Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Book Review of Dutch by Teri Woods

Dutch: The First of a Trilogy
Dutch by Teri Woods

Bernard James, Jr., a.k.a. Dutch, grew to become the most dangerous criminal in New Jersey. Street smart and ruthless, Dutch was gifted at reading people. With careful positioning and luck, Dutch was able to win the attention and respect of Italian mobsters. Planning, luck, and guts help Dutch move up from teenage carjacker to drug lord. With the help of criminal bosses and Dutch's past associates, District Attorney Anthony Jacobs is intent on taking Dutch down. As the action unfolds and blood flows, how will it end?

Dutch is a fast-paced and carefully crafted thriller. Each of the main characters are well fleshed out. Unwilling to accept traditional rules and authority figures, Dutch and his friends develop their own code of honor. Despite his ruthless and criminal acts, I found it easy to understand and sympathize with Dutch's choices. Overall, Dutch was a fast and engrossing read. I'd highly recommend it to persons who enjoy action and mafia-type novels.

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Collectors edition (September 23, 2009), 256 pages.
Courtesy of Hatchette Book Group.


After enjoying the book, I did a quick search on the author, Teri Woods. I don't usually devote this much space to the "About the Author" section, but I was impressed by Teri's business acumen and dedication to get her stories told and books to the market. Here's Teri Wood's bio, courtesy of the Teri Woods website:

Teri Woods is a native of Philadelphia. She has worked as a legal secretary/paralegal for eight years in a Philadelphia Center City law firm practicing in defense litigation for a national insurance company. She began writing True to the Game in 1993. She copyrighted her work in 1994 and began to submit her work to publishers. After being turned down, the book sat dormant in a closet for two years. By 1997, she was determined to do something for herself. In 1998, she began selling hand made books on the street and out the trunk of her car. Moving thousands of books primarily from the trunk of her car she was determined to have her story read. Her grassroots tactic paid off; Teri Woods became a self-made millionaire in just three years selling her novel, True to the Game. She landed a major motion picture deal for the book as well. With the release of True to the Game, Teri Woods has reinvigorated the urban fiction market and created a growing trend in publishing.

Noted as the female successor to street-life authors Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim, Teri Woods is an enthusiastic, sharp woman whose ambition has allowed for success in the face of adversity. The characters and events that she writes about are written with realism and compassion allowing readers to experience the true essence of urban realities. Teri Woods’ passion for urban realities caught the attention of Karen Thomas, editor at Warner Books, who facilitated a multi-million dollar book deal and signed Woods to Hatchette Book Group, a division of Warner Books. Warner Books will re-release the blockbuster, True To The Game in spring 2007 and the sequel, True To The Game II, in the fall of 2007.

As the owner of Teri Woods Publishing, Teri Woods has published 12 novels: True to the Game, DUTCH I, DUTCH II, Deadly Reigns I, Deadly Reigns II, Angel, B-More Careful, The Adventures of Ghetto Sam, Triangle of Sins, Rectangle of Sins, Tell Me Your Name and Double Dose. True to the Game, B-More Careful, DUTCH, Triangle of Sins, Rectangle of Sins, Deadly Reigns I, Deadly Reigns II, and Angel have been featured on the Essence Bestseller list numerous times collectively. True To the Game and B-More Careful have sold over 500,000 copies independently. DUTCH I, DUTCH II, Deadly Reigns I and Deadly Reigns II all sold over 100,000 copies in its first 90 days of release. All together Teri Woods Publishing has sold over 1 million copies independently and generated over 15 million dollars in gross revenue. Not to mention, jump started the entire urban-book marketplace. Woods can be proud that fans both young and old are reading her books, passing them to friends, and dubbing them ‘literary classics’.

Thanks so much to Miriam and Hatchette Book Group for this opportunity!

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