From the #1 Essence bestselling and award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray comes a new novel about three women forced to grapple with their faith and their belief in the justice system when they become involved in a high-stakes murder trial.Janice Johnson is living every mother’s worst nightmare. Her sixteen-year-old son was murdered in the parking lot of a convenience store and the shooter hasn’t been arrested. Janice and her husband want justice for their son, but disagree about whether to trust the police investigation—or take matters into their own hands.
Shelly Vance cannot believe the nightmare that has become her life. Her husband is facing murder charges for shooting a sixteen-year-old who he says attacked him in a parking lot. This tragedy is only magnified by the racial divide it has created, and Shelly feels herself being judged by everyone from her employer to her friends. She’s vowed to stand by her husband no matter what, but how can she keep quiet when she’s keeping a secret that could blow the whole case wide open?
Alax Wilson would rather be anywhere else but on the jury of this highly charged case. Not only is she missing work—which she can’t really afford to do—but she’s been chosen as the jury’s foreman, which means she has to take her role seriously if there is any hope of reaching a verdict.
Faced with the tragic death of a teenager and a dramatic trial that has turned into media frenzy, Janice, Shelly, and Alax are forced to face their own prejudices and those of the world around them. But will the truth come to light?
Victoria Christopher Murray always knew she would become an author, even as she was taking an unlikely path to that destination. A native of Queens, Victoria first left New York to attend Hampton University where she majored in Communication Disorders. After graduating, Victoria attended New York University where she received her MBA.Victoria spent ten years in Corporate America before she tested her entrepreneurial spirit. She opened a Financial Services Agency for Aegon, USA where she managed the number one division for nine consecutive years. However, Victoria never lost the dream to write and when the “bug” hit her again in 1997, she answered the call.
Victoria originally self-published her first novel, Temptation and in 2000, Time Warner published that novel. Temptation made numerous best sellers list and remained on the Essence bestsellers list for nine consecutive months. In 2001, Temptation was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Literature.
Victoria has received numerous awards including the Golden Pen Award for Best Inspirational Fiction and the Phyllis Wheatley Trailblazer Award for being a pioneer in African American Fiction. Since 2007, Victoria has won seven African American Literary Awards for best novel, best Christian fiction and Author of the Year – Female. Her 2014 NAACP Image Award nomination for Never Say Never was her third Image Award nomination.
Several of Victoria’s novels have been optioned to become movies, including The Deal, the Dance and the Devil and the Ex Files series.
With over one million books in print, Victoria is one of the country’s top African American contemporary authors.
Victoria, along with ReShonda Tate Billingsley, is the cofounder of Brown Girls Publishing.
Contacts
Twitter @VictoriaECM
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