James C. Blake Knihy

"James Carlos Blake, widely acclaimed as one of our best authors of historical and contemporary crime fiction, brings us his most striking and fast-paced border noir yet with The House of Wolfe. On a rainy winter night in Mexico City, a ten-member wedding party is kidnapped in front of the groom's family mansion. The perpetrator is an ambitious young gangster named El Galan, who hopes that his audacious exploit will gain his small gang a partnership with a major crime cartel. He sets the wedding party's ransom at five million USD, to be paid in cash within twenty-four hours. But El Galan doesn't know that bridesmaid Jessica Juliet Wolfe comes from a family of Texas gunrunners whose blood relatives belong to a powerful but mysterious Mexican cartel. As the captives realize the full horror of their situation, the Wolfes on both sides of the border come together and begin a desperate hunt to find Jessie before the deadline expires. Gritty and exhilarating, The House of Wolfe takes readers on a furious ride from Mexico City's opulent neighborhoods to its frenetic downtown streets and feral shantytowns to a spectacularly hellish climax. " AbeBooks.com

"Inspired by Arthur Ashe's bestselling memoir Days of Grace, a collection of positive, uplifting stories of seemingly small acts of grace from across the sports world that have helped to bridge cultural and racial divides. Like many people of color, James Blake has experienced the effects of racism firsthand - publicly - first at the U.S. Open, and then in front of his hotel on a busy Manhattan street, where he was tackled and handcuffed by a police officer in a case of mistaken identity. Though rage would have been justified, Blake faced both incidents with dignity and aplomb. In Ways of Grace he reflects on his experiences and explores those of other sports stars and public figures who have not only overcome adversity, but have used them to unite rather than divide, including: Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, a Pakistani Muslim and Amir Hadad, an Israeli Jew, who despite the conflicts of their countries, paired together in the 2002 Wimbledon men's doubles draw. Muhammad Ali, who transcended racism with a magnetic personality and a breathtaking mastery of boxing that was unparalleled. Nelson Mandela, who spent twenty-seven years in prison for his commitment to social reform, peace, and equality yet never gave up his battle to end apartheid - a struggle that led to his eventual freedom and his nation's transition to black majority rule. Groundbreaking tennis legend Arthur Ashe, who was a model of courage, elegance, and poise on the court and off; a gifted player who triumphed in the all-white world of professional tennis, and became one of his generation's greatest players. Weaving together these and other poignant and unforgettable stories, Blake reveals how, through seemingly small acts of grace, we can confront hatred, bigotry, and injustice with virtue - and use it to propel ourselves to greater heights"--Provided by publisher

The violent but manifest destiny of the Wolfe family from Yankee America through the Diaz Regime of Mexico.

Twenty years ago Axel Prince Wolfe teamed up with his best friend and a Mexican stranger in a robbery that went wrong. He was captured and imprisoned. Two decades later Axel has long since exhausted his desire for revenge. All he wants now is to see the woman his daughter has become. When the chance comes to escape Axel takes it. A startling discovery re-ignites an old passion and sends Axel headlong toward reckonings many years in the making