Cheaters » (Reprint)

Back in 1996, former software engineer writer Eric Jerome Dickey quit his day job as a substitute teacher after the success of his first novel, Sister, Sister. With the sexy, savvy flow of African-American-themed bestsellers that followed, it's pretty safe to say Dickey won't have to go back to the classroom.

Cheaters, Eric Jerome Dickey's latest exploration of affairs of the heart, begins in familiar territory yet ultimately develops into an unusual, sharp, and nuanced portrait of love lost and found. A large cast of upwardly mobile 20-something African Americans populates the novel. For them, airy southern California is a land of obvious pleasures: fancy cars, beautiful condos, and sleek hangouts. Regrettably, such pleasures are temporary, for theirs is also a world marred by duplicitous love affairs and betrayed

Publishers Weekly

Dickey (Milk in My Coffee) takes on the subjects of love, sex, marriage and infidelity among Los Angeles's young, upscale African-American community. In this audio version, the author's reading is supported by male and female performers who play out specific character roles. This fits the multiple points of view of the novel, which unfolds serially through self-contained "he said/she said" vignettes. Stephen, a software designer, is a ladies' man who uses deceit to play the field (his motivations, stemming from childhood experiences, are given through flashbacks). Chant , one of the objects of his affection, gets wise to Stephen's ways and schemes to "dog" him back. Darnell, a married lawyer who yearns to become a novelist, provides Dickey an outlet to explain his own reasons for becoming a writer. Because the action is played out in short, charged scenes, it works smartly as audio drama, highly entertaining in its sharply observed turns of dialogue. Based on the 1999 Dutton hardcover. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.