cover image BETWEEN BROTHERS

BETWEEN BROTHERS

C. Kelly Robinson, . . Villard/Strivers Row, $13.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-676-90055-2

A quartet of African-American college students come together to save the community center in their beleaguered Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Robinson's breezy, busy first novel. Their nemesis is Nico Lane, a powerful and intelligent drug dealer who concocts a financial fraud scheme to put the center out of business. The students who try to bring him down are a libidinous young associate preacher named O.J. Peters, who inadvertently impregnates a member of his congregation; engineering student Terrence Davidson, whose drug-dealing brother proves to be a considerable hindrance in the battle against Lane; the wealthy, elegant Larry Whitaker, whose run for student president is inextricably linked with the efforts to save the center; and the chaste, virginal Brandon Bailey, who finds himself questioning his Christian celibacy when a gorgeous love interest named Monica comes along. Robinson is a natural storyteller, deftly weaving together the efforts to rescue the neighborhood meeting place, and the story flows smoothly despite the presence of at least one more lead character than the plot is capable of sustaining. Other flaws include Robinson's tendency to steer his characters toward stereotype and his focus on their distracting love lives. In the crucible of inner-city tension, the idea that a drug lord would bother to crush a community center goes beyond wishful thinking, and the thought of a group of college students bringing such a figure down is equally fanciful. Despite the problems, Robinson's facility as a storyteller and focus on social issues marks him as a promising author. Agent, Elaine Koster. 7-city author tour. (Oct. 16)

Forecast:With appropriate marketing, there's a good chance that this book, originally self-published in 1999, will reach a receptive audience. Robinson shows a willingness to take on complex social issues, and his storytelling skills could give Omar Tyree a run for the money.