Product Description

The high priestess of the hood, Nikki Turner, is back with the novel fans have been feenin’ for: the sequel to her #1 bestselling novel, A Hustler’s Wife.

Des, Virginia’s slickest gangsta, is about to become a dad when he is charged with the murder of his own attorney. But with Yarni, his gorgeous wife (and a brilliant lawyer), now calling the shots, Des isn’t going back to the slammer without a fierce fight. Even with the heat on, Des manages to take his game to the next level and finds a new hustle, one that will allow him to possess the three things all major players desire: money, power, and respect. He becomes a preacher. Reluctantly, Yarni stands by her man as he trades in his triple beam scale for a Bible and a Bentley and makes his Church of the Good Life Ministry a welcoming place for all sinners to step up to the altar.

But when Des’s nephew is killed in the high-stakes heroin trade and Des learns that someone close to him okayed the hit, the dyed-in-the-wool gangsta sets aside the Bible for the gospel of the streets–even if it means risking the one person who’s always had his back.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #226188 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-10
• Released on: 2007-04-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780345493859
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
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. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
“Forever a Hustler’s Wife is one of the most-anticipated sequels of this century. Nikki Turner has once again taken street literature to the next level, further proving that she is indeed ‘The Queen of Hip Hop Fiction.’”
–Zane

“Always surprising, Nikki Turner’s prose moves like a Porsche, switching gears from tender to vicious in an instant.”
–50 Cent

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1


A Million Damn Dollars

As Yarni Taylor entered the old courtroom and searched for a seat toward the front, she couldn’t help but overhear clients arguing with their attorneys as well as the chitchat of folks waiting for their loved ones’ cases to be heard. “I wish they’d hurry up and get this started, because I got to go to work,” one person said. Another asked, “So you think that Boo-boo gon’ come to court and testify on Freddie Boy?”

She tried to control the sway of her ample behind as she walked down the aisle, but all eyes were on her. Yarni wasn’t sure if it was the confidence she exuded or her exotic looks—almond-shaped hazel eyes, high cheekbones, and caramel skin so smooth you wanted to lick it—which were complemented by her cream-colored Tahari suit that, like a little red Corvette going a hundred miles per hour on the highway, hugged every curve. Diamond studs glistened in her ears, and a huge six-carat rock weighed down her left hand. She wasn’t a stranger to the courts. A successful attorney, she had won many cases in the very room in which she was now taking a seat. This time, though, Yarni wasn’t there to defend a case.

If it wasn’t for all the bad luck, there would be no luck at all, Yarni thought as she sat there trying to be strong, holding back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. The system had railroaded her man, Des, once again. The last time was almost fifteen years ago, but no matter the outcome, just like before, she was going to hold her man down through it all: rain, sleet, hail, or sunshine . . . bad, good, happy, or sad . . . win, lose, or draw. One thing was for certain, and two things were for sure: She had Des’s back, and he had hers—through hell or high water.

When Yarni first met Des, he was already a street legend, and she was just a high school girl who had been raised by a single mother. Her mother had given Yarni every opportunity that a girl like her could ever want, all in hopes of her growing up to be a strong, independent woman, but once she met Des, Yarni didn’t care about anything her mother had given her or instilled in her or any of it. Yarni and Des fell in love with each other hard, but their perfect relationship was put through the test of fire when Des was arrested and convicted for a murder he didn’t commit. For ten years after that, Yarni rode for her man, never losing hope, and eventually got his sentence overturned. Yarni later became a lawyer to help other minority men caught up in the wrath like Des had been. And now here they were again, facing another murder rap. Yarni sat on the edge of her seat while waiting for her husband’s case to be called. But first, another defendant was up for a bail bond hearing, temporarily distracting Yarni from thoughts of Des.

“Samuel Johnson, you are being charged with three counts of murder, threatening a witness, tampering with state’s evidence, conspiracy to commit murder, shooting in an occupied dwelling, possession of a firearm while a convicted felon,” the court clerk stated as she looked up at the man standing in front of her before taking a deep breath and continuing, “use of a firearm in commission of a felony, kidnapping, torture, abduction, malicious wounding, felonious assault, and use of a firearm near a school zone.”

Yarni thought the clerk should have taken a bow after putting her vocals through so much work. Instead, the clerk looked out into the packed courtroom, which was so quiet you could have heard a mouse pissing on the carpet. The sheer number of charges forced every single spectator to direct his or her undivided attention to this particular case, curious as to how one person could have so many indictments against him. Damn, I haven’t heard anybody with that many charges since the Briley brothers, Yarni thought, recalling a 1979 case involving brothers that were sentenced to death for an eight-month string of gruesome murders in Richmond.

“Your Honor, we’re here to ask for a bond for Mr. Johnson,” the defense attorney said. “He’s a father and a Little League coach.” The attorney walked around the oak table where he and his client were sitting and approached the judge at the front of the courtroom. “He has always lived here. His roots are here, Your Honor.”

The judge’s hands were folded as he glared at the defendant through his glasses, which sat on the tip of his nose. Samuel Johnson fidgeted in his orange jumpsuit, his eyes never meeting the judge’s stern gaze. Just looking at the man, Yarni felt that Mr. Johnson was being taken for a ride. Instead of the nice trim or touch-up on the jailhouse braids most attorneys made sure their male defendants had before appearing in court, Samuel’s hair was in a nappylike ’fro. He hadn’t shaved, his goatee was raggedy, and it didn’t help that his fair skin accentuated his dark shades of hair. He turned around to glance into the audience and to make matters worse, his gray eyes were blinding, like sun rays around his pupils, making him appear almost devil-like.

The first thing I would have done was buy that man a pair of brown contact lenses, Yarni shook her head at her thoughts.

