Sounds Like Trouble

Listen to the Welcome!

Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith—two NAACP Image Award-winning powerhouses—have teamed up again for Sounds Like Trouble, a sexy, fast-paced crime thriller dropping July 8, 2025. We need your support to blow this book up during release week.

We’re building a team of loyal book lovers, indie bookstores, reviewers, bloggers, podcast hosts, and social media ambassadors to help spread the word. If you're down to help post, review, interview, or share graphics, email us a [ edc_dg@yahoo.com ] with “I’m in for the trouble” and we’ll send you everything you need and add you to the tour schedule.

Remember, you do not have to be a club or organization to support this book launch. If you are on social media, you can be part of our street team. If you can share the promotional material at least three times, then you can become one of our Book Tour Ambassadors!

Why the urgency? The first week is critical. Publisher visibility and platform algorithms are watching. Your early posts help push the book onto charts and into the hands of new readers—especially Black readers who deserve this kind of fire storytelling.

About the Book:

Jackson Jones and Mackenzie “Mac” Cunningham are back as reluctant PI partners in L.A.—still clashing, still hot for each other, and now stuck doing a job for the mob. Three gangsters want a missing package. One wrong move could get them killed. Add a nosey cop, a side of jealousy, and way too many bullets, and you’ve got a wild ride through Beverly Hills, back alleys, and their unresolved feelings.

Why This Matters:

Pamela is a former attorney who writes sharp legal thrillers with unapologetically Black leads. Dwayne is a Hollywood screenwriter whose debut, Forty Acres, is headed for the big screen. Their first book together (Sounds Like a Plan) already has film rights sold to CBS. Let’s make this sequel even bigger.

Let me know if you’re in. We’ll send the media kit, promo materials, ARCs if available, and drop you into the loop for giveaways and author shoutouts. This page has loads of resources and graphics that you can use right now to get started.

Download any material that you need for your page, platform or blog, go here. Thanks in advance for supporting this dynamic duo. Let’s get loud and make Sounds Like Trouble impossible to ignore.

Two opposites. Undeniable attraction. Three mobsters. An offer they can’t refuse. It sounds like trouble as Jackson Jones and Mackenzie Cunningham, reluctant partners and two of the best private investigators in Los Angeles, return to solve their most dangerous case yet.

Jackson Jones and Mackenzie “Mac” Cunningham can’t agree on anything. After coming close to death on their last case, the two have decided to team up but they can’t even decide on how to furnish their new office. Jackson wants to make a big splash. Mackenzie just wants a desk and some filing cabinets to clean up the mess. Before they can reach a truce on the decor, the two PIs get an offer they have no choice but to accept: infamous gangster Big Ced and two of his mafia dons want them to track down a package. Or else.

Things heat up in more ways than one as Jackson and Mac track down the sensitive information for the mobsters, while a police investigator is on their tail. When sparks fly between Mackenzie and Lieutenant Good Looking, Jackson’s jealousy and fiery back-and-forth with his partner has them flirting with danger in more ways than one. As they race through LA’s fanciest neighborhoods in a race against time, Jackson and Mac must stick closer to each other than ever as they dodge bullets, bad guys, and their feelings for each other.

In the tradition of Mr. & Mrs. Smith set in modern LA, Sounds Like Trouble puts a fresh spin on the great investigative duos with an intoxicating blend of mystery, humor, and witty banter that you won’t want to miss.

Sounds Like Trouble: A Novel by Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith

Fiction > Suspense > African American > Thrillers > Crime Fiction > Mystery & Detectives

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Publisher: Atria Books

Let's spread the word about this book! Listed below are 5 ways that you can help support Sounds Like Trouble: A Novel by Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith. Buy the book to read for yourself because she’s a great writer—and buy another to share with a friend. Go here>

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Spread the word and deepen the conversation by pinning this to Pinterest or reposting on Instagram. Share this statement: "I’m reading #SoundsLikeTrouble and these two PIs are the most chaotic duo I didn’t know I needed. Fast-paced, funny, and full of Black brilliance. Get your copy now!"

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Download any material that you need for your page, platform or blog, go here.

Sounds Like Trouble: A Novel by Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith

Sounds Like Trouble - Chapter 1

JACKSON

Despite the pair of armed thugs looming over me, it was a beautiful morning on Venice Beach.

