May 1, 2004
Tramble follows " The Dying Ground" (2001) with another Maceo Redfield mystery. After two years, Maceo returns to Oakland at the urging of his aunt Cissy. Basketball star and childhood friend Cotton has been arrested for murder after a dead woman was found in his hotel room. Maceo agrees to investigate in order to help his best friend and Cissy's former lover, Jonathon "Holly" Ford. Drugs, violence, and the world of professional sports all come together in this high-energy account of what happens when the kings and queens of the streets put their cards on the table. Maceo quickly discovers that he can't trust the people he knows, and he has to trust those he doesn't know. In true Donald Goines fashion, Tramble tells her own story about loyalty and betrayal in the urban streets.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)