The defense attorney was trying to pretend to have con- fidence, but because of the number of charges, he knew he really didn’t have a leg to stand on. He hadn’t even done the proper research to prepare for the hearing. What was the use? “Your Honor, he isn’t a flight risk.” The attorney went through the motions.

“I beg to differ,” the feisty prosecutor interjected, rising from his chair. “These are very serious charges, Your Honor. With serious consequences. There’s no reason for the defendant not to run.”

The judge looked at the defendant and then at his defense attorney and bluntly said, “No bond. Next case, please.”

The defense attorney turned, walked back behind the table, and began gathering his paperwork. “I’m sorry,” he said, unable to look his client in the eye. “I did all I could do.” When his client did not respond, he shrugged his shoulders and added, “I don’t know what you were expecting. With all those charges, you were fooling yourself thinking that a bond would come out of this.”

“I was expecting what the fuck you promised,” Samuel snapped. “You promised me a bond, motherfucker. You sold me and my girl a fucking dream.”

The bailiff was slowly walking over to escort Samuel John- son out of the courtroom, and before anyone could stop him, Samuel spit on his attorney. Next, he drew back and punched his attorney in the eye. The lawyer fell to the floor holding his face. Snatching up a chair, Samuel screamed, “Succckkk my dick!” and hurled the chair at the judge. It missed, but as the judge was running for his chambers, his black toupee fell on the ground.

For a few minutes the courtroom was completely out of control, and although the deputies were trained to handle situations like this, they were shocked themselves and very slow to react. Two of the three deputies looked like they had been eating a few too many Twinkies, which was probably why they weren’t too swift on their feet.

Samuel charged toward his attorney, who had gotten up and was trying to make it to the door. Unfortunately, the attorney wasn’t the track star he used to be, so he wasn’t fast enough either. Samuel grabbed him by the neck and hit him three times in the back of the head before the deputies got a hold of him and pulled him away. The bystanders were in a frenzy. While Yarni didn’t agree with all of the defendant’s actions, she could understand his frustration. His lawyer appeared to have given up on him.

There was a brief recess not only to get the courtroom back in order but also to get the judge’s toupee back on and straight. Once all was calm, the bailiff announced the next case: “The state of Maryland versus Desmond Taylor.”

Yarni’s heart raced and skipped a few beats when the deputy sheriff brought in Des. He, too, had on a bright orange jumpsuit, but Des’s dark chocolate complexion, compact muscular body, and swagger made him stand out. Yarni’s heart melted as her eyes met Des’s for the first time in more than three weeks. The last time she saw him was when he jetted out the hospital room after the birth of their first child, Desi Arnez Taylor.

“Your Honor, this defendant is being charged with the murder of his former attorney,” the prosecutor stated. “We recommend denying bail because this man is a serious flight risk.”

“Excuse me, Your Honor, but the prosecutor is mistaken,” said Mark Harowitz, Des’s new high-profile attorney. He was a commanding presence in his custom-made navy pinstripe suit and elaborate bow tie. His cockiness let everyone in the courtroom know that he was not some public pretender who was on the same payroll as the prosecutor. It wasn’t hard to imagine that his bank account held quite a few more zeroes than the judge’s.

“Desmond Taylor has a stable residence in Richmond, Virginia, where he was born and attended college,” Harowitz said.

The prosecutor leaned back in his chair, placed his folded hands over his stomach, and countered, “And Virginia was the place where he served a ten-year prison sentence for murder, Your Honor.”

Harowitz cleared his throat then calmly voiced, while holding his hundred-dollar ink pen, “A murder that he did not commit and for which he received an unconditional pardon.” He turned to look at the prosecutor. “He was robbed of ten years of his young life.”

“How ironic is it that two years after he is released from pris...

Customer Reviews

Always and Forever
Yarni and Des are back in FOREVER A HUSTLER'S WIFE. After spending
ten years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, two years later,
Des finds himself fighting another murder charge. Of course, by his
side is his "ride or die" wife, Yarni, a brilliant attorney who has
dedicated her life to assisting brothers caught up in the legal
system. Anxious to make up for lost time, Des returns to the streets
with a vengeance. At the funeral of a close friend, Des stumbles on
the perfect hustle, becoming a minister. He closes the hustling
chapter of his life, and begins anew at The Good Life Ministry.
However, peace in the hood never lasts long and demons from his
family's past try to destruct the inner sanctum of their family. Will
Des be able to conquer the evil around the corner or will it be his
downfall?

Nikki Turner is sure to please her fans with the sequel to her best
selling novel, A Hustler's Wife. Not only does Turner give an ending
to Des and Yarni's story, she also manages to answer some lingering
questions from her other novels. FOREVER HUSTLER'S WIFE is filled
with enough twists, turns and drama that when you realize that you
are on the last page, you will be disappointed. Turner's fans will
appreciate the effort she put into this novel because it is one of
the best books of the year. If you have not read, A Hustler's Wife,
then do so because you will not understand the sequel. But if you
have, be ready to enjoy the literary ride of your life.

Reviewed by Katrina G.
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Dissappointed
I was so excited about reading this book. So far I have loved every book that Nikki Turner has ever written, except this once. I just didn't find myself on the edge of my seat like the others. This book was east to put down. The plot and sub-plots were predictable and the end left some unanswered questions. This one just didn't do it for me.

DISSAPOINTMENT
This book was horrible compared to the first one.. It seems as if Nikke needs to read her own novels before doing new ones. The character personalities did not match up! a hustlers wife was my favorite book of all time and this was a DISSAPOINTMENT. I was waiting patiently to hear of the beautiful love yarni and des shared but i only got a young minded des which was not him in the first book, and a borin mediocre relationship. I just wish i never read it..