
The Mayor of Maxwell Street
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $29.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Bahni Turpin
-
By:
-
Avery Cunningham
About this listen
"A debut novel everyone will be talking about", Avery Cunningham's epic love story is "a triumph" and "a tale of intrigue, racial tension, and class warfare, set against the glamorous and gritty backdrop of early 20th century Chicago".
When a rich Black debutante enlists the help of a low-level speakeasy manager to identify the head of an underground crime syndicate, the two are thrust into the dangerous world of Prohibition-era Chicago.
The year is 1921, and America is burning. A fire of vice and virtue rages on every shore, and Chicago is its beating heart.
Nelly Sawyer is the daughter of the “wealthiest Negro in America”, whose affluence catapulted his family to the heights of Black society. After the unexpected death of her only brother, Nelly becomes the premier debutante overnight. But Nelly has aspirations beyond society influence and marriage. For the past year, she has worked undercover as an investigative journalist, sharing the achievements and tribulations of everyday Black people living in the shadow of Jim Crow. Her latest assignment thrusts her into the den of a dangerous vice lord: the so-called Mayor of Maxwell Street.
Born in rural Alabama to a murdered biracial couple, Jay Shorey knows firsthand what it means to be denied a chance at the American dream. When a tragic turn of fate gave Jay a rare path out, he took it without question. He washed up on Chicago’s storied shores and forged his own way to the top of the city’s underworld, running Chicago's swankiest speakeasy, where the rich and famous rub elbows with gangsters and politicians alike.
When Nelly’s and Jay’s paths cross, she recruits him to help expose the Mayor and bring about lasting change in a corrupt city. But Jay also introduces a whole new world to Nelly, one where her horizons can extend beyond the confines of her ivory tower. Trapped between the monolith of Jim Crow, the inflexible world of the Black upper class, and the violence of Prohibition-era Chicago, Jay and Nelly work together and stoke the flames of a love worth fighting for.
Debut author Avery Cunningham’s stunning novel is at once an epic love story, a riveting historical drama, and a brilliant exploration of Black society and perseverance when the ‘20s first began to roar.
©2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. (P)2024 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The American Queen
- By: Vanessa Miller
- Narrated by: Angel Pean
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Transformative and breathtakingly honest, The American Queen is based on actual events that occurred between 1865 - 1889 and shares the unsung history of a Black woman who built a kingdom in Appalachia as a refuge for the courageous people who dared to dream of a different way of life. Over the twenty-four years she was enslaved on the Montgomery Plantation, Louella learned to feel one thing: hate. Hate for the man who sold her mother. Hate for the overseer who left her daddy to hang from a noose. Hate so powerful there's no room in her heart for love.
-
-
The life of the Queen
- By R. Dameron on 03-26-24
By: Vanessa Miller
-
Mary Not Broken
- By: Deborah L. King
- Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1930s Mississippi, Mary Johnson hates the oppressive heat, working on her family farm, and having to attend her minister father's church several times a week. But she loves Mason Carter, her musician boyfriend. Both fantasize about living the high life up north in the big city. When William Bevers, a wealthy old preacher, comes to court her, he promises a life of luxury along with money and status for her family. Mary wants nothing to do with him, but her parents decide for her. Determined to avoid a forced marriage, Mary elopes with Mason to the bright lights of Chicago.
-
-
Trauma and Suffering
- By Erin Martin on 05-06-24
By: Deborah L. King
-
The Bird Hotel
- A Novel
- By: Joyce Maynard
- Narrated by: Joyce Maynard
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a childhood filled with heartbreak, Irene, a talented artist, finds herself in a small Central American village where she checks into a beautiful but decaying lakefront hotel called La Llorona at the base of a volcano.
-
-
Review of ‘The Bird Hotel’.
- By g. marks on 11-13-23
By: Joyce Maynard
-
The Queen of Sugar Hill
- A Novel of Hattie McDaniel
- By: ReShonda Tate
- Narrated by: Lynnette R. Freeman
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was supposed to be the highlight of her career, the pinnacle for which she’d worked all her life. And as Hattie McDaniel took the stage in 1940 to claim an honor that would make her the first African-American woman to win an Academy Award, she tearfully took her place in history. Between personal triumphs and tragedies, heartbreaking losses, and severe setbacks, this historic night of winning best supporting actress for her role as the sassy Mammy in the controversial movie Gone With the Wind was going to be life-changing. Or so she thought.
