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Notorious #3

Murder Was the Case

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In the third book of the riveting Playing Dirty/Notorious series, defense attorney Yoshi Lomax finds herself caught up in a ruthless power struggle that could end on the other side of the bars. Using her keen skills to outsmart her opponents has never been a problem for Yoshi, but with a new man by her side and new tests to endure, Yoshi must use her talents in new ways to defeat the chaos.
She soon finds herself in yet another dilemma, where bodies are surfacing and drama seems to be the only thing on the menu. Amid all this turmoil, Yoshi is confronted with the question of which side of the law she has to be on in order to stay alive.

278 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 26, 2012

22 people are currently reading
980 people want to read

About the author

Kiki Swinson

85 books939 followers
Kiki Swinson was born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia. She discovered her flair for writing after completing her first novel, Mad Shambles, while serving a five-year sentence at a federal prison.
After being released in December 1996, Kiki later went on to self-publish Mad Shambles. Her passion for writing didn't stop there. Writing feverishly into the wee hours of the night, she completed her second novel, Wifey, which was published by Melodrama Publishing. After the success of Wifey, Kiki penned the sequels I'm Still Wifey and Life After Wifey, as well as The Candy Shop and A Sticky Situation.

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5 stars
138 (55%)
4 stars
62 (24%)
3 stars
38 (15%)
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5 (2%)
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7 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for Delonya.
698 reviews20 followers
December 28, 2012
Out of the frying pan and into the fire...


Yoshi Lomax is in hot water having been arrested for the murder of a federal agent. Her status as an attorney only gives her a better understanding of exactly how much time she's currently facing. However by novel's end the murder case is going to be the least of her problems. Yoshi finds herself in several precarious situations being subjected to all types of depravity. Having not read the previous books in the series Playing Dirty and Notorious I was unable to determine if Yoshi was the innocent victim that she portrayed herself to be or was karma for some past transgressions rearing its ugly head?


Author Kiki Swinson provided enough information whereas readers like myself could still follow along without having read the prior books. Background information was relayed without any tedious rehashing of books one or two. A common pitfall that some authors make when penning sequels. The only issue that I found was the ending was too ambiguous leaving a major issue unresolved. That ambiguity makes it unclear if a sequel is forthcoming or if this is in fact the final installment. All things withstanding Murder Was The Case is an action filled novel easily recommendable to readers of Playing Dirty and Notorious.


Final Rating 3.5 Stars
Delonya Conyers
ARC Book Club Inc.
Profile Image for Tynika Reads 🌺.
318 reviews12 followers
Want to read
December 12, 2015
This was the best book out of the trilogy!! I couldn't put this book down it's filled with action from the beginning to the end!! The ending left me speechless...I hope that's not how yoshi goes out after all she's been through, I hope there will be a part 4 to this story!!
Profile Image for Queen Readers.
54 reviews30 followers
November 11, 2012


It was a good read all though Yoshi pissed me off a few times but it was good I enjoyed it a lot
Profile Image for Tiarra.
209 reviews5 followers
June 5, 2013
Yoshi couldn't catch a break for nothing first she gets framed for killing her best friend then she gets kidnapped by Lamar and sold to be a sex slave got shot then rescued only for her to die anyway i wish the story would have had a happy ending tho
Profile Image for ConSonia .
335 reviews7 followers
December 23, 2012
This book was a great ACTION PACKED MOVIE.. Hate that it had to end and I wanted a different ending but thats KiKi for ya..
41 reviews
January 12, 2013
This book pissed me off the stuff men did to Yoshi was very degrading the ending was crap I wanted more
Profile Image for Monique.
1,815 reviews
December 30, 2012
I've never read anything like this before...the violence, sexual abuse, and drama was on crack. There was always something going on just a little too over-the-top. Yoshi was a lawyer that got caught upon the wrong side of the law. Then she was included in a break out, murder and so much more. Just when you think she will make it out some more crap happens.

