I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Drew Smith is working as a hotel concierge; he’s just passed the bar and is trying to figure out what his next step is. He befriends Medhat and Julio, two bellmen that work there. They become quite the trio, and add excitement to Drew’s otherwise mundane life. Their friendship is put to the test when Medhat’s antics causes him to be the prime suspect in the murders of some rather colorful people.

What a book! I love a good mystery and this novel does not disappoint. It’s filled with action, twists, and suspense. There are characters you will love to hate, and some you want to slap and ask what were you thinking???? This was a great, hard to put down page turner, a must read for any mystery fan.
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The book starts off with suspense. Two officers are called by an elderly female to check on her neighbor, Carol. She heard a disturbance but did not want to enter Carol's apartment (she had a key) without a police escort. While the officers was investigating the scene, a mysterious man (Medhat) enters the apartment. Anyway, The elderly neighbor knew Medhat, but the police did not. The book is set in the 1980's. The prologue was nice. loved the description, the scenery, and the characters. Great start to a book.

Medhat is a Christian, Part Egyptian, Part Martinican, but born in America. Medhat has charisma, charm, persuasion, and he loves women--which is what got him into the bulk of his trouble in the book. Medhat is living a hedonistic lifestyle. Medhat also does coke. Medhat is close with Drew and a Latino named Julio.

Julio is a Nicaraguan, former gang member, and had 5 brothers and sisters. His father died in an construction accident. Julio did not graduate from high school. Julio is dating an Asian, named Chevy.

Drew Smith enters the book, starting with chapter one. He is called to help Medhat get out of jail for potential involvement in the prologue. Drew is more serious than Julio and Medhat. It also seems everyone's lives revolves around Medhat, then toss in a juicy sex scene, which I was not expecting. Have not read a sex scene in a book in a long time.

Drew has only known Julio and Medhat for a few months. The three friends met when Drew worked as a concierge at a hotel, while Julio and Medhat were bellhops. Drew had just completed law school, but not obtained his results from the bar exam yet. Drew is dating a Latina named Nina. He does obtain his results around Chapter 10 or 11 of the book.

Carol enters the book in chapter 3. Not much is given about her at first, except she is a blonde and she is a friend of Julio's at first. She has a jealous boyfriend, Fast Eddie. She meets Medhat at the club. They danced. He followed her into the bathroom, won her over with his charm, and got her number. Then, a fight ensues. Great fight.

You also have Lauren, a drug-dealer, crack-user, and loves to have sex. She works for Fast Eddie and Medhat owes Eddie money. Next, Johnny Black is Eddie's right hand man.

The book is fast-paced. From the time, Drew, Medhat, and Julio agreed to club after work, to a fight, to sharing a woman sexually, etc. Medhat and Julio began integrating themselves into Drew's life. Taking over is more like it (Drew's house, bed, car, clothes, space).

The book overall is very descriptive. The scenes will pull you in. The characters and plot are well-written. Norwood did a good job with this book.