The Golden Hustla [Paperback]

Wahida Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 2010

All of Georgia law enforcement is aware that WMM Advertising-also known as "We Make Millionaires"-is one of the biggest and hardest-to-penetrate fraudulent telemarketing firms in the state. But when a tape recording of a man's death surfaces that may involve WMM, Atlanta homicide detective Danny Houser realizes that he may actually have the smoking gun needed to go after the firm. All he needs is someone inside WMM to sniff out the company's secrets. Soon he sets his sights on Alexis Greenspan, aka Nina Coles, the telemarketer's top sales associate. Approaching retirement, Houser will do everything in his power to manipulate Coles and solve this one last case...no matter who gets hurt in the process.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Clark’s raucous latest (after Thug Lovin’) tells the tale of hustle-wise Nina Coles, an outlaw on the run from a New Jersey nightmare. When a check cashing scam ends in bloodshed, Nina’s best friend Michelle is dead and her crackhead brother, Peedie, is seriously wounded. Hoping to start her life over, Nina steals two kilos of drugs from her ex-boyfriend. Once she sells them, she uses the money to establish herself in Decatur, Ga., picking up an alias along the way. She takes a telemarketing job selling magazines, but quickly moves to a more lucrative but infinitely shadier sales job at the WMM (We Make Millionaires) Agency, persuading people to spend thousands of dollars on the chance to win gold coins. Her goal is to earn enough to send for her three children, but the FBI are watching WMM, and things get dicey when her boss orders the suspicious nephew of a client killed. Clark is nothing if not streetwise and channels her knowledge into keeping Nina one step ahead of the hustle and always at the top of her gold-legginged game.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Wahida Clark's debuts novel is an entertaining, graphic, somewhat erotic look at the streets. The book is a drama-filled quick read that will leave you wanting more." (RAWSISTAZ Reviewers on THUGS AND THE WOMEN WHO LOVE THEM )

"Victor L. Martin, LaShonda Teague, Bonta, and Shawn "Jihad" Trump are writers to watch, but Clark pulls out all stops in 'Makin' Endz Meet,' introducing Nina, a sassy street girl who tells us, 'Now here I be. Twenty-on years old, three kids, three babies' daddies, and on welfare.' You go, girl.'"
(Library Journal on WHAT'S REALLY HOOD? )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (October 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446178101
• ISBN-13: 978-0446178105
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wahida Clark was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. She decided to start writing fiction while incarcerated at a women's federal camp in Lexington, KY. Her style is street, raw, and she has an imagination that's in overdrive. When you read her novels they are so real you are convinced of one of three things: that you are inside the book, you know the characters, or you just have to meet them. Her novels include New York Times and Essence Magazine Bestsellers:Thugs And The Women Who Love Them, Every Thug Needs A Lady, Thug Matrimony, Thug Lovin', Justify My Thug, Payback is A Mutha, Payback With Ya Life, Sleeping With the Enemy and What's Really Hood.
Wahida now owns and operates the most popular and fastest growing urban independent publishing house in the industry: Wahida Clark Presents Publishing (www.wclarkpublishing.com) in East Orange, New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Money Brings More Problems, October 5, 2010

By 

Teresa Beasley (Indianapolis,IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Hustla (Paperback)

Wahida Clark is at it again in her new installment, The Golden Hustla. Nina Coles has chosen to run away since the death of her brother and best friend. She wants to start over but hustling has been her game and it is hard to let it go. Nina tries to convince herself that leaving behind her past will not affect her future. After getting settled into a new city, Nina runs into her old boyfriend, Akil, who wants to make amends by helping her gain employment. Nina starts to realize that his help comes at a price, but not one that she is willing to pay. On the other hand, she has become a valuable salesperson at her new job. She is making good money, living comfortable and is tired of everyone wanting handouts. Nina soon finds out that she is knee deep in affairs that need immediate attention. Will she be able to save herself in time?

Rinaldo is the owner of an advertising empire and does not take kindly to slackers. He is in the business of making money and must do so to satisfy his wife, Rochelle. She demands to be kept in the lifestyle she has become accustomed to. Rochelle also has something up her sleeve if everything works according as planned. Rinaldo's urges to make money, his cloudy judgment, misguided dealings and his non-caring attitude toward his employees just might ruin him if he is not careful.

Detective Houser wants to retire but a murder case lands on his desk from an advertising company he has been watching and he just cannot pass it up. He believes something is not right with WMM Advertising and he will do whatever it takes to find out, even if it means asking an unlikely person for help.

The Golden Hustla will take readers on an exciting ride with its unsuspected twists and devious characters. The author gives readers an action-packed novel that is full of juicy details. I enjoyed the mindset of these characters because just when I thought I figured one out, the character was doing something else that had me in awe. It is a fast-paced book to read, but I definitely recommend this book to others.

This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Teresa Beasley
APOOO BookClub

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Adult Street Literature Fans, October 17, 2010

By 

Miss Domino (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Hustla (Paperback)

The protagonist, Nina Coles flees New Jersey and leaves her children, bloodshed, and pain behind to begin a new life in Atlanta. When she runs into her ex-boyfriend, Cream a*k*a - Akil, things begin to go downhill. Akil convinces Nina to leave her dead end telemarketing job selling magazines, and move to the lucrative WMM (We Make Millionaires) Agency. In the beginning, life is good - a new job, 5 figure salary a week and a means to support her children back home. After some time, Nina learns that she has gotten herself in a position where she is being controlled.

Her boss Rinaldo is shady and his main goal is to have his Platinum Team to persuade the rich and elderly to spend thousands of dollars on American Gold Eagle Coins and get rich sweepstakes. Things also begin to become more complicated as Nina and Akil's attraction to each other becomes so tense that they pick up where they had left off years ago. Akil also blackmails and physically abuses Nina into giving him inside information about WMM. Now realizing that she's in over her head, Nina is faced with walking away from WMM and starting over again or stay.

The story kicks into high gear when Nina becomes suspicious of Rinaldo when the nephew of a wealthy client is mysteriously killed. To make matters worse, the FBI indicts WMM for mail/wire fraud and money laundering. Using her hustling instincts and skills, Nina goes into survival mode to save herself and reunite with her kids.

`The Golden Hustla' is a page turner with believable characters and plot twists. I especially enjoyed how Clark cleverly brought Kyron and Tasha (Thug Lovin) into the story for a brief cameo. She educates the reader about the inside world of high end telephone sales, the thirst for American Gold Eagle Coins and corporate greed.

"The Golden Hustla" is a book that is not to be missed by adult Street Literature fans this fall.

Miss Domino
[...]

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ, October 19, 2010

By 

E. Cline "TANYAKA'S BOOK" (WESTWEGO, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Golden Hustla (Paperback)

WAHIDA YOU DONE IT AGAIN, I'M NOT GOING TO SAY TO MUCH BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE STILL WAITING ON BOOKS, HOWEVER THIS BOOK IS FULL OF DRAMA, LUST, LIES, AND BETRAYAL. THE BOOK IS REALLY GOOD. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. THE BOOK IS THE TRUTH...........