Miami Contingent

By: Robert Earl

Narrated by: Drama Simpson

Eleven-year-old Renee Jenkins is a vivacious, bright girl who is unfortunately a member of the notorious, dysfunctional Jenkins clan living in a Miami neighborhood where it is not unusual to hold a nine-millimeter Glock pistol while answering the door and where little girls like Renee shop for heroin for their mothers.

As she maneuvers her way through the asphalt jungle of Miami's dangerous Overtown section, Renee bravely attempts to find happiness amid a world consumed with death, despair, drugs, and pain.

Renee's days are kept busy caring for her younger brother Sean and attempting to protect him from the chaos that surrounds the streets. As her mother Moncell, her uncle Money, and her grandfather Shipyard lay the groundwork for what seems to be a destiny filled with killers, gangsters, and drug addicts, little Renee dreams of becoming a doctor.

But what she does not know is that a storm is coming to Overtown that will cause her to commit an unthinkable act with consequences and the power to change everything.

Miami Contingent is a compelling urban tale that provides a glimpse into a gritty trek through the streets of Miami's forbidden neighborhoods as a girl grows into a woman and does everything she can just to survive.

©2014 Robert Earl Jones (P)2022 Robert Earl Jones

Shoots Straight from the Hip

The Miami Contingent: A Gun shoots both ways.

My word. A gentle stroll in the park, this isn't! The Miami Contingent pulls no punches and digs deep into the muck and mire of the Magic City.

Summary:
The story is set in the early Nineties and starts with Renee Jenkins, a young, streetwise girl who goes to score drugs with her younger brother. This sets the book's tone as the story then bangs and crashes and unfolds like a stubborn camping chair; you start to learn about the dysfunctional Jenkins clan. Renee's Uncle and Grandfather, Money and Shipyard (love the names), seemed to have locked down her fate.

All the while, a violent storm is brewing over the heads of these degenerates and undesirables.

Writer's style:
In his foreword, author Rob Earl forewarns the listener that this is a no holds barred high, octane, rough ride, and he wasn't bluffing.

Rob's style is about shooting from the hip. He doesn't try to sugarcoat anything. I enjoyed the picture he painted with the descriptive 'street' slang he aptly used.

What stuck with me throughout the whole audiobook was that this was about real people, the names had aptly changed, but this was something that Rob had experienced or had knowledge of these people.

The only flaw was quite a few he said/she said, which after a while became a bit of a problem. Due to the fantastic performance of the voice-over artist, these were not needed as you could easily identify the characters after a while.

Would I recommend this book?
Although the Miami Contingent isn't an audiobook that I would actively seek to add to my library to listen to, I did enjoy it.

It was entertaining, rough and ready, and delivered what it set out to achieve; Grab you by the throat and not let go until the end.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

A MESMERIZING CAPTIVATING TALE

I was pulled into the story from the opening line all the way until the end,and then I was left begging for more. This is a unique and different kind of tale that really explores the underside of the black experience and also the tender as well. It's definitely a page Turner, I can't wait to read Mr Robert Earl's other novels