Like Sweet Buttermilk: Dr. Naomi Alexander, Book 1 #1 (HC) (2023)

First-place winner of the Black Expressions Fiction contest, Like Sweet Buttermilk is an erotically-charged exploration of infidelity, murder, and therapy, in a love story revisited.

Psychiatrist, Dr. Naomi Alexander, has a no-nonsense approach to everything--except her personal life. Still mourning her murdered husband, Naomi shares a shameful secret with her daughter.

And for the first time in years, she has an intriguing case ...

Rick Phillips is a successful man leading what seems to be a comfortable married-life with his wife, Viv, and their daughter. Family is everything. But Viv reveals she's seeing someone else--and Rick's determination to make things right again leads him down a disastrous path, changing him from a boring suburban husband into a spontaneous man with an intense, adventurous edge. An edge his wife is steadily warming up to ...

Through marriage counseling with Dr. Alexander, with rounds of surprising disclosure for all in session, Rick and Viv begin to salvage their marriage and events lead to the couple finding renewed passion for each other. Everything is back on track and moving sexily along for the couple as they recapture much of what had been lost recently.

Naomi, however, knows everything is not as lovely as it appears. Rick's irrational devotion to family and recent changes in personality have Naomi worried for Viv's safety. The no-nonsense psychiatrist becomes the reluctant semi-detective, realizing ... Viv may be in danger--from the one person she trusts most.

Ideal for fans of suspense and books exploring the hidden dynamics of interpersonal relationships, Like Sweet Buttermilk, a story of betrayal, deception, and love, probes the emotional boundaries within what appears to be an ordinary marital situation.

About the series:

• Dr. Naomi Alexander, a psychiatrist, is the central and continuing fictional character in several works as she treats patients with varying degrees of psychological stress or trauma (not including her own). Plenty is revealed on her yellow counsel couch. It's mostly painful--but that's what they're there for.
• Diminutive and with a gun close by, Naomi has a working relationship with the distilled beverages, and has a straightforward approach to all things other than her personal life.
• Woven with recurring details unique to the series for fans of a little word-sleuthing, the novels explore perspectives from both sides of the couch, with elements of tension and angst and passion and laughter and interesting snapshots of the human drama that is life--all flavored with gems of music both oldies and goodies, be it R&B, Soul, Classical, Gospel, or others.