-
-
The Story I Never Knew
- By Face To Face With Yolanda on 04-27-24
By: ReShonda Tate
-
Sisters with a Side of Greens
- By: Michelle Stimpson
- Narrated by: Susan Spain
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The recipe for forgiveness begins with an open heart and a full belly. Sisters Rose Tillman and her sister Marvina Nash haven't spoken in decades—not since Rose sent Marvina $40 to register their business and Marvina used that money for her own personal purposes. Now retired, Rose wants to open the restaurant they'd once dreamed of. But, to her horror, Rose realizes she's forgotten their mother's secret spice mix recipe, known to only one other person in the world.
-
-
The church
- By Anonymous User on 04-07-24
-
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
- By: Tia Williams
- Narrated by: Mela Lee, Preston Butler
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, Ricki Wilde is the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her. When she moves into a Harlem brownstone, she leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. One evening Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.
-
-
Why am I bawling on my lunch break?
- By Zakiya Jackson on 03-05-24
By: Tia Williams
-
The American Queen
- By: Vanessa Miller
- Narrated by: Angel Pean
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Transformative and breathtakingly honest, The American Queen is based on actual events that occurred between 1865 - 1889 and shares the unsung history of a Black woman who built a kingdom in Appalachia as a refuge for the courageous people who dared to dream of a different way of life. Over the twenty-four years she was enslaved on the Montgomery Plantation, Louella learned to feel one thing: hate. Hate for the man who sold her mother. Hate for the overseer who left her daddy to hang from a noose. Hate so powerful there's no room in her heart for love.
-
-
The life of the Queen
- By R. Dameron on 03-26-24
By: Vanessa Miller
-
Mary Not Broken
- By: Deborah L. King
- Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1930s Mississippi, Mary Johnson hates the oppressive heat, working on her family farm, and having to attend her minister father's church several times a week. But she loves Mason Carter, her musician boyfriend. Both fantasize about living the high life up north in the big city. When William Bevers, a wealthy old preacher, comes to court her, he promises a life of luxury along with money and status for her family. Mary wants nothing to do with him, but her parents decide for her. Determined to avoid a forced marriage, Mary elopes with Mason to the bright lights of Chicago.
-
-
Trauma and Suffering
- By Erin Martin on 05-06-24
By: Deborah L. King
-
The Bird Hotel
- A Novel
- By: Joyce Maynard
- Narrated by: Joyce Maynard
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a childhood filled with heartbreak, Irene, a talented artist, finds herself in a small Central American village where she checks into a beautiful but decaying lakefront hotel called La Llorona at the base of a volcano.
-
-
Review of ‘The Bird Hotel’.
- By g. marks on 11-13-23
By: Joyce Maynard
-
The Queen of Sugar Hill
- A Novel of Hattie McDaniel
- By: ReShonda Tate
- Narrated by: Lynnette R. Freeman
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was supposed to be the highlight of her career, the pinnacle for which she’d worked all her life. And as Hattie McDaniel took the stage in 1940 to claim an honor that would make her the first African-American woman to win an Academy Award, she tearfully took her place in history. Between personal triumphs and tragedies, heartbreaking losses, and severe setbacks, this historic night of winning best supporting actress for her role as the sassy Mammy in the controversial movie Gone With the Wind was going to be life-changing. Or so she thought.
-
-
The Story I Never Knew
- By Face To Face With Yolanda on 04-27-24
By: ReShonda Tate
-
Sisters with a Side of Greens
- By: Michelle Stimpson
- Narrated by: Susan Spain
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The recipe for forgiveness begins with an open heart and a full belly. Sisters Rose Tillman and her sister Marvina Nash haven't spoken in decades—not since Rose sent Marvina $40 to register their business and Marvina used that money for her own personal purposes. Now retired, Rose wants to open the restaurant they'd once dreamed of. But, to her horror, Rose realizes she's forgotten their mother's secret spice mix recipe, known to only one other person in the world.
