Arnell Rayford's mother, Esther, is where she's always wanted to be. Ensconced in the mansion where her own mother once worked as a housekeeper, she runs a thriving business that's surely making the previous owner turn in her grave. For Esther, money is everything, and no one will stand in the way of her making it—not even her only child. While some may call Esther's live-in employees prostitutes, she prefers to call them ladies of charm—or tenants. There are no laws against renting out rooms, after all. Of course, there are laws against prostituting one's own underage daughter. It's a devastating secret Arnell and Esther have kept for years. Esther calls the jobs "favors," but Arnell recognizes them for what they are: demands couched in blackmail. Now that Arnell is engaged to a pillar of the community, Esther's latest request may well send her over the edge—but she won't be going alone. Because while Esther is holding Arnell's past overhead, her own is coming back to haunt her—and the lines between love and hate, parent and child, sex, profit—and even murder—are about to become dangerously blurred. . . "Starts with a bang and ends with a full-blown Fourth of July fireworks display." —QBR, The Black Book Review "The Honey Well is an amazing book! The sweet, poignant, painful and spicy story flowed effortlessly." —The African American Literature Book Club "With a suspenseful plot that reads like a movie, The Honey Well demonstrates how the perils of blackmail, trickery and deceit can overshadow the simple rewards of life."— Upscale