A Review of Bad Men and Wicked Women by Eric Jerome Dickey

I’m a huge Eric Jerome Dickey fan and yes…he is my writer crush. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let’s dive into Bad Men and Wicked Women whose title intrigued me to take the journey to get to know the two main characters, Ken Swift (from Mississippi) and Jake Ellis (his Ghanaian friend in crime). Both are low-level enforcers who work for San Bernardino.

Ken is a complicated guy who is divorced from Jimi Lee (Ethiopian) and they have a daughter, Margaux, pregnant and in trouble, who’s squeezing him for fifty thousand dollars. He has a girlfriend, Rachel Redman (the singing Eskimo with roots that go back to Eritrea). He would sometimes lust for Bernice Nesbitt, his African-British neighbor across the street and even toy with the idea of meeting a beautiful Senegalese woman in Africa (at Jake’s urging).

Jake Ellis, on the other hand, is an unencumbered proud Ghanaian, godfather to Margaux, a pugilist, a great cook, and loves the ladies. He’s not afraid to step to anyone and will ride or die with Ken.  So when Margaux presses Ken for the cash, Jake is ready to help Ken get to the bottom of why she needs it. In the midst of trying to figure this out, they have to do a job for San Bernardino in Pasadena: collect money from Mr. Garrett (a dangerous man, born and raised in Boston). However, Mr. Garrett feels disrespected by Ken and Jake breaking into his home, hiding all his guns, cooking his food, and Jake flirting with his wife. Then all hell broke loose in the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this thrill ride of a story especially to be introduced to two new characters (I really liked Jake) who could definitely stand next to Gideon after he taught them how to kill on his level. Anyway, EJD took this book to another level by discussing politics, racism, colorism (self-loathing of one’s skin color), intercultural relationships, blackmail, oppression, gentrification, black consciousness, sexism, etc. While at times some of these issues were heavy and bogged down the novel in a few places (some dialogue could have been shortened), I felt there were so many lessons to be learned. I even Googled some of the songs he mentioned by Ghanaian artists. It’s been quite some time since I’ve read a book that was so culturally diverse, rich in history and steeped in current issues.  

So kudos to you EJD, you didn’t disappoint on the intellectual sparring, bad men (not all sexy), wicked women (in this case all sexy), grueling fight scenes, complicated relations, and hot sex between the sheets. Two thumbs up!

Some of my favorite lines:

                Jake Ellis sat next to the woman, did that to piss Garrett off. “You’re pretty enough to be the queen of Belgium. You’re Becky with the good hair.”

                “Don’t call me that. I hate when people call me that.”

                “You’re a model?”

                “Thank you. Not a model.”

                “Such pulchritude.”

                She scrunched her face. “What does that mean?”

                “Means you’re beautiful.”

                “That word sounds ugly. It sounds like a bad attitude.”

                “How old are you, about nineteen?”

                “Nineteen? No way. Almost thirty-four.”

                Mr. Garrett said, “Leave her out of this, and let’s deal with the issue at hand.”

                Jake Ellis snapped, “Was I talking to you? When me and my partner are ready to deal with the issue at hand, we will deal with said issue. You ain’t running a damn thang up in here.”

Rating: 4.5 Stars