-
-
The church
- By Anonymous User on 04-07-24
-
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
- By: Tia Williams
- Narrated by: Mela Lee, Preston Butler
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, Ricki Wilde is the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her. When she moves into a Harlem brownstone, she leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. One evening Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.
-
-
Why am I bawling on my lunch break?
- By Zakiya Jackson on 03-05-24
By: Tia Williams
-
Unfinished Business
- By: Shankari Chandran
- Narrated by: Nicholas Brown, Pallavi Sharda
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sri Lanka, 2009. Decades of civil war and bloodshed are being brought to an end at last – by any means necessary. In the capital, Colombo, tenacious journalist Ameena Fernando is murdered, execution-style, on a busy street near her home, with no witnesses. With pressure growing to find Ameena’s killers, CIA agent Ellie Harper is sent to seek justice for the journalist’s death with strict instructions: Find something, but not too much. It’s her first time returning to the island after her last mission went tragically awry four years prior, and Ellie has more than one ghost to lay to rest.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Bella on 03-25-24
-
The Bloomin' Psychic Boxed Set: Books 1-3
- By: Annabel Chase
- Narrated by: Meghan Kelly
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Bloomin' Psychic Boxed Set includes the first three books in the series: Petal to the Metal, Life's a Birch, and Drive Me Daisy.
-
-
Horrible narration.
- By M. Wilhite on 03-03-22
By: Annabel Chase
-
This Impossible Brightness
- A Novel
- By: Jessica Bryant Klagmann
- Narrated by: Caroline Hewitt
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the mysterious disappearance of her fiancé, Alma Hughes moves to a remote island in the North Atlantic, where she hopes to weather her grief and nurture her ailing dog. But the strange town of Violette has mysteries as well. Townsfolk say that the radio tower overlooking their town broadcasts messages through their home appliances, their dreams, even the sea itself. When lightning strikes the tower, illuminating the sky in a brilliant flash, Alma finds herself caught in the unexplainable aftermath of one of Violette’s deadliest storms.
-
-
Never Again
- By susan on 02-15-24
-
California Bear
- A Novel
- By: Duane Swierczynski
- Narrated by: James Urbaniak, Jesse Vilinsky, Duane Swierczynski
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This "fresh, exciting, and brilliantly unpredictable" thriller (James Patterson) from a "great storyteller" (Michael Connelly) follows four unlikely vigilantes who pit themselves against the villain behind California’s coldest case when they decide to take justice into their own hands.
-
-
Reality is Recognized
- By Kerry swierczynski on 02-03-24
-
Anything for a Friend
- A Novel
- By: Kathleen M. Willett
- Narrated by: Maria Marquis
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Writer Carrie Colts hopes a move to Montauk will be a rejuvenating change of pace for her family. The last thing she expects to see is her former college roommate on her doorstep. Newly widowed, and with a daughter of her own, Maya would love to reconnect. As a gesture to an old friend in mourning, Carrie extends an invitation to stay. Just for a few days. After all, there are reasons that Carrie and Maya are estranged.
-
-
Secrets and Lies
- By Kristin on 12-12-23
-
The Bishop and the Butterfly
- Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
- By: Michael Wolraich
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivian Gordon went out before midnight in a velvet dress and mink coat. Her body turned up the next morning in a desolate Bronx park, a dirty clothesline wrapped around her neck. At her stylish Manhattan apartment, detectives discovered notebooks full of names—businessmen, socialites, gangsters. And something else—a letter from an anti-corruption commission established by Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
-
-
Annoying narration of a good story
- By Bev on 04-01-24
By: Michael Wolraich
-
Where Butterflies Wander
- A Novel
- By: Suzanne Redfearn
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd, Vivienne Leheny, Jordan Cobb, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a tragic accident claims the life of one of her children, Marie Egide is desperate to carve out a fresh start for her family. With her husband and their three surviving children, Marie travels to New Hampshire, where she plans to sell a family estate and then, just maybe, they’ll be able to heal from their grief. Marie’s plans are thwarted when she realizes a war veteran known by locals as “the river witch” is living in a cabin on the property, which she claims was a gift from Marie’s grandfather. If Davina refuses to move on, Marie won’t be able to either.
-
-
The dichotomy between the characters
- By Linda on 03-24-24
By: Suzanne Redfearn
-
Fragile Designs
- By: Colleen Coble
- Narrated by: Karen Peakes
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since her police-officer husband Eric's mysterious murder, Carly Harris has been struggling to support herself and their infant son. Her career as an antique dealer isn't sustainable, nor is her dream of becoming a novelist. So, when her grandmother proposes she and her two sisters restore the family's large Beaufort home and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast, she immediately gets to work clearing out the house. In the process, she uncovers a family secret that Eric kept hidden. And an heirloom that the wrong person wouldn't hesitate to kill for.
-
-
A layered story
- By Rebecca R on 01-04-24
By: Colleen Coble
-
Third Girl from the Left
- By: Christine Barker
- Narrated by: Betsy Struxness
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wanting to be a dancer while growing up in a large military family made Christine Barker somewhat of a black sheep, but she followed her dreams to New York City, where—in a moment of almost unbelievable good fortune—she was chosen for the London cast of A Chorus Line. London, and then New York, in the '70s and '80s opened up Christine’s world. The creativity, culture, and nightlife were intoxicating, enough so to compel her older brother Laughlin to join her. Once there, the divorced father, veteran, and corporate lawyer met rising fashion star Perry Ellis.
-
-
A Dancer’s Dream Told with Heart
- By Kathy MacKay on 05-17-23
By: Christine Barker
-
In a Single Moment
- By: Imogen Clark
- Narrated by: Bronwen Price
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the hottest day of the 1976 heatwave and there’s not a breath of fresh air in the labour ward at Lincoln County Hospital. Michelle is having her fourth child, a girl, while beloved husband Dean is sipping a cold pint in the pub. Their little house is already bursting at the seams, but Michelle is sure they’ll find a way to stretch their budget and continue life as a blissfully chaotic happy family. They name their new baby Donna.
-
-
I love Imogen Clark
- By History101 on 11-15-23
By: Imogen Clark
-
The Lost Van Gogh
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Santlofer
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, there have been whispers that, before his death, Van Gogh completed a final self-portrait. Curators and art historians have savored this rumor, hoping it could illuminate some of the troubled artist's many secrets, but even they have to concede that the missing painting is likely lost forever. But when Luke Perrone, artist and great-grandson of the man who stole the Mona Lisa, and Alexis Verde, daughter of a notorious art thief, discover what may be the missing portrait, they are drawn into a most epic art puzzles.
-
-
How great art lives many lives.
- By EJ Silber on 01-23-24
-
Sugar, Baby
- By: Celine Saintclare
- Narrated by: Sara Novak
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sugar, Baby follows Agnes, a mixed-race 21-year-old whose life seems to be heading nowhere. Still living at home, she works as a cleaner and spends all her money in clubs on the weekends searching for distractions from her mundane life. That is until she meets Emily, daughter of one of her cleaning clients, who lives in London and works as a model...and a sugar baby, dating rich older men for money. Emily’s life is the escape Agnes has been longing for—extravagant tasting menus, champagne on tap, glamorous hotels with unlimited room service, designer gifts from dates who call her beautiful.
-
-
unnervingly realistic & incredible narration
- By mina on 02-13-24

About the Creator

About the Performer
-
The Mayor of Maxwell Street
- By: Avery Cunningham
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 15 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 1921, and America is burning. A fire of vice and virtue rages on every shore, and Chicago is its beating heart. Nelly Sawyer is the daughter of the “wealthiest Negro in America”, whose affluence catapulted his family to the heights of Black society. After the unexpected death of her only brother, Nelly becomes the premier debutante overnight. But Nelly has aspirations beyond society influence and marriage.
-
-
Better Ending next time!
- By Matt & Lindsy on 02-11-24
Give me the ole razzle-dazzle!
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
When Stars Rain Down
- By: Angela Jackson-Brown
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The summer of 1936 in Parsons, Georgia, is unseasonably hot, and Opal Pruitt senses a nameless storm brewing. She hopes this foreboding feeling won’t overshadow her upcoming 18th birthday or the annual Founder’s Day celebration in just a few weeks. She and her Grandma Birdie work as housekeepers for the white widow Miss Peggy, and Opal desperately wants some time to be young and carefree with her cousins and friends.
