It doesn’t take long for aunt Awilda to figure out a way in which Dominique can bring in even more money into their household. Casey was raised in Utah on a Mormon compound where she was married off at the tender age of 13 to her mother’s first cousin who already had 3 wives.
While both girls manage to flee their horrendous conditions meeting up with Jordan Bleu only places the girls in more dire straits. Jordan preys upon teenagers offering to take care of them and become their daddy. Unfortunately Jordan’s definition of daddy equates to a pimp. With Dominique and Casey Jordan decides to utilize their beauty to break out into the world of pornography. Jordan’s initial fame and fortune in the porn industry has a few setbacks and spawns his latest venture; human trafficking.
When one of Jordan’s newest protégés turns out to be the sister of a decorated detective Jordan’s sex ring just might be exposed. The sex ring is just the tip of the iceberg because Jordan is also responsible for the murder of one his disobedient teens; a murder that both Casey and Dominique may have to answer for as well. With Price of Fame Author Amaleka McCall does an excellent job exposing the dark truth of the illegal and legal sex industry and how it exploits young women, leading them into a lifestyle of drug abuse and even death! And although the tale is very entertaining it also proves to be educational as well.
November 7, 2010
Price of Frame
Dominique, Jordan, Brice and Casey: four people from four different walks of life that become connected by one young girl’s murder. As a new detective, Brice has been assigned the cold case files of his precinct. He begins investigating the death of a runaway teen. This case brings him into the seedy world of the sex industry.
Jordon, Dominique and Casey have been thick as thieves in the sex industry. Starting out as pimp and prostitute and ending as manager and porn star. Jordon, aka Jordan Bleu- Talent Scout, raised in a loveless home turns to the neighborhood hustler and learns pimping first hand. Dominique, aka Diamond Tiara, an orphan who is sent to live with her aunt when her mother died, was thrust into prostitution by her aunt, at a very young age. Casey, aka Denver Peaks, is a Mormon who was forced into marriage at a young age and escaped that lifestyle only to stumble into the seedy sex industry to become a big time porn star. What started out as a friendship and love turned ugly because of drugs, sex and betrayal.
“Price of Fame” definitely is a page-turner that captivates and intrigues readers as well as opens the topic of sexual exploitation. I give this book a 3-rating because the author does not transition well from the past and present lives of the characters. Characters would have “flash backs” for chapters at times and then it would be present day without a clear understanding that the “flash back” had ended. This distinction could’ve been made with the chapter titles. Otherwise, this was a very good read.
Reviewed by: Alicia
Dominique, Jordan, Brice and Casey: four people from four different walks of life that become connected by one young girl’s murder. As a new detective, Brice has been assigned the cold case files of his precinct. He begins investigating the death of a runaway teen. This case brings him into the seedy world of the sex industry.
Jordon, Dominique and Casey have been thick as thieves in the sex industry. Starting out as pimp and prostitute and ending as manager and porn star. Jordon, aka Jordan Bleu- Talent Scout, raised in a loveless home turns to the neighborhood hustler and learns pimping first hand. Dominique, aka Diamond Tiara, an orphan who is sent to live with her aunt when her mother died, was thrust into prostitution by her aunt, at a very young age. Casey, aka Denver Peaks, is a Mormon who was forced into marriage at a young age and escaped that lifestyle only to stumble into the seedy sex industry to become a big time porn star. What started out as a friendship and love turned ugly because of drugs, sex and betrayal.
“Price of Fame” definitely is a page-turner that captivates and intrigues readers as well as opens the topic of sexual exploitation. I give this book a 3-rating because the author does not transition well from the past and present lives of the characters. Characters would have “flash backs” for chapters at times and then it would be present day without a clear understanding that the “flash back” had ended. This distinction could’ve been made with the chapter titles. Otherwise, this was a very good read.
Reviewed by: Alicia
October 13, 2010
Some Things Are Priceless
Casey and Dominique have very different backgrounds and upbringings, yet life brings them to the same man, Jordan Bleu, and the same destination - the streets. Desperately wanting to escape, is the price for freedom too high?
In "Price of Fame," we find plenty of emotion, like lust, love, anger, fear, greed, and deceit. I would have preferred more development in some areas and a less rushed and tidy ending. Because of that, the story sometimes was uneven. That said, I did enjoy "Price of Fame." Amaleka's gift of storytelling elevated this project above its shortcomings. It held my interest. I liked that as an author she "showed" and didn't just "tell." I also appreciated that Amaleka stepped outside of the box with a non AA character as one of the lead characters. She makes the unusual pairing of Casey and Dominique work.
Overall, "Price of Fame" is a quick and enjoyable read. I look forward to what Amaleka has in store for us next.
Casey and Dominique have very different backgrounds and upbringings, yet life brings them to the same man, Jordan Bleu, and the same destination - the streets. Desperately wanting to escape, is the price for freedom too high?
In "Price of Fame," we find plenty of emotion, like lust, love, anger, fear, greed, and deceit. I would have preferred more development in some areas and a less rushed and tidy ending. Because of that, the story sometimes was uneven. That said, I did enjoy "Price of Fame." Amaleka's gift of storytelling elevated this project above its shortcomings. It held my interest. I liked that as an author she "showed" and didn't just "tell." I also appreciated that Amaleka stepped outside of the box with a non AA character as one of the lead characters. She makes the unusual pairing of Casey and Dominique work.
Overall, "Price of Fame" is a quick and enjoyable read. I look forward to what Amaleka has in store for us next.
September 4, 2019
Good story but it switched from character to character with no warning which was very confusing. I didn’t get the connection between characters until almost the middle of the book. If the author would have slowed down in the beginning and maybe ended the chapter then switched characters it would’ve made it easier to understand or mentioned a year or something, it just went back and forth too fast.
November 3, 2010
I loved this book. I can't wait for her next book to come out.
November 18, 2010
The book was good, I didn't like all the bouncing around but other than that very interesting read!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews