The Cartel (The Cartel #1) is a 2009 crime drama novel written by Ashley Antoinette & JaQuavis Coleman and published by Urban Books. With the death of the Diamond family head, Carter Diamond, his illegitimate son, Carter Jones, comes to take control of The Cartel. The leader of The Murder Mamas, Miamor, unknowingly meets Carter and they begin a romantic relationship, but she’s torn between love and revenge when she loses her sister when they’re hired to kill The Cartel.
A crime drama can be very compelling if the pieces of the puzzle are properly placed. Unfortunately, this book misses the mark by a large margin. First, the story is very cliche. There’s nothing original about it, nothing interesting, it’s by the numbers. Every troupe you can think of for an urban story is here. Now, I do admit there are some twists that did catch me off guard but those are few and far between. Another issue is that the story is pretty shallow. There are three things governing the story: sex, violence, and money. There’s nothing thought provoking or meaningful. There aren’t really moments where the story takes the time to flesh out the characters outside of those three factors. Also, there’s not even any good side stories or subplots. There’s a lot of good potential here but sadly, it falls flatter than the Thing in freefall. The ending was pretty messed up but honestly, I didn’t care but the characters are so stupid and, good or bad, they all deserve what happens to them. (2 out of 5)
Most of the characters are just trash. They’re poorly written, have no depth, and like most urban media, are completely cliché. The two main characters are Carter Jones, the illegitimated son of Carter Diamond, and Miamor, leader of the Murder Mamas. These characters fucking suck. From the moment these two are introduced I was immediately disengaged. The characters aren’t given the chance to grow or develop, nor are they given interesting backstories. By the time of the Carter Sr.’s death, Carter Jr. has already become a drug lord. How? Why? Wouldn’t it be better had he actually not been a part of the street life and then was thrust into this empire? It would’ve made for a more compelling story arc for the character. Not only that, he’s the best at everything. When he talks to people, when he makes decisions, how he dresses. He practically has no challenge the entire time. Miamor by comparison is just as disappointing. She’s not interesting, has no likable qualities, just a trash character. Her and her crew are suppose to be these contract killers and nearly everything they do is stupid and inefficient. Good looks aren’t a recipe for a deep character. It would make more sense had her sister gotten killed and then she sought revenge without knowing the street life. Again, more compelling story arc.
Even the row of supporting characters are just trash. The Diamond family consist of the daughter Breeze, wife Taryn, and twin brothers Money and Mecca. Breeze is just a spoiled airhead. Taryn doesn’t do anything except allow her children to take the brunt of the vicious attacks. It would’ve made more sense if she’d stepped in to take over The Cartel. It would’ve definitely been a more interesting story. Money and Mecca lack creativity. Money’s the passive one and Mecca’s the violent one. Money’s intelligent and Mecca’s stupid. Money’s reserved and Mecca’s impulsive. You get the picture. There’s nothing likable about any of them. They don’t develop. They’re as cliché as they come. And again, I get this is the first book in a series but they could’ve done better with fleshing them out. This goes for all of the characters. (1 out of 5)
Perhaps the biggest sin this book has committed is being written by its two authors, Ashley and JaQuavis. Look, I get they’re from the streets and there is a certain lingo that comes with that but unfortunately when being translated into writing it’s complete trash and sounds ridiculous. So quality isn’t a factor in writing anymore? I understand that the characters would speak the lingo but when the authors are writing it it just comes off as garbage, unprofessional, and silly. There’s a serious lack of characterization for most of the characters. An example of this is when Carter, Money, Mecca, or Polo are addressing their henchmen and none of the henchmen voice their opinions. Everybody just agrees with them. The Murder Mamas are nearly indistinguishable from each other except one’s Jamaican. That’s about it. And speaking of the Murder Mamas these are the most inefficient, lazy, uncoordinated, unprofessional contract killers I’ve ever seen. If you’d told me that Alicia Keys and Taraji P. Henson from Smokin’ Aces would’ve been the Murder Mamas I would’ve been all in. But these women, I find it hard to believe they’re contract killers. There’s a scene in the book where they are hired to kill this man and cut his penis off. They argue over who’s going to do it and let him escape while consoling Miamor in the bathroom. Stupid. I’ve not seen writing this bad since Artemis Fowl. (1 out of 5)
In the end, The Cartel (The Cartel #1) is one of the worst books I’ve ever written and I will never read this book again. I’m not even sure if I’m going to finish the series just to post the reviews. It had the potential to be something great like the Sopranos or The Wire, but it falls flat on nearly every aspect. I can honestly say that I hate this book. I wish Surtur would appear and Ragnarok the hell out of this series. I’m really disappointed with the authors, but I can’t hate on them because there is a market for this type of work. The Cartel (The Cartel #1) gets 1 out of 5.