-
-
Better than I could imagine!
- By Kindle Customer on 02-27-25
-
We Rip the World Apart
- By: Charlene Carr
- Narrated by: Tebby Fisher
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she's pregnant with a child she isn't sure she wants, her struggle to understand her place in the world as a person who is half-Black, half-white—yet feels neither—is amplified. Her mother, Evelyn, fled to Canada with her husband and their first-born child during the politically charged Jamaican exodus in the 1980s, only to realize they'd come to a place where Black men are viewed with suspicion—a constant and pernicious reality Evelyn watches her husband and son navigate daily. Years later, Evelyn's mother-in-law, Violet, moves in.
By: Charlene Carr
-
Carolina Built
- By: Kianna Alexander
- Narrated by: Shayna Small, Leon Nixon
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Josephine N. Leary is determined to build a life of her own and a future for her family. When she moves to Edenton, North Carolina, from the plantation where she was born, she is free, newly married, and ready to follow her dreams. As the demands of life pull Josephine’s attention away, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to pursue her real estate aspirations. She finds herself immersed in deepening her marriage, mothering her daughters, and being a dutiful daughter and granddaughter.
-
-
WOMEN: Dream Plan Work Achieve
- By Nana on 02-28-22
By: Kianna Alexander
-
The Book of Last Letters
- By: Kerry Barrett
- Narrated by: Harrie Dobby, Josephine Arden
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1940. When nurse Elsie offers to send a reassuring letter to the family of a patient, she has an idea. She begins a book of last letters: messages to be sent on to wounded soldiers’ loved ones should the very worst come to pass so that no one is left without a final goodbye. London, present day. Stephanie has a lot of people she’d like to speak to: her estranged brother, to whom her last words were in anger; her nan, whose dementia means she is only occasionally lucid enough to talk.
-
-
A historical fiction goodie
- By Patricia Coates on 04-12-22
By: Kerry Barrett
-
The Wrong Kind of Woman
- A Novel
- By: Sarah McCraw Crow
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In late 1970, Oliver Desmarais drops dead in his front yard while hanging Christmas lights. In the year that follows, his widow, Virginia, struggles to find her place on the campus of the elite New Hampshire men’s college where Oliver was a professor. While Virginia had always shared her husband’s prejudices against the four outspoken, never-married women on the faculty — dubbed the Gang of Four by their male counterparts — she now finds herself depending on them, even joining their work to bring the women’s movement to Clarendon College.
-
-
Flashback to the ‘70’s
- By RueRue on 06-30-24
-
The Unfortunates
- A Novel
- By: J K Chukwu
- Narrated by: Deanna Anthony
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sahara is Not Okay. Entering her sophomore year, she already feels like a failure: her body is too much, her love life is nonexistent, she’s not Nigerian enough for her family, her grades are subpar, and, well, the few Black classmates she has are vanishing—or dying. Sahara herself is close to giving up: depression has been her longtime “Life Partner."" She believes that this narrative—taking the form of an irreverent, no-holds-barred “thesis” addressed to the powerful University Committee that will judge her.
-
-
Getting inside mind of protagonist.
- By Jacqueline Mereday on 01-15-24
By: J K Chukwu
-
When Stars Rain Down
- By: Angela Jackson-Brown
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The summer of 1936 in Parsons, Georgia, is unseasonably hot, and Opal Pruitt senses a nameless storm brewing. She hopes this foreboding feeling won’t overshadow her upcoming 18th birthday or the annual Founder’s Day celebration in just a few weeks. She and her Grandma Birdie work as housekeepers for the white widow Miss Peggy, and Opal desperately wants some time to be young and carefree with her cousins and friends.
-
-
Better than I could imagine!
- By Kindle Customer on 02-27-25
-
We Rip the World Apart
- By: Charlene Carr
- Narrated by: Tebby Fisher
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she's pregnant with a child she isn't sure she wants, her struggle to understand her place in the world as a person who is half-Black, half-white—yet feels neither—is amplified. Her mother, Evelyn, fled to Canada with her husband and their first-born child during the politically charged Jamaican exodus in the 1980s, only to realize they'd come to a place where Black men are viewed with suspicion—a constant and pernicious reality Evelyn watches her husband and son navigate daily. Years later, Evelyn's mother-in-law, Violet, moves in.