I was seated on the patio of a hip beachfront coffee shop called Drip Drop. The tiny café was part of the carnival-like collage of souvenir shops, fast-food joints, weed dispensaries, psychic parlors, and artist stalls that lined the Venice boardwalk. My loft was just a block away, so on those mornings when I felt like giving my Keurig a rest, I’d throw on some sweatpants and wander down for a freshly brewed cup of vanilla-nut roast.

Prior to the arrival of my two surly visitors, I was sipping my coffee, watching the daily parade of local oddballs on the boardwalk, and strategizing about how to convince my new business partner, Mackenzie Cunningham, to double the furniture budget for our new office.

A little over a week ago, Mac and I received the keys. The 650-square-foot storefront space, located in downtown Culver City, was move-in ready. Unfortunately, Mac and I weren’t ready to move in. The only things occupying our new place were a couple of cheap folding chairs and stacks of file-storage boxes. We couldn’t agree on how to decorate the place. Mackenzie was all about function. A clean and professional look was good enough. I disagreed completely.

Looking successful is just as, if not more, important than looking professional. When clients crossed our threshold, I wanted them to believe we were killing it. That we didn’t need their business. That they’d be lucky to hire us. For weeks now we had visited dozens of furniture stores in search of a happy medium with zero success.

I was determined to have it out with Mac. Somehow convince her to see things my way. At least, that was my plan for today until my two visitors dropped into the Drip Drop.

“Sorry to bother you. Are you Jackson Jones?”

Admittedly, that opener threw me. When I first spotted the two African American men approaching me in designer suits with hip-level gun bulges, I instantly pegged them as professional lawbreakers ...AKA gangsters. Detectives can’t afford Tom Ford and Hugo Boss. What I didn’t expect was polite gangsters. Either way, I knew these brothers were trouble, so I went for a Hail Mary.

“Nope,” I said, shaking my head and focusing on my coffee. “Sorry.”

The two men didn’t budge or take their eyes off me.

I figured the dude who spoke first was the one in charge. He had a perfectly cropped beard and better shoes than his pal, and I was pretty sure his nails were manicured. And although he was the younger of the two—I guessed early thirties—there was an aloof certainty in his eyes, like someone who thought he was untouchable.

“Mr. Jones,” he said, “let’s forgo the games.” His voice was even-toned and measured, with an educated ring. He sounded more like a lawyer than a criminal. “My name is Prentice Willis. My father is Cedric Willis. I’m here on his behalf regarding an urgent matter.”

I was mid-sip when Prentice brandished his father’s name, and I damn near did a spit take. Cedric Willis was infamous. Known on the streets as Big Ced, head of the most powerful criminal organization in LA. Big Ced’s crew didn’t really have a name, but whispers called them the Black Mafia. Even the old-school Italian mob, which had slipped a rung or two over the decades, didn’t screw with Big Ced’s operation. His big black fist had a grip on everything, from traditional rackets like drugs, gambling, and sex trafficking to cutting edge misdeeds like cyber scams and ransomware attacks.

Over the last decade or so, Cedric Willis had launched many legit businesses in an effort to go corporate and rehabilitate his image, but everyone knew that Willis Worldwide was just a facade for a sophisticated and dangerous criminal empire.

I couldn’t imagine what urgent matter had caused Big Ced to seek me out, but the very idea put a knot in my gut. Trying very hard to maintain my cool, I said to Prentice, “I don’t believe I’ve ever met your father.”

“You haven’t. Not yet. That’s why I’m here. He’d like a meeting at his office.”

“About what?”

“All I’m allowed to say is what I’ve already said...it’s an urgent matter.”

“Oh, I see. He’s looking to hire a private investigator.”

“Correct.”

I sighed under my breath and eased back in my chair. I didn’t want anything to do with public enemy number one and now I saw a way out. I frowned and said to Prentice, “Unfortunately, right now I’m moving into a new office, so I’m kind of on a break. If it’s urgent like you say, you might want to find someone else. Sorry.”

I’m not sure Godfather junior heard a word I said, because he didn’t miss a beat. “Mr. Jones, if you know who my father is, and I’m certain you do, then you know on what scale he operates. This could be an enormous opportunity for you.”

“Right, I get that but—” I hit the pause button because of the way Prentice’s sidekick eyeballed me. Not only was he older, but he was also bigger. An ex–football player was my bet. Seeing his jaw tighten and his hands ball into fists instantly told me they didn’t come out to Venice Beach to hear Jackson Jones say no.