A strong parental guidance, extreme sadistic sexual warning along with the regular urban lit advisory should be prominently place on this book. Even though the descriptions were disturbing I couldn't stop reading. Fast paced and easily keep my attention. However, this is NOT a book for the faint of heart as this read is straight up gangsta to the tenth power. Reader beware.
Profile Image for Nichelle Askew.
9 reviews1 follower
April 14, 2015
Another winner by Kiki. Jus hated it had to end that way
2 reviews
June 15, 2025
🤬🤬🤬🤬

When I was a teenager I only got a chance to read the hardcover copy of first book in the series Playing Dirty. I loved it and was upset I didn't have the rest and was left hanging for years. I could only ever remember the name of the character Yoshi Lomax! So when I finally find all the books and read them just for yall to kill the bitch in the end pissed me offed. Kiki how are you going to put her through all of that just to die in the end. I mean you didn't even wrap up some of the damn storylines you had going on in the books. Whatever happened to her family from Virginia and why does this book series give me tyler perry vibes. Don't get me wrong I know that Yoshi did alot of underhanded dirt and was very selfish and she did deserve to die..... in the first book! How you gone convert her from a cold hearted bitch lawyer to a bougie ass fugitive to damn near a saint I'm the very last book and that's when you want to kill this bitch I didn't even get to find out what the hell was up with Lamar was that mf butt hurt that she didn't want him and that's why he sold her and did he and the psycho get away to where there was no extradition. And why the hell would Sheldon still send mfs for her if she exposed the plot to set her up to them when she was working with her lawyer from the competing law firm when they were taking them down. To sum it all up I am truly pissed off! To be honest if these books were for free reading in my kindle unlimited I wouldn't trip or bother to leave a review BUT I paid for all 3 of these damn books just to get some bullshit. Kiki I truly have nothing against you personally but I will never pay for another book of yours again honey I love to read books I always have and this truly disappoints my soul I really thought this story was getting somewhere near a somewhat happy end but this was not it honey! I know you may not care of my opinion but I'm going to give it because I paid for this! I think you should talk to or read some books from other authors in your genre field like K. Renee she is awesome also Carl Weber I don't like all his stuff but he still knows how to tell story. No one has that much bad shit happening to them like you wrote this story!
Profile Image for Sheila Takyi.
59 reviews
March 27, 2020
I had this book for a month and I just decided to read it. I should of read this book asap. This book started and ended great. It had a great story line. I got very frustrated and excited at the same time. My emotions was everywhere. I cant wait to read book 2 and 3. Yoshi you are a bad Bitch!
74 reviews
February 12, 2021
This book was awesome I have to say wow Yoshi went through a lot. From becoming a big time lawyer to being on the run then sold into sex slavery. Girl been through a lot.
148 reviews
June 4, 2024
book 4

True gangster story just waiting on the 4th book. I just know she didn’t die, there’s a twist to story
Profile Image for Bri Richardson.
9 reviews5 followers
October 8, 2019
This is one of the best trilogies I have read thus far!I’m going to be honest, the second book to this series kind of threw me for a loop because it had such a slow start and a sloppy ending. But the author definitely makes up for it in this third book with intense suspense that had me holding my breath for air throughout 90% of the time of me reading. All in all, this book conveys the power of karma and promises being kept to a severe extent that causes pride to be put aside and a lot of lives to be lost. I loved how the author educated the reader on crooked, government semantics as well as human trafficking and how dangerous of a game it can be. As a woman who lives in liberal country, it’s easy to forget the simple freedoms that were gifted by many who have sacrificed their own personal freedoms/lives for generations ahead of them. With that being said, I am so grateful for the freedoms I have today and have learned from this book to always stay humble or get humbled.
Profile Image for Dee Cherry.
2,945 reviews72 followers
August 1, 2014
This was the final book of the Notorious series & it was very shocking to say the least. Yoshi's situation went from unimaginable to unbelievable after she left the Virginia prison with the US Marshalls. Already in trouble with authorities, her situation continued to go downhill with each passing moment. From fugitive to sex slave she experienced acts that one could not imagine even in their worst nightmare. In the end, the person she feared the most made good on his promise.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1 review
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November 11, 2012


Please help I just installed this app and I can add books to my shelf but I can't read them someone please help me out!!!!!!
Profile Image for Gina Harris.
261 reviews8 followers
April 29, 2013
I could not put this book down! It was riveting from cover to cover! Poor Yoshi!!! I read it in one day!!!
Profile Image for Calientell .
43 reviews1 follower
August 30, 2014
A kiki page turner at its best!!!!
Non stop action from start to finish.
Bravo bravo.
An awsome story of sex, love, betrayal.
Profile Image for Juanita.
99 reviews8 followers
February 23, 2015
I read this and I'm.mad what started out good should have gotten great but I'm not happy with the ending and I'm glad I got the best of this author Yeats ago I hope the other series.don't slack off
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

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