The Cartel Books In Order

Publication Order of The Cartel Books

The Cartel series has launched authors Ashley and husband JaQuavis Coleman to the top of the Street Lit genre.

The pair started out writing as 17 years old freshers and became instant successes with works of fiction which was largely based from their own childhood in Flint, Michigan.

JaQuavis grew up as a drug pusher while Ashley what was a money runner for gangs in the rough neighbourhood where they grew up. But rather than continue with a life a crime, they put their experiences down to the written word and have produced a series of books which are being talked about as possible movies in the future.

They have done three trilogies and one of the most popular is the Cartel series. The Cartel series is set around the port of Miami and the millions of dollar a year cocaine industry.

The story centers around the Diamond family who are main drug gang controlling the business in the area. They lose their leader Carter Diamond when he is killed and is does not leave behind just a wife and three children but a stunning secret which will turn around everyone’s lives.

The secret is that he had an illegitimate son Carter Jones. When Carter hears about his father’s death he immediately tries to get to the bottom of what happened and seek revenge.

That brings him directly into the path of Miamor, who is as lethal a she is beautiful. Unlike her appearance suggests, she is a deadly contract killer who has been hired to bring down the rest of the Diamond family on behalf of one of their rival gangs.

But what could turn out to be a blood and guts gangland story, has incredible twists and turns as Carter and Miamor fall for each other without realising their real identities. When her sister is killed by the Cartel, Miamor is shocked to discover that Carter is part of the family she is supposed to bring down. She is literally sleeping with the enemy.

Yet their lives collide and Miamor is torn between revenge and love with an unexpected twist at the end of the book.

That story is followed up nicely by the second instalment of the tale when the Cartel are betrayed by one of their own, who breaks the rules and leaves the family on the brink of being torn apart.

It is certainly not a case of Diamonds are forever as the family are rocked by the betrayal of one of their own and their world looks like caving in.

Young Carter is in the fight for his life, as he faces charges of being the main drug baron after being betrayed by his best friend Ace. In a gripping plot which involves, murder, kidnapping, deception, and seduction, Ashley and JaQuavis rock the tempo to the limit.

Which again sets the Cartel series up for more drama and deceit in the third book of the series. This time out, Carter is fully aware who Miamor is. And for a couple who were lovers, he now wants her dead now he knows the truth.

Without giving too much of the plot away, Carter vows revenge on the one person he thought he was falling in love with.

Yet just when it appears it’s the end of the Diamond family and they have lost grip of their empire, more twists and turns await in the fourth instalment of the Cartel series. The characters remain the same but the plot thickens again in a high octane adventure.

This time a new era has begun for the Diamond family and they are standing tall against all odds after surving deceit, murder and betrayal. The lesser characters of Breeze and Zyir have far more important parts to play in this fourth instalment. Breeze has moved into second in command in the empire next to Zyir, who has taken over the Cartel. He has locked down Miami’s streets does not care what he does because he thinks has the world at his feet.

Young Carter has retired in this book – or has he? He has moved away from all the mayhem until he gets an unexpected visitor to his home. This person shakes up the whole family, causing chaos that threatens to bring down the Cartel for good.

The last installment of the Carter series – for now – starts with a Boeing 747 dropping out of the sky with the men of the Cartel aboard.

With them all presumed dead , the women of the family have to step into their own, heading west in an attempt to go legit and bring an end to the world of madness they have endured for so long.

But when an Arabic millionaire gives them problems, deceit, larceny and murder are all firmly back on the agenda again.

The original stories in the five books highlight how far Ashley and JaQuavis have come from their early writing. They are now considered to be top of the league in the Street Lit genre.

Yet they reckons there are still many tales they have not tapped into yet. They have fans not just around the USA who can relate to gang violence but also around the world.

They are regarded so highly not just because of their story narrative and the compelling characters but because they have lived on the streets and have experienced exactly the sort of violence and gang culture they write about so eloquently.

The pair are New York Times best-selling authors and base many of their stories on growing up in the rough streets of Flint. People in the neighbourhood do widely respect the pair and are not worried about having their neighbourhood seen in a bad light as locations in their books can take place all over the country.

Ashley & JaQuavis are the youngest African American co-authors to appear twice on the New York Times best-sellers list.

They were discovered by another New York Times best selling author Carl Webber who immediately realised their potential.

They actually received publishing deals while they were freshman in college and have not looked back since.

So they are names to watch for now and the future.