When Kenyatta plans something, he plans the shit out of it.
Donald Goines
Crime Partners
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Format:
audiobook
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Prison buddies Billy Good and Jackie Walker made time pulling small jobs here and there. Not a bad living if you liked scraping by. The thing to worry about was the next fix. Nothing else mattered. When Billy and Jackie fell in with Kenyatta, a ghetto lord ready to take back the streets, they thought they’d hit the big time. Dealing with drug pushers and crooked cops in the name of justice sure felt good, but in a world where “kindness was the sweetest con of all,” every bullet fired echoed with the sound of payback.
Point of view:
3rd person. Multiple perspectives.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
Thanks to Audio In Black for placing this author on their 2023 Audiobook Challenge!
This is the first book in the Kenyatta series by Donald Goines. Written and set in the mid-70’s it’s a look at the inner workings of a militant group styled after the Black Panther Party. Not only from Kenyatta’s perspective, but also that of the men and women in his group, the police, and tangential community members.
Goines pulls no punches with the realities of drugs, violence, and racism. While there are definitely some irredeemable characters – there’s also quite a bit of morally grey actions I could sympathize with. I found myself sad about most of the losses despite their contemptable behavior. At about 4 hours this manages to be a well developed and gripping story. Not exactly ending on a cliffhanger, but it’s obvious there’s more to come and I’m looking forward to book 2, Death List.
Narration:
This was my first time listening to Mirron Willis and I’m glad he’ll be at the helm for the next book too. I enjoyed his performance. He does a great job of differentiating the various characters and immersing me in the strong emotions of Goines’ writing.
About the author:
Donald Goines (at the time also using the pseudonym Al C. Clark) was an author of urban fiction. He was murdered in 1974.
About the narrator:
You can connect with Mirron Willis here:
My Favorite Quotes
“When Kenyatta plans something, he plans the shit out of it.”
“That man has the nerve of ten fools.”
Rellim Reads 