Queen Pin

Publisher's Summary. Jemeker Thompson-Hairston paid a heavy price for her involvement in the drug game. Learning from her sources of a federal investigation, Jemeker went on the run. It was love for her young son that brought her back to Los Angeles, even though she knew she would be arrested. A subsequent 12-year sentence would cost her not only her legitimate business and the fortune she'd amassed through the drug trade, but the most precious thing of all: time with her child. But not all was lost. Fortunately, while Thompson-Hairston was serving out her sentence, one pivotal moment helped her turn her life around, setting her on a path to help and inspire others like her.

Review.

Jemeker Thompson-Hairston confesses in the memoir Queen Pin that she used to be:

“A backslider.

Bitter and afraid.

A liar.

Doubting, fearful, judging, and controlling.

A gossiper.

A murderer.

A slanderer.

A complainer.

A cheater.

A thief.

A manipulator.

A lover of money and clothes.

A fighter.

A drug dealer”

Wow! 

In Queen Pin, Thompson-Hairston describes her life as the leader of successful narcotics ring in the 80’s and early 90’s which resulted in her twelve year incarceration and eventual transformation through finding religion. 

To say that the author’s life was the stuff of Hollywood movies is an understatement.  Reading Queen Pin is tantamount to reading a brisk crime novel except it is nonfiction.  The author does a good job of accepting responsibility for her actions and her redemption seems credible.  The only misgiving I had about the memoir was the lack of details, at certain points, when Thompson-Hairston discusses some of the drug deals and incidents stemming from these activities.  I suspect, however, that this is due to personal safety reasons.   

Queen Pin is an exciting, quick, read that you won’t want to put down until you finish it!

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (June 22, 2010), 224 pages.
Advance review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.