Excerpt from THE ROARING RIDLEYS by K.M. Colley:
Chapter 1
Amelia Ridley
The grandfather clock’s gold hands struck half past four. Yet at 4:37 p.m., it was the seven that stood out in that time more than anything to her. It had been seven years since the public had seen Amelia, the Ridleys’ eldest daughter, and the rest of her siblings together in one room. Still, that seven wasn’t even the worst of it. It was now seven minutes and counting. Her insufferable youngest sister, Kavita, was late for their solo press interviews.
The garden room was stuffy that evening, with a heavy cloud forming in the room, not from the summer heat, but the hovering words that each might say. The members of the press cleared their throats, some coughing, trying to avoid the impending silence that kept aimlessly dragging on.
Father had insisted that each of them had to do an interview with the press in their sacred place, their home. This confused Amelia to no end, and she wondered why their father had invited the vultures into their safe haven, ready to tear into her and her siblings’ flesh, regurgitating and twisting each word they said to every gaping mouth, widened eye, and listening ear in New York. Nonetheless, they never argued with Father. What he said went, no matter how they felt.
The Ridley Annual Summer Gala was now also an engagement party for Kavita. No one knew this but the family. Well, her siblings had no idea Kavita was even engaged until, as of five hours ago, Father made a mandatory announcement, gloating that, finally, one of his children would be out of the estate. Father and Mother had raised them, especially Amelia and her sisters, to wed to make their family more powerful. That was the name of the game.
This changed everything for Amelia. Not only was she the eldest sister, and still unwed, in the most notorious family of the city, but now her youngest sister, who was completely reckless with scandals to boot, was getting married before her. If she didn’t seem unworthy of marriage before, she definitely took the cake now. It wasn’t because of her looks either. Amelia Rose Ridley was nothing short of stunning by the highest degree.
Her chestnut-brown locks, olive skin tone, and piercing jade-green eyes that seemed to stare into your soul made her a sight to look at. The problem was the words that escaped her mouth, which made her seem like one of those ones. Too bold and brash to be told anything because she always had everything under control, or too blunt when she wasn’t interested in a suitor, scaring them away. That’s the way she liked it anyway. Her on-again, off-again boyfriend since childhood, Jamison Grant, was the only man she would tolerate, but rumor spread that if he wouldn’t marry her, then who in the world would?
Amelia bit the tip of her tongue while rolling her eyes with annoyance as each of her siblings waited for her to do something. That didn’t last long, though, because only one of the interviewers didn’t seem to be taken aback. If anything, his creepy upside-down smile and prominent missing tooth made it clear he took joy in the infamous Ridleys’ disarray.
Dale Caimen, the sleezy head journalist of the famed gossip column Metropolitan Musings in The Manhattan Herald, with a smile as wide as a preying wolf, feinted for any weak moments to report back to his greedy coworkers at the paper. Amelia insisted on calling them the hyenas of New York. His mere presence was an eyesore for her, especially his face, weathered from his two past decades of taunting citizens, but not as much as his daunting burgundy leather briefcase. It was abnormally large compared to the others’ belongings, as they had small journals, fountain pens, and cigarettes hanging from their dry mouths, thirsting for dirt. Dale took notice of Amelia’s face, which was now twisted in disgust.
“So are we supposed to wait all day for the future, miss, or can we get to know more of what each of you has done these last seven years? Other than perfecting your poker faces,” Dale said snarkily.
“Mr. Caimen, since you have so much haste, why don’t you give your counterparts a chance to interview my eager siblings, who have done more in their lives than the fingers you use to write about us, not you.”
Amelia took a side glance of her sister Adesua, who shot her eyes to the door. With that, Amelia bolted out into the hallway, her footsteps echoing louder and louder. She wasn’t sure if her heels were making the sound or if it was the constant strumming of her ever-raised heartbeat.
Mr. Caimen’s laugh echoed from the garden room through the hallways, almost devilish. Amelia wondered if he was mocking Adesua or her brother Wei, but now was not the time to think about them. Kavita, the most important detail, was missing. Usually, her insistence on showing up fashionably late wouldn’t worry, but now this party was all about her. The palms of Amelia’s hands glistened with beaded trickles of water. She tightened her fist, hoping the staff and early-comers passing by would see her somewhat genuine, forced smile. Mr. Caimen was ready for them like they were the most prized possessions at an auction.
Amelia peered through every door, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kavita hiding somewhere like she had as a child, but to her dismay, her youngest sister was nowhere to be seen. She made a swift turn toward the garden, needing a chance to breathe even though the thick air felt trapped inside her. As she turned around to head back into the garden room, he stood there blocking her path.
