Dice

Baker (Sheisty; Still Sheisty) delivers a tale about the dangers of gambling and hustling and of the redemptive powers of love and faith. Cocky hustler and second-generation dice-shooter Wasuan Wells and his girlfriend Enychi Carter get in deep when Wasuan takes on a challenge from neighborhood heavyweight Pretty Tone, who unlike Wasuan, has the money to back up his trash-talk. Caught up in the heat of the game, Wasuan loses $80,000, but can only pay back half the debt. Tone offers to forgive part of the debt (and not to kill Wasuan) if he can sleep with Enychi. Enychi reluctantly agrees. From then on, there's the requisite pregnancy (but who is the baby daddy?), loads of sex, betrayals, emotional discoveries, murder and redemption. Although Baker captures how her characters would speak, think and act, the plot unwinds in familiar fashion. Consider the novel entertaining if you care for the ""Oh no, he/she didn't"" factor.