Wrath, paperback/***

In the history of New York Citys underworld, there have been a host of criminal figures whose exploits have gone on to inspire.

Their stories are told on street corners and in back alleys.

One of them is Jonas Rafferty, known among friends and enemies alike as Wrath .

Jonas, the only boy in a family of four children, came into the world under less-than-favorable conditions, and he has always been a fighter.

From the neighborhood bullies to his mothers live-in boyfriend who uses him and his siblings as punching bags, his life has always been one battle after another.

At night, he lies awake and dreams of rising above his circumstances, and when he crosses paths with rogue homicide detective Louis Lou Ceavers, hes offered a bargain that will change the course of his life.

Detective Ceavers becomes like a guardian angel and surrogate father to Jonas, teaching him the game and guiding him in his quest for power.

In a short time, Jonas goes from errand boy and street muscle to one of the most dangerous young men in the city, dubbed Wrath because of his violent exploits.

His dreams are finally becoming a reality, and Wrath feels like hes on his way to having everything hes ever dreamed of--until Alex, his childhood crush, comes home on break from college and gives him a glimpse of love, the one thing hes always craved more than money and power.

Wrath begins to question himself and his decisions as hes drawn further away from the world hes created and deeper into the stable life he believes he could have with Alex.

When Alex becomes pregnant, Wrath decides that being there for her and his unborn child are more important to him than power or money.

But when he seeks to end his arrangement with the detective, hes taught the final lesson in his education: no bargain comes without a price.

About author(s): Kwan is the #1 bestselling author of Welfare Wifeys , Section 8 , Gutter , Still Hood , Hood Rat , Eve, Hoodlum , Street Dreams , Gangsta , Road Dawgz, and his new series, Animal .

In 2011 Kwan won the African American Literary Award for Welfare Wifeys .

He has also been featured in Time , King , and New York Press , and on MTV and BET.

Kwan currently resides in New Jersey, where he is working on his next novel.