Set in Philidelphia in 2008, it involves Don Juan Jackson who has just gotten out of prison and is picked up by his best friend Lex. Lex's mom had been imprisoned when he was very young for killing his father and Lex was taken in by the rich white couple that his mom worked for. Then when he was in high school his aunt took them to court and he was sent to live with her in the ghetto which is where he met Don Juan.
In 2003 Don Juan was under house arrest and living with his baby momma, Sherry. while at the same time dealing with a pregnant girlfriend, Saleena. Saleena gets mad one night and decides to go after Sherry who is returning home after a night on the town. She is not happy about this and blames Don Juan. When Saleena arrives the two women begin to go at it in the yard, yelling at each other and a crowd has gathered. Don Juan shoots off his gun in order to get the crowd to back off and stay out of it. The cops show up and clear everyone off. The next day Saleena called his PO and told him he had shot a gun and the guy locked him up. At the hearing, Saleena told of how she had a miscarriage that was caused when he shot at her. That was enough to show that he had violated his probation so he went back in for 3-6 years, but because of various things, he wound up staying in for six years.
All Don Juan wants is to take care of his daughter Tiffany and have visitation with her. When he gets out he cashes his check for $20,000 and gives $3,000 to Sherry for child support and sets up a time to see Tiffany. Sherry has moved on and has a fiance named Rob who doesn't much care for Don Juan being back, but then neither does Sherry.
Lex is telling Don Juan that dope is old news and that white collar crime is the new thing. Stealing identities, fake credit cards, and the like. He sets up Don Juan in a nice house with a Range Rover and some money to start off with. Then the two begin the con game with the fake identities and trying to get fake cards to charge stuff with under false names. Don Juan gets a lot of stuff for Tiffany and some clothes for himself including a briefcase that will be used later for some purpose. Soon, however, Rob approaches Don Juan and lets him know that he's a cop and that he is interested in getting Pops the local money man and drug procurer. And Don Juan had planned on contacting Pops for some start-up money to buy drugs. Rob has pictures of Don Juan and Lex and the places they are going into and says he knows what they are up to, but that he'd rather have Pops than them. So what is their next move?
This is a difficult book to read. The women seemed to be "whores" or the one Madonna, who is the teacher Lex is trying to date. She won't go out on a date with him or anything as long as he is still with his fiancee. Sherry is a very bitter woman who slips into bed with a man she doesn't even know is an undercover cop which is a massive no-no in this world. But when she finds out she wants to be comforted by Don Juan like she wants to possibly get back together with him. And he thinks about it for a hot minute. The three of them a family for the sake of Tiffany, but he can't seem to do it. But even Sherry is still a "whore" at heart, going from one man to another as her needs suit her. When Don Juan gets out of jail, Lex sets him up with two real whores in a limo ride on the way back to Philly. Saleena has turned into a crack "whore" who has slept with a multitude of men and is now Pops woman.
The storyline is slow to start and seems ludicrous to be honest. But it does drag you in and perhaps surprise you a bit. You do wonder where it is going to end up and who will be left standing out of prison. The writing is okay but the characters lack depth. They seem two-dimensional street criminals trying to make a buck and stay out of jail. Overall this was a so-so book and I can neither recommend nor not recommend it. I leave it up to you to make up your own mind about it. I received this book as a pre-published copy and this did not affect my review in any way.
Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Confidence-Rahiem-Brooks-ebook/dp/B07491NJBY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534341594&sr=8-2&keywords=mr.+confidence
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