Customer Reviews

Dirty South (Triple Crown Publications Presents)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I SHOULD SAY FOR THE FIRST TIME AROUND THIS BOOK WAS OKAY. I THINK IT'LL BE MORE EFFECTIVE ON A MALE READING IT THAN A FEMALE. I GIVE ALL AUTHORS THEIR PROPS NO DOUBT BECAUSE IT'S A GIFT ONLY CERTAIN PEOPLE ARE GIVEN, BUT I WOULD GIVE THE SUGGESTION OF BEING MORE DETAILED ON WHAT'S GOING ON BUT EXCITING AT THE SAME TIME.

I could noy put it down.Sitting on the beach I read it about four hours.Mr. King had me in the midst of Rae,Shawn,Dawn,Cj,Snooky and the rest.I felt like I was there witnessing the whole thing.

Rae-Kwon Lake is the nephew of the ruthless drug kingpin Marion "Snookey" Lake. Snookey is the head of a multi-million dollar empire and is very well connected. But his empire is threatened when he and his family relocates to Georgia to runaway from the Feds. Rae-Kwon wants to start an empire of his own with his cousins. Rae-Kwon and his cousins are soon a part of the world of fast cash and instant wealth. But they have more than they bargained for when one of Rae-Kwon's cousin's decides to get trigger happy and starts eliminating their problems. Rae-Kwon also realizes that his uncle Snookey isn't the man he thought he was.

Dirty South is a raw, in-your-face debut novel by Darrell King. King gives readers a realistic, bird's eye view of the southern multi-million dollar drug trade. Although the story dragged at times, the author showed great creativity in going back to the early 1980s when the modern drug trade was in its infancy. I could literally picture every scene that was taking place in this novel. Dirty South is a gritty and daring novel that is hopefully the start of a long successful career for Darrell King.

Rae Kwon's life appears accidental -- his parents die to accidents, he meets crucial people -- first in prison, then out in clubs. Women fall for him, and they mother his children. It appears accidental, and violent, and sometmes pointless. But the intriguing part of this book is how Rae Kwon's life is both not accidental and how many of those random meetings help him make a lot of money dealing drugs and then still let him escape. At times, what appears accidental is not (but I won't spoil how!); at times, it does seem that Rae kwon is damn lucky; at other times, he seems like he has a fifth sense for trouble and a sixth sense for money making. It is fascinating read -- different than most of my reading -- I'm more of a Richard Price, Clockers, type -- just for the rawness of the tale and the quick turn of events. In King's next book, I think he'll be able to add some more subtlety to the adventures -- at time the action drove the story more than the characters.

Hidden beneath the long-held facade of the genteel South is the reality of the DIRTY SOUTH; a world of drugs, drug lords, murders and bloodbaths.

Rae Kwon Lake was fourteen years old when he was first introduced to drug deals and power, and the intoxicating feeling each gives. The death of his parents allowed him the opportunity to live with his only uncle, where he was introduced to the high-ballin' world of drugs, fast money and fast women. All of which sets his life on a downward spiral. During the eighties, at the height of the crack-cocaine epidemic, he was only sixteen and had been dealing drugs for two years.

Rae received honors, awards and trophies while in high school, but those things never impressed him, he wanted to hustle; it would get him out of the hood. Rae and his new family moved from New Orleans to Peola, Georgia trying to escape the Feds and embed their dominance in the South's crime infrastructure. Life was good, according to his gauge, but clashes with too many women and other drug lords would bring violent resistance and hostile takeovers. At the age of twenty-five Rae had lived a lifetime, his personal life was falling apart, and he no longer knew whom he could trust.

DIRTY SOUTH is raw, gritty, and ruthless. It gives a surprising view of the life of drug kingpins outside of the typical setting of Northern urban cities. And it emphasizes how in the South, multimillionaire drug lords do power lunches with Southern aristocrats. While King presents a shockingly credible account of the geographical differences of drug life, at times some of the characters and situations seemed a little thin. Still, this is an eye-opening, even believable read on how to reach your potential in spite of a turbulent past. For a real account of some of the hardness and redemption of a slightly different drug scene, I invite you to visit the DIRTY SOUTH.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ™Reviewers

This was a good book. I wouldn't have read it by just looking at the cover but once I read the first chapter I was hooked.

