Forever a Hustler's Wife

February 5, 2007
Yarni Taylor, a successful lawyer who has dedicated herself to helping "minority men caught up in the wrath," fights to keep her hustler husband out of prison in this anemic tale of treachery and dedication among the rich and ghetto-fabulous. After spending 10 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, Des Taylor is pardoned, released and makes Yarni a wife and a mother. Des also returns to a life of hustling, and after two years of freedom is framed for another murder. Yarni swears to exonerate the man to whom she has devoted her life. As the couple work to keep Des free, they also contend with a myriad of minidramas—an attempted rape, a kidnapping and the murder of a loved one. Turner (A Hustler's Wife
) spares no cliché in this thin story (the bling quotient is staggering), and readers may feel frustrated at the author's constant and simplistic explication of her characters' thoughts and actions. Fans of Turner's earlier works may find something to appreciate, but the uninitiated will have serious trouble.

March 1, 2007
Lava, a secondary character in this sequel to "A Hustler's Wife", epitomizes this novel's theme. Slipping her lover a pistol, she proclaims, "Ain't nothing. I'm just playing my position. That's what the queen is supposed to do. Protect the king." The work's centerpiece is Yarnisa (Yarni) Taylor, a high-profile lawyer who will do anything to defend her husband, Des, just released from prison. Fatherhood and love are all good, but the street hustler can't ignore favors owed. Converging story lines have Des hunting down his betrayer while Yarni struggles to overturn another prisoner's life sentence. Echoing the HBO family crime series "The Sopranos", typecast characters dripping with wealth are caught up in executions, sensuous sex, and double-crossing. Some awkward phrasing is offset by sly humor (two piranhas, Bobby and Whitney, share a tank), but Turner's veiled editorials about the legal system and religious hypocrisy are what separate this work from the street-lit publishing tsunami. Recommended for urban libraries with female patrons who know that the queen is more powerful than the king. [Turner will be launching her own street-lit line, Nikki Turner Presents, for One World/Ballantine this year.Ed.]Rollie Welch, Cleveland P.L.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.