Once you begin reading Prayers of the Innocent, you won’t be able to put this book down until you have gotten to the end.

Based on a true story, Prayers of the Innocent tells about the victimization of several young ladies attending historically Black colleges located in the South. Kenneth preys on female college students, gaining their trust before leading them into a world of fraud and prostitution.

Unfortunately Alicia becomes his unwitting victim as she pursued what she thought was an employment opportunity. Kenneth’s elaborate scheme has her opening bank accounts and depositing and cashing checks at different banks. When she confronts him, Kenneth is the oh-so slick talking attorney who assures her that everything is fine. But everything isn’t fine and Alicia finds herself in more debt with a now not-so-nice Kenneth threatening her and forcing her to attend a party with other men and “victims.”

Alicia is stressing hard and she refuses to share her situation with her mother or her boyfriend. She starts skipping classes and sees her once good grades take a nose-dive.

Only when her mother gets wind of a problem—when she gets a letter from a bank showing that Alicia’s account is over $3,000 overdrawn—does Alicia finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Mom is on the case, relentless in pursuit of Kenneth, who turns out to have several aliases.

Author Cynthia Weaks knows what she is talking about as she shares Alicia’s story. As the mother of a daughter who experienced “Kenneth’s” shenanigans, Ms. Weaks took action and also founded a nonprofit corporation, Mad Parent Corporation, to “help expose the potential for fraudulent scams and the offenders who are responsible.” Mad Parent also provides financial assistance to victims.

Prayers of the Innocent is a must-read for parents who are about to send their children to college.

Find out more about the Mad Parent Corporation at www.madparent.org.


If you have a book you would like reviewed, contact Cheryl at csmith@dallasweekly.com