“You know what?” I said, changing my tone. “Let’s schedule the meeting for tomorrow. I’m guessing Big Ced—sorry, Mr. Willis—likes to sleep in so, I don’t know, how about eleven a.m.?”

“He’s expecting you now.”

I blinked. “Now? You want me to drive there now?”

“No. There’s a car waiting around the corner. It’s better if you ride with us.”

Time stopped briefly. Then I couldn’t help myself. I shook my head and laughed.

The two men traded looks, then Prentice said, “Something funny?”

“Yeah. I thought Bogart shit like this only happened in movies.”

Prentice, to his credit, wasn’t offended. Instead, he chuckled. “Look, my father just wants to talk. Nothing more. You’ll be perfectly safe. You have my word.”

I don’t know why I would believe the word of a gangster, but the dude sounded like he meant it. Also, to be honest, I was damn curious about this whole urgent matter business. Lastly, Prentice wasn’t kidding about his old man. Cedric Willis wasn’t called Big Ced because he was fat or muscular. No, he earned that nickname because everything Big Ced did, legal or illegal, he did, well...big. Maybe this would turn out to be a straight-up PI gig with a Big Ced–sized payday. Maybe this truly was an enormous opportunity.

“Okay, I’m in,” I said, reaching for my iPhone. “Just let me call my partner so she can meet us there.”

“There’s no need to call Ms. Cunningham,” he said. “That’s being handled.”

I almost laughed at his reference to Mac as Ms. Cunningham. He obviously didn’t know Mac the way I did.

“Um. When you say being handled do you mean like the way you two ran up on me? Just so you know, she isn’t as easygoing as I am. I mean, she might even—”

Prentice held up a definitely manicured hand. “We’re wasting time. Let’s go. My father hates to be kept waiting.”

“Sure.” I left a tip on the table, then exited the patio and followed them.

For an instant I considered taking off down the boardwalk, but then remembered that I was no longer working alone. I now had a partner to worry about and count on. And she had to be able to count on me. Even if I gave these jokers the slip there was no way to be certain what would happen to Mackenzie.

So, yes, I willingly followed two armed criminals to their car.

There’s a popular T-shirt many vendors sell on the Venice boardwalk that warns: Venice Beach, Where Art Meets Crime.

Yeah, tell me about it.

Sounds Like Trouble - Chapter 2

MACKENZIE

Standing at the base of the steepest hill at Kenneth Hahn Park, I was about to embark on my fifth and final sprint. The panoramic view of LA awaiting me at the top was well worth the grueling workout.

This secluded haven, a favorite of true fitness fanatics, was an ideal spot to get a rigorous workout without having to dart around dog walkers and baby strollers.

The park was also my go-to spot for releasing pent-up frustration. And after a week of dealing with Jackson Jones, my agitation meter was inching into the red zone.

While I was still excited about our joint venture, I was exhausted from our epic battles over everything from office decor to billing rates to the name of our new firm. After a stalemate over whose name would go first, we finally settled on Safe and Sound Investigations. A tad mundane, yet charming in its own right.

I stretched my arms high above my head, took a deep breath, then blasted up the hill like an Olympic sprinter. By the time I reached the top, my lungs were on fire. I bent forward, gripping my thighs for support as I gasped for air.

As I rose, a man leaning against a shiny silver Cadillac Escalade several yards away set off some serious red flags. He was not here for a workout. He was casually dressed in a sport coat over a black T-shirt, but there was nothing casual about his hulking demeanor.

I zeroed in on his white leather tennis shoes, clearly crafted for style rather than function. The emblem on the side looked familiar, but even under duress, I couldn’t tell you if the brand was Armani or Adidas. Of course, my snob of a partner would’ve instantly recognized them and bragged that he had two pairs still in their original shoeboxes sitting in a closet three times the size of my kitchen.

As I kept my focus on the WWE wannabe, the SUV’s passenger door opened and a woman emerged. She rounded the car and headed straight for me. Dressed in a black tailored leather blazer, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she was probably in her midforties, but could’ve passed for much younger.

I took a step back, letting her know I didn’t appreciate people getting in my personal space.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“My name is Jada.” She smiled and extended her hand like she wanted to be my friend.

When I left her hanging, she continued, the smile still in place. “Ms. Cunningham, my boss would like to hire you for a job,” she said.

