The Man in 3B

February 25, 2013
All the women want him and all the men fear him. The murder by arson of hunky Daryl Graham shatters his Queens, NY, community, including the suspects: Krystal, an ex-flame and schoolteacher whose passion for Daryl can't match her insatiable desire for drugs; her cocaine-dealing fiancé; Connie, a sex-starved house frau who's let herself go to pot; her husband Avery who kicks her out to set off on a life of crime; and 21-year-old brainiac Benny whose womanizing firefighter dad wonders what kind of influence Daryl wielded over his son. Weber (The Choir Director) packs his latest urban soap opera with all seven deadly sins in a bawdy mystery that doesn't take its flawed characters too seriously. The villains and heroes, each given their own, rotating perspectives, are a hot messâalternately coldly selfish and admirably selfless. Though an unlikely twist gives everyone exactly who and what they deserve, fans will likely suspend belief for the tidy bow on this flashy little package. After all, to err is not only human, but a whole lot more fun to read.

November 1, 2012

New York Times and Essence best-selling novelist, as well as 2005's Blackboard Publisher of the Year (he founded Urban Books), Weber lets us speculate about the mysterious man in 3B. After the deeply reticent Darryl Graham moves into a Queens, NY, apartment building, the neighbors are curious. Then he turns up dead.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2012
One of a select number of African American writers to appear consistently on the New York Times best-seller list for hardcover fiction, Weber presents an edgy new novel about everyday people and their choices. Set in an apartment building in Jamaica, Queens, it is rife with surprises, secrets, and suspense. Even murder. When handsome Darryl Graham moves into the building, his neighbors are drawn to him for different yet powerful reasons. Connie wants to work out with him, lose weight, and get her husband Avery's attention back, but Avery is on a dark path of his own. Avery's daughter, Krystal, is a former girlfriend of Darryl's and she wants to be with him again, even though she has a new boyfriend. Benny needs a big brother because his father is always busy with the women in the building. And the gossipy women on the stairs think they know all about Darryl. Weber reveals the layers and complexities in each character, while pulling readers into this intense urban tale with twists and turns that continue right until the very last page.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

September 15, 2012

New York Times and No. 1 Essence best-selling novelist, as well as 2005's Blackboard Publisher of the Year (he founded Urban Books), Weber joins a new publisher with a juicy tale about the mysterious man in 3B. The neighbors want to know all about him--which is bad for them when he turns up dead.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.