The Other Side of Dare

The latest page-turning installment of Griggs's Blessed Trinity series (The Other Side of Goodness) centers around duplicitous Darius Connors, a troublemaking playboy looking to exact revenge against former stripper Gabrielle Mercedes Booker, to keep Booker from gaining custody of Jasmine Noble, who few people know is the child Booker long ago gave up for adoption. Connors plays on the animosity of Paris Simmons Holyfield, Booker's main adversary, to pit the women against each other while blackmailing Lawrence Rudolph Simmons, Paris's powerful father and an Alabama legislator up for re-election. Griggs crafts a fast-paced narrative with just enough characters to keep things interesting. Dare is Paris's nickname for Darius Connors, but because everyone but Connors's wife, Tiffany, seems to be able to see through his false proclamations as an upstanding or faithful Christian, the title doesn't quite fit. The other side of Darius is the same as the one readers expect to see throughout. Griggs's other characters are already redeemed in one way or another, so a full book dedicated to a less evolved villain is gratifying. (Jan.)