“I’m off today. Have your boss, whoever he is, call my assistant and set up a meeting.”

Before continuing my stroll, I mentally ran through a few Krav Maga moves just in case the pair was looking for trouble. I also surveyed the area. The nearby picnic tables were empty. A handful of walkers were headed toward the bowl-shaped, circular walking path. If something was about to go down, at least there would be witnesses.

“Mackenzie, please wait. My boss is Cedric Willis. He needs to talk to you. Today. Now. We’re here to take you to his office.”

That stopped me cold. Willis was a man you’d call a respectable criminal. For decades, his network of underworld, political, and financial connections shielded him from any repercussions from his myriad of illegal activities. But despite his scary reputation, that didn’t give him the right to summon me to his office like I was one of his underlings.

“Tell your boss I appreciate the gesture,” I said with a chuckle, “but I don’t accept rides from strangers.”

For the first time, Jada dropped her smiley face. “Cedric Willis never accepts no for an answer.”

Her tone was menacing now. Still, I remained unfazed.

“Exactly what kind of job does he want to hire me for?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. But I’ll get you back here in no time,” she said, reverting to friendship mode. “I promise.”

“Give me the address. I’ll drive myself.”

I had no intention of going to meet Willis. Let him make an appointment and come to my office.

“That won’t work,” she said.

My eyes crisscrossed the immediate area. The walkers I’d seen earlier were gone. If Jada instructed wrestler dude to force me into his car, they might just get away with it. I patted the cell phone in the side pocket of my leggings, wishing it was my .38.

I purposely slowed my breathing and forced myself to think rationally. Snatching women off the street was not Big Ced’s MO. It was highly unlikely that they were going to take me to some abandoned warehouse and work me over.

“This is on the up-and-up,” she assured me. “Big Ced needs to talk is all.”

“So where’s this meeting supposed to take place?” I asked as I committed the Escalade’s license plate to memory.

“Mr. Willis’s office downtown. On Fifth Street.”

Strangely, a bit of excitement began to bubble up in my chest. If a mogul like Willis wanted to hire me, the job would probably come with a big paycheck. I’d worked for some seedy people in the past; granted, not on his scale. As long as a gig wouldn’t land me in jail or a graveyard, I was usually game. A smile eased across my face. I was going to love showing Jackson up by landing our first big case.

“I’ll go with you,” I said, pulling my phone from my pocket. “But I have to let my partner know where I’ll be.”

Just in case he needs to play superhero and rescue me. Jackson would love that.

“No need,” Jada replied. “Mr. Jones is already en route.”

Whoa. I wasn’t sure if that little tidbit was reason for relief or concern. Either way, Jackson should’ve given me a heads-up.

Jada walked over to the Escalade and swung open the front passenger door. “You can ride shotgun.” She flashed me another faux smile.

Ignoring her, I reached for the handle of the back door. I needed to keep an eye on my two escorts.

“I’ll go with you,” I said, climbing inside, “but I prefer the view from back here.”

( Continued... )

#TroubleInTheCity, #SoundsLikeTrouble

Excerpted from SOUNDS LIKE TROUBLE: A Novel. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted with permission of the authors Pamela Samuels Young & Dwayne Alexander Smith. Published by Atria Books.

Medium Bio

Pamela Samuels Young is an NAACP Image Award-winning author and former attorney who traded corporate law for crime fiction. After 15 years as Managing Counsel for Toyota, she became a full-time novelist focused on socially-charged legal thrillers. Her novel Anybody’s Daughter tackled child sex trafficking and won top honors. With degrees from USC, Northwestern, and UC Berkeley, Pamela writes stories that both entertain and challenge. Her latest novels include The Law of Karma and Sounds Like A Plan and Sounds Like Trouble, co-written with Dwayne Alexander Smith.

Long Bio

Pamela Samuels Young is an award-winning author and attorney who never waited for permission to write her kind of thriller. Raised in Compton, she went from early dreams to Ivy League law degrees, holding powerful roles at firms like O’Melveny & Myers and later serving as Managing Counsel for Toyota. But that wasn’t enough. Driven to write legal thrillers that reflected her world, Pamela began waking at 4 a.m. to write stories centering Black women and social justice issues.

