Dark Karma [Paperback]

Joyce Veranda Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

The Law of Karma teaches that responsibility for unpleasant actions is born by the person who commits them. The criminals. ItÂ’s amazing how the criminals detaches themselves from the criminal act as if they were not part of it, rarely seeing the impact on the victimsÂ’ families and friends when they perform their awful act. Some acts are heinous and force one to delve into social and psychological barriers that could cause a person to step over the edge. Some crimes are simply malicious and evil. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. What if the criminals were forced to live the horror that they caused? The drug dealer finds himself in the body of the drug addict and he suffers through the withdrawals, living on the street, the beatings, the raping, and the hunger. The thief steals the rent money and becomes the victim who finds herself living on the street and running for her life. And the murderer becomes the victim's father and he deals with the death of a son and a grieving mother. There's no escape. They can't find their way back to their real lives except by way of Redemption. They must find Redemption or lose their souls.

Product Details

• Paperback: 367 pages
• Publisher: Urban Books (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933967129
• ISBN-13: 978-1933967127
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What Goes Around, Really Does Come Around., September 6, 2007

By 

Urban Reviews "Your Source for the Best in AA... (Online) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dark Karma (Paperback)

I've often told people who did bad things to me, "Of course you don't remember what you did because you weren't on the receiving end of your bad behavior!" How many times have you wished that someone could feel what it was like to have something bad done to them? Well, in Dark Karma by Joyce Veranda Gray, that's exactly what happens when three different people are made to see the grief that their actions have caused.

A young man named Dray killed a man just so that he could join a street gang. He goes to sleep and wakes up as the father of the young man that he killed. Dray now has to comfort the mother of the man that he killed.

In a lot of women's eyes, Josh is a very handsome and attractive man. He's a man who has a way with words and women. Although Josh is from a well to-do family, he's a drug dealer. Josh's game is to date women and then get them hooked on his product so that he'll have a loyal customer. Once the woman is of no use to him, he leaves them with no remorse because in his eyes, he did nothing wrong. Find out what happens when Josh wakes up as one of his victims.

Last, but not least, there's Carlita. A young twenty something woman who steals the purse of a very tired woman while riding the bus. Carlita is then put in her place and has to take care of not only herself, but the woman's son as well. Will these three ever find redemption?

The story idea for Dark Karma was great. However, the execution of the story was not very good. At times, the story seemed to move slow. Also, there sometimes was too much information and other times not enough information. Dark Karma was just an okay read for me.

Reviewed by LaShonda Bates
for Urban Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What have I done?, July 28, 2007

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Karma (Paperback)

DARK KARMA by Joyce Veranda Gray takes a look at those who commit crimes and how karma makes the criminals take the place of those they have harmed. Dray, who killed an innocent man in order to join a street gang, is forced to become the father of the dead man. He must deal with the grief and anguish of the devastated wife and mother.

Carlita steals a sleeping woman's entire pay for the month when she takes her purse while riding the bus. Carlita finds herself living on the streets with the woman's young son. They have no where to go, nothing to eat and in addition, the law is looking for them.

Josh, a drug dealer who lures beautiful, young women into his clutches to turn them into addicts, finds himself addicted to heroin. He's on the streets with no money and no prospects. He gets raped and abused by anyone who wants to take advantage of his addicted female body. All three of them have horrific dreams and through these dreams, they know they must find Redemption. None are sure quite where or how to find this place in the desert.

DARK KARMA is a refreshing new look at street crimes. It forces the characters to take responsibility for what they've done, even though each of them has a good reason/excuse for what they did. The characters are well developed, from committing their crimes to their new lives as their victims, and it is easy to identify with them and their misdeeds. I found myself having pity as well as hatred for what they'd done. It was especially poignant because no matter what they said or did, they could convince no one they were stuck in someone else's body. There were amusing parts as well as frightening ones. It was a very good book and I would recommend it.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of the RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

3.0 out of 5 stars An ok read.., January 28, 2011

By 

A. Cleveland - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Karma (Paperback)

The book was an ok read. It was kind of slow on some parts but I liked the overall theme of the book and how they got to experience first hand the damaged they caused. If only that could happen for real, the world would possibly be a better place.