By: Charlene Carr
-
Carolina Built
- By: Kianna Alexander
- Narrated by: Shayna Small, Leon Nixon
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Josephine N. Leary is determined to build a life of her own and a future for her family. When she moves to Edenton, North Carolina, from the plantation where she was born, she is free, newly married, and ready to follow her dreams. As the demands of life pull Josephine’s attention away, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to pursue her real estate aspirations. She finds herself immersed in deepening her marriage, mothering her daughters, and being a dutiful daughter and granddaughter.
-
-
WOMEN: Dream Plan Work Achieve
- By Nana on 02-28-22
By: Kianna Alexander
-
The Book of Last Letters
- By: Kerry Barrett
- Narrated by: Harrie Dobby, Josephine Arden
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1940. When nurse Elsie offers to send a reassuring letter to the family of a patient, she has an idea. She begins a book of last letters: messages to be sent on to wounded soldiers’ loved ones should the very worst come to pass so that no one is left without a final goodbye. London, present day. Stephanie has a lot of people she’d like to speak to: her estranged brother, to whom her last words were in anger; her nan, whose dementia means she is only occasionally lucid enough to talk.
-
-
A historical fiction goodie
- By Patricia Coates on 04-12-22
By: Kerry Barrett
-
The Wrong Kind of Woman
- A Novel
- By: Sarah McCraw Crow
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In late 1970, Oliver Desmarais drops dead in his front yard while hanging Christmas lights. In the year that follows, his widow, Virginia, struggles to find her place on the campus of the elite New Hampshire men’s college where Oliver was a professor. While Virginia had always shared her husband’s prejudices against the four outspoken, never-married women on the faculty — dubbed the Gang of Four by their male counterparts — she now finds herself depending on them, even joining their work to bring the women’s movement to Clarendon College.
-
-
Flashback to the ‘70’s
- By RueRue on 06-30-24
-
The Unfortunates
- A Novel
- By: J K Chukwu
- Narrated by: Deanna Anthony
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sahara is Not Okay. Entering her sophomore year, she already feels like a failure: her body is too much, her love life is nonexistent, she’s not Nigerian enough for her family, her grades are subpar, and, well, the few Black classmates she has are vanishing—or dying. Sahara herself is close to giving up: depression has been her longtime “Life Partner."" She believes that this narrative—taking the form of an irreverent, no-holds-barred “thesis” addressed to the powerful University Committee that will judge her.
-
-
Getting inside mind of protagonist.
- By Jacqueline Mereday on 01-15-24
By: J K Chukwu
-
Zeal
- A Novel
- By: Morgan Jerkins
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, Shayna Small
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning over a hundred and fifty years, Morgan Jerkins’s extraordinary novel intertwines the stories of these star-crossed lovers and their descendants. As Tirzah's family moves across the country during the Great Migration, they challenge authority with devastating consequences, while of the legacy of heartbreak and loss continues on in the lives of Harrison's progeny.
By: Morgan Jerkins
-
Black Candle Women
- A Novel
- By: Diane Marie Brown
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Generations of Montrose women—Augusta, Victoria, Willow—have lived together in their quaint two-story bungalow in California for years. They keep to themselves, never venture far from home, and their collection of tinctures and spells is an unspoken bond between them. But when seventeen-year-old Nickie Montrose brings home a boy for the first time, their quiet lives are thrown into disarray. For the other women have been withholding a secret from Nickie that will end her relationship before it’s even begun: the decades-old family curse that any person they fall in love with dies.