Now a full-time writer, Pamela has published more than a dozen novels. Her NAACP Image Award-winning book Anybody’s Daughter tackled child sex trafficking with a page-turning urgency that also earned her praise from educators and advocates. Her novels don’t just entertain—they open eyes, taking on subjects like sexting, bullying, and corporate discrimination. Pamela holds degrees from USC, Northwestern, and UC Berkeley, and has worked in journalism, law, and now literature.

Her latest titles include The Law of Karma, Sounds Like A Plan and Sounds Like Trouble, co-written with Dwayne Alexander Smith. A passionate speaker on both fiction and real-world issues, Pamela still lives in the Los Angeles area, sharing her work and voice with readers across the country.

Medium Bio

Dwayne Alexander Smith is a Bronx native and longtime Los Angeles screenwriter with more than two decades of experience writing for major studios like Lionsgate, Sony, and Warner Bros. His debut novel Forty Acres won the NAACP Image Award and is being adapted into a movie backed by Jay-Z. Dwayne has since written several more books, including The Unkind Hours and Sounds Like A Plan, co-written with Pamela Samuels Young, which already has a CBS TV adaptation in the works. His upcoming Audible series KINGSLAND is set to drop in 2025. Sounds Like Trouble will be released in July, 2025.

Long Bio

Dwayne Alexander Smith, originally from the Bronx, New York, has built a 23-year career as a professional screenwriter in Los Angeles. He’s written for major studios such as Warner Bros., Sony, and Lionsgate, carving out a distinct voice in Hollywood. In 2014, he made his debut as a novelist with Forty Acres, a gripping thriller published by Simon and Schuster. The novel went on to win the NAACP Image Award for Best Debut Novel and is currently being adapted into a feature film by James Lassiter, Aaron Kaplan, and Jay-Z.

Since then, Dwayne has published four novels, each gaining traction in both literary and film circles. His 2018 novel The Unkind Hours is also heading to the big screen, helmed by an Academy Award-winning director. His newest book, Sounds Like Trouble, the follow up to Sounds Like A Plan, co-written with Pamela Samuels Young was published by Simon and Schuster. Sounds Like a Plan has already had its TV rights picked up by CBS.

Beyond books, Dwayne continues to innovate in storytelling. His upcoming 10-part Audible series, KINGSLAND, will debut in 2025, proving he’s just as comfortable shaking up audio as he is shaking up cinema.

Enjoy this soundtrack for Sounds Like Trouble—a slick, sexy, fast-moving romantic suspense thriller with mob ties, gunplay, high-speed flirtation, and private investigators who can't stand—or resist—each other.

This playlist blends sultry grooves, smooth jazz, classic seduction, and hip-hop heat with slick beats and lyrical sharpness. It’s thick with tension, flirtation, and streetwise cool—like a car chase through LA at golden hour or a stare-down that ends in a kiss.

Featuring R&B slow burns, cinematic soul, vintage funk, and jazz noir—from Tupac to SZA, Curtis Mayfield to Jay-Z—every track is curated to match the vibe of danger, wit, and undeniable chemistry between Jackson and Mac.

Turn it up. Trouble sounds good.

The novel’s “will-they, won’t-they” vibe ramps up the tension in this lighthearted thriller.

In this follow-up to Sounds Like a Plan (2024), the author duo’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith–like characters are still flirting, still fighting, and somehow managing to get things done.

Dueling private investigators Mackenzie Cunningham and Jackson Jones, rivals in last year’s novel, merge their businesses and set up a new detective agency in Los Angeles in this light and humorous second in a series. The straitlaced Mackenzie and the diva-esque Jackson are like oil and water, but it’s their differences and their squabbles that make them irresistible characters. Despite the fact they want to work together, they can’t even agree on how to decorate their new office.

When the heads of three crime families want to hire them to find documents that threaten their powerful enterprises, Mackenzie and Jackson see it as a job—and a hefty paycheck—they can’t refuse. Their task is to locate the damaging information before its owner, in a coma in the hospital, dies. If he does, the information will be released by his attorney and the mob bosses will go down.

Gun fights, car chases, break-ins, and explosions give the novel its edge. The lively, jousting banter between the main characters is funny and sexy, all the more so because the chapters are alternately written from Mackenzie’s and Jackson’s points of view. Authors Young and Smith ably capture the yin and yang of Mackenzie’s and Jackson’s personalities.

This novel, like its predecessor, may be predictable and a little bit silly, but its strength lies in its winning characters who have agreed to keep romance out of their working lives. Still, readers can’t help wondering how long that will last.