I was reading some of the reviews on here and one person said this book was as good as "THE COLDEST WINTER EVER" that is a lie.... This book had its share of errors and misprints.. This book did nothing for me, but I finished it. It was ok but where was the story line, it had so many different people, Im still trying to figure out where some of the charaters came from. And Rae-Kwon and Donita had 4 kids together, later in the book it states they only had 3... Like I said I got through this book, but what was the purpose of writing a book with no story line, just talk... Thats my opinion..

Since Rae Kwon Lake's parents passed away, he had to learn to survive at an early age. Taken in by his Uncle Snookey,Aunt Melissa, and twin cousin's Dawn and Shawn, Rae Kwon's life isn't that much greater. Introduced first to the drug game by his Uncle Snookey, Rae's life goes from the small time to the big time, but on the way up he get's affiliated with criminals, drug lords, murderers, and of course the FEDS.
Rae's life goes from bad to worst just by chasing that mighty dollar in the game. If his twin cousin's is not starting chaos and keeping the guns loaded, his Uncle Snookey is. Running from turf to turf and eliminating anyone in the way becomes the name of the game and trying all along to make Uncle Snookey proud is the object. Uncle Snookey's object is getting rich by any means necessary and that includes taking out his own flesh and blood. From the small peddlers, drug lords, to the mafia, Rae Kwon gets dirty with each one and while doing this he learns the game changes and staying loyal to Uncle Snookey is no longer the object.

Dirty South was an ok read. I think at times it was way too much narrating of the story. If the author would of let the characters tell the story it would've been much more of an interesting read. The author had a good plot, but the characters were somewhat under-developed. Dirty South is still a story you would want to read and once you finish Darrell King will have your mind wondering is this fiction or non-fiction. Good read for Mr. King's first debut and a recommendation for all to read.

Reviewed by Token787
Coast2Coast Readers Online Book Club

If you liked The Coldest Winter Ever, then you will LOVE this book! With the memorable characters Rae-Kwon, the twins & Uncle Snooky, and all the drama Darrell King brings in this exciting tale of dysfunctional families, the drug game, money & power you will not want to put this book down! Highly recommended as I await Mr. King's next masterpiece!

Reviewed by Kisha Green
[...]


In the novel Dirty south readers will be taken on a journey of drugs, sex, lies and murder and that is just the beginning. The story revolves around notorious New Orleans kingpin Marion "Snookey" Lake, his two kids Shawn and Dawn and his nephew Rae-Kwon.

Lake is a man about his business but as focused on his money he is on his family and nothing or no one will get in the way of that. Dirty South is a very vivid tale of the underground drug game and readers will see on several occasions the drug game has no loyalty and you always have to think two steps ahead.

Dirty South indeed tells a gritty tale of the fast life of drugs, guns and violence and even though the story does seem a bit drawn out it still was an interesting read. For true fans of street literature then Dirty South will not disappoint but if you are more in to a slow paced novel, put this book down immediately because Darrell King puts you in the front seat. At times you will not know what is going to happen next. Dirty South truly tells the story of what is like to be on a paper chase. With the life of crime comes enemies and with that Rae and the family is constantly looking over his or her own shoulder.

What did you like best about this book?
I enjoyed that the author really painted a vivid picture for everything that was going on throughout out the book. This book definitely was detail oriented with the scenes taken place throughout the novel were seen.

What did you dislike about this book?
I didn't like that the author told a tale that was a little far fetched. There was a lot of crimes being committed but everyone else but RaeKwon and Snooky were ever injured and if they were it was something minor compared to the horrendous crimes they were committing.

How can the author improve this book?
In areas where the story just seemed to go on and on, I would suggest to keep up with the flow of the story and move on to the next scene as well as eliminating some of the narration in the book.