Up in Smoke

When I went to bed that hot summer night in July, I had it all. I used to be handsome. I used to have girls. I used to have a full basketball scholarship. I used to have a loving family. I used to have a life. When I woke up the next day, it was all gone. In one night, I lost my home. I lost my family as I knew it. I lost my future...and when I found out that the fire that destroyed everything I loved was intentionally set, I lost my mind. What was I supposed to do? The Philadelphia PD had no suspects, no motive, no witnesses and no clue who would do such a wicked thing to me and my family. They kept telling me, "We're still working on it, we'll keep you posted." Yeah right. In Killadelphia, my case was just one of many, tossed on a never-ending pile of other cases. Even while my mom was life support, there was no stopping this killer who clearly wasn't finished with us. I went to my mother's bedside and made her a promise: I'm not letting you go until I find out the truth.

Carter Stone is young, handsome, smart, talented, and on the road to riches. After years of hard work and big dreams, one of the best colleges on the east coast is giving him a full ride on a basketball scholarship. Life is but a dream! …that dream turns into a nightmare when he wakes up in the wee hours of a hot July morning and realizes his house is on fire! When the smoke clears, the authorities discover that the fatal fire was intentionally set, and Carter's family has lost everything. Precious young lives are lost, his childhood home is gone, and his severe injuries threaten to destroy his future. Disoriented, crushed and enraged, he learns that Sabrina, his loving, hardworking, single mother is on life support. As the doctors pressure his family to end her suffering, Carter realizes her life could end any day at any time. Despite their best efforts, the police have no leads and no suspects, and the young rising star has no idea who would do this to his family and why. Desperate and devastated, he makes one promise at his beloved mother's bedside: that he would not let her go without finding out the truth. It was just another day, just another shift for Charity Riddick, a young Registered Nurse on duty that fateful night in July when a fleet of emergency vehicles rushed a family of 7 to her hospital. Horrified and distraught over what happened to them, she was determined to help the surviving family members heal physically and emotionally. In the process, the Stone family takes over her heart---and her good judgment, blurring the lines between nurse and investigator. …and when the relentless murderer sets out to finish what was started, nobody is safe anywhere. …but how do you find a killer who is hiding in plain sight?

Kea Emerson is an author, a mother of 2 and a grandmother of 2 from southeastern Pennsylvania. She has a passion for African American fiction and enjoys reading and writing about all aspects of the African American experience, history and contemporary culture. A lifelong book lover and voracious reader, she enjoys curling up with her pets, her books and a hot cup of coffee.