-
-
Easy Listen
- By Precious T. on 06-14-23
-
The Call of the Wrens
- By: Jenni L Walsh
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Amanda Sanfilippo
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An orphan who spent her youth without a true home, Marion Hoxton found in the Great War something other than destruction. She discovered a chance to belong. As a member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service—the Wrens—Marion gained sisters. She found purpose in her work as a motorcycle dispatch rider assigned to train and deliver carrier pigeons to the front line. And despite the constant threat of danger, she and her childhood friend Eddie began to dream of a future together. Until the battle that changed everything.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Katteann on 06-03-23
By: Jenni L Walsh
-
The Door to Tamba
- A Short Story
- By: Ishmael Beah
- Narrated by: Maduka Steady
- Length: 51 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning author and human rights activist Ishmael Beah brings us The Door to Tamba, a powerful story centered on a mining village in West Africa where the destruction of earth and pollution of life impacts the mind, body, and soul of communities. Hindolo, a storyteller, returns to his hometown after 30 years and recalls the solitary and formidable old man who opened his home to him and introduced a world of literature and imagination, which for many years, was his only escape. Hindolo begins writing the stories down on paper stolen from a nearby mine to share with his classmates.
-
-
Excellent
- By Tereza Jenkins on 02-04-24
By: Ishmael Beah
-
Red Clay
- By: Charles B. Fancher
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave—on the morning following his funeral—his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words “… a lifetime ago, my family owned yours.” Adelaide Parker has a story to tell—one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker. But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she’s come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full.
-
-
Loved every minute
- By Anne Hamme on 03-29-25
-
Standing Heavy
- By: Gauz', Frank Wynne - translator
- Narrated by: Diontae Black
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All over the city, they are watching: Black men paid to stand guard, invisible among the wealthy flâneurs and yet the only ones who truly see. From Les Grands Moulins to a Sephora on the Champs-Élysees, Ferdinand, Ossiri, and Kassoum find their way as undocumented workers amidst political infighting and the ever-changing landscape of immigration policy. Fast-paced and funny, poignant and sharply satirical, Standing Heavy is a searing deconstruction of colonial legacies and capitalist consumption and an unforgettable account of everything that passes under the security guards' all-seeing eyes.
By: Gauz', and others
-
The Girls in Queens
- A Novel
- By: Christine Kandic Torres
- Narrated by: Gisela Chipe
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up in the ’90s along Clement Moore Avenue in Queens, Brisma and Kelly are two young Latinas with an inseparable bond, sharing everything and anything with each other. The girls are opposites: Brisma is sweet, sensitive, and observant, whereas Kelly is free-spirited, flirtatious, and bold. But together, they binge on Sour Patch Kids, listen to Boyz II Men cassette tapes, and dance to Selena and Mariah Carey where no one can see them.
-
-
beautiful story
- By Natalia Pinto on 04-29-23
-
Blues Highway
- A Migration Journey from the South to Chicago
- By: Carla D. Williams
- Narrated by: Drama Simpson
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blues Highway is one migration story of Blacks from the American South, aided initially by the Pullman porters broad reach into the world beyond. Moving on to the next generation, the porter Sidney sets up his daughter Janet to take hold of his barber shop. As she navigates her life, opportunities and social conditions shift. The power of Janet and Frank's relationship moves the saga forward, touching honestly and deeply on the forces of change.
-
-
Awesome Narration!
- By Sonja R😁 on 02-29-24
-
Patience Is a Subtle Thief
- A Novel
- By: Abi Ishola-Ayodeji
- Narrated by: Liz Femi
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For as long as she can remember, Patience Adewale, the eldest daughter of Chief Kolade Adewale, has been waiting for confirmation that she is loved, that there is a place where she truly belongs. Patience lives a sheltered life within the secure walls of the family’s mansion in Ibadan, but finds no comfort from her distant father and stepmother Modupe. Her only ally is her younger sister, yet even Margaret’s love and support cannot overcome Patience’s insecurity and uncertainty.
-
-
Patience
- By Black Butterfly on 07-09-22
-
Mrs. England
- By: Stacey Halls
- Narrated by: Imogen Wilde
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
West Yorkshire, 1904. When recently graduated Ruby May takes a nanny position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear something is not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs. England.
-
-
Fabulous!!
- By LA on 08-20-22
By: Stacey Halls
-
The Secret of Snow
- A Novel
- By: Viola Shipman
- Narrated by: Nancy Peterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Sonny Dunes, a SoCal meteorologist whose job is all sunshine and 72-degree days, is replaced by a virtual meteorologist that will never age, gain weight or renegotiate its contract, the only station willing to give the 50-year-old another shot is the very place Sonny’s been avoiding since the day she left for college — her northern Michigan hometown.
-
-
Hallmark
- By Rachel 9 on 11-29-21
By: Viola Shipman
-
Bellagrand
- A Novel
- By: Paullina Simons
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 20 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The sequel to Paullina Simons’ thrilling Children of Liberty, Bellagrand delves into Harry and Gina’s lives prior to the opening of Simons' The Bronze Horseman. As Children of Liberty concludes with a stunning ending - the story is just beginning. Bellagrand follows Harry and Gina after the happily ever after. After their whirlwind romance, Gina and Harry must learn what it really takes to mesh their families and their cultures. Listeners will be delighted to see exactly how these characters fit into the Bronze Horseman legacy.
By: Paullina Simons
What listeners say about The Mayor of Maxwell Street
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lisa M Snead
- 03-15-24
I loved the narrator!
So…Nelly, Nelly, Nelly! She is something else! I found myself going back and forth with Nelly both loving her and screaming at her all the same time. Her youth is what made her so recognizable. Nelly’s strength as a young woman is a reminder that we all eventually grow up. Life will do that. Some reviews had me not wanting to listen to this book, but after the prologue and the narrator’s ability to carry every accent, I was taken away. Avery Cunningham is a great storyteller. I’m looking forward to the next book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- OShanae Bell
- 01-27-25
An Amazing Debut
I rounded up to a 5 because overall I really really enjoyed the book. The writing is great, very descriptive. I love the time period and the overall premise of the characters being wealthy and intelligent because it did exist in the 1920s for AA’s and I believe those stories should be told just as much as the poor/slave/down trodden stories are told. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending.
*SPOILERS*
*SPOILERS*
Ok that should be enough distance for me to mention my spoilers. Who was Sam and why was there no story on him? I knew who the Mayor was from the start but I wish the author would’ve written more about him and why he did all that he did in the book. The devastating events with her parents were skimmed over. What happened to Sequoia? I wish there was more told in the last hour of the book to really wrap it up and it would have been perfect. That really is my only complaint.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Donald Comer
- 02-06-24
Outstanding Historical Fiction
This is a well written literary work. The story telling is exceptional. The content delivery brings every element vividly to life. This is the best novel I have read in some time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kenneth Worles
- 07-26-24
Amazing book!
Amazing book, it kept my attention through to the end. The narrator did an outstanding job voicing the characters and keeping me engaged.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- R York
- 04-06-25
Narration saved the story.
Interesting characters. Storyline was intriguing until it wasn’t. The author did tie all loose ends . It was just very long and seemed repetitive. Not a complete waste of time but not one I will listen to again .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kay
- 03-28-25
This was kind of intense
I love that this took place in Chicago. I love that this took place in the twenties and I love that this not only surrounds black people and their struggle in Chicago in the Twenties (because we were not safe ANYWHERE) but I love that this story explored allies, passing and wealthy/elite black society. I enjoyed this.
4.5 stars
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M Elizabeth Wells
- 03-20-25
Very satisfying
Brilliantly read! Fabulously written! Deep history brought to life. Wish there were more by this author on Audible.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brandon J. Savoy
- 03-22-24
Went From Slow Burn Into a Barn Burner!
When I say I didn’t think this book would keep my attention, I was dead wrong. The exposition wasn’t the most compelling, but it indeed played its part in weaving a tapestry of generational wealth, trauma, and demons. I had a suspicion of who the Mayor of Maxwell Street was and the Cunningham didn’t disappoint all whilst getting me to the reveal. Great read, especially for those historical fiction fans.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Makenzie
- 03-14-24
Plot twist?
The story was quickly paced but not too much that it’s unable to be followed. The ending plot twist was a great teaser. While Bahni Turpin is a fantastic narrator, multiple voices would have given the story more depth.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- EBD4D
- 03-23-24
Captured, Engaged and wanting more
Bravo! Great first novel. Nelly’s story kept me engaged and wanting more. The narration was masterful. The historical references were inspirational and enlightening, I’ll be waiting on the next masterpiece from this brilliant author.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!