“Tell me, Amelia, how on earth does Kavita get strung up with a man like Franklin?” Mr. Caimen said, before setting his briefcase down and lighting a cigarette.
Amelia wanted so badly to kick it over and rip up any piece of paper she found in there, sabotaging anything he was working on, just like he had haunted people like her and the rest of high society, but she exhaled every pent-up feeling of wrath, biting her bottom lip.
“Supposedly she found her ways like you find yours snooping into our everyday lives.” She chuckled before continuing. “I guess you do have one thing in common with people like us.”
Dale nodded his head, squinting his left eye before clicking his teeth with his tongue. “Hmm, I suppose so, but we all know your father would rant and rave about how his daughters would always marry the finest of New York, not the gutter class like Franklin. Unless your father and Kavita have something to hide?”
Amelia felt the knot in her throat grow thicker, seeing right through his beady black eyes. She swallowed her fear of the what-ifs with her missing sister and her father, who had more secrets to bear. If she’d learned anything from him, she realized never to let a pawn think he knew your next move.
“Actually, if you did better research with that ostentatious brief- case of yours, you would know my father started from those so-called gutters you speak of. So yes, Franklin is more than acceptable to my sister Kavita, and has more class than you will ever have,” she said with a pleasing head tilt, hoping he would try her once more.
Mr. Caimen cocked his eyebrow, twisting his mouth in near defeat. “If you do say so, darling. I must admit, I have other plans for you Ridleys that are far more entertaining than what any of you could say, but I am rather curious who your father shall name his successor.” He winked at her while she took a shuttered look at his briefcase. Amelia felt her heart stop in that moment. What could be more entertaining than this party? One thing Amelia Ridley didn’t like was not knowing about a scandal. In this case, she knew Mr. Caimen had nothing to speak of them but pure ragged gossip that he would twist to make sure the city’s elite would remain humbled. At this moment, she refused to let him do that.
“Oh, I am quite sure our family keeps food on your table at night,” Amelia said calmly, turning to walk away. “Also, I’ll have you know, if you think you are going to make another headline tearing down my siblings again, you are surely mistaken, Mr. Caimen,” Amelia uttered as she brushed by the journalist, hitting his shoulder.
An hour had passed when Amelia and Adesua heard a sudden blaring of a loud car horn sound off, coming closer to the winding driveway entrance.
“Mellie, I think our little mischievous sister has returned.”
Amelia scrambled toward the window, almost bumping into Adesua to see. There she was, like a stream of sunrays, smiling and giggling, Kavita Marie Ridley, pulling up in her blue Rolls-Royce. Her amber-bronzed skin stood out with her signature warm glow as she excitedly waved to everyone as she parked at the estate entrance. She was nearly hanging from the window. Usually, this would have excited or relieved the two sisters, but not when they had less than two hours until the party started.
“Never mind her, Dusie. I have no time to deal with her games today. Let Mrs. Darla and Mother deal with her. Let’s try on our dresses to see which looks better.”
Amelia tried on dress options as Adeusa slipped on her shoes. Amelia zipped up her sister’s dress and marveled at her look. Adesua had a timeless beauty with her coiled black hair adorned with pearls and crystals. Her onyx skin glistened as the falling sun shone through the window. But as soon as Amelia glanced at the clock, nerves began
to set back in.
Downstairs, the staff and lead maid, Mrs. Darla, rushed to Kavita to help her as she stumbled out of the car. Amelia caught the side-eye Adesua gave her, knowing they should go check on their wild-card sister. They opened up the French doors to the balcony to hear the commotion. Adesua caught a glance and could not contain her laughter.
“My God, she is falling over like a bull in a china shop,” she said as Amelia seethed at the sight of her irresponsible younger sister. All four Ridley brothers, Wei, Omar, Diego, and Henrik, stood on the porch beneath them, sighing as their younger sister failed to climb the steps.
“Dammit, Kavi. How many times do I have to carry you up the stairs? You aren’t a kid anymore!” Omar said as he swooped her up.
She waved her hand at her brother with one hand and dragged ten shopping bags with the other. “Oh, my Mellie! My sweet, sweet Mellie.
I got one helluva dress for ya tonight, hon!”
Omar was annoyed at her antics. “Why don’t you be quiet before Mother and Father find out about this?”
The other brothers had a hoot outside sipping their old-fashioned cocktails.
“Did you see what she was wearing? I’m certain that was a lampshade on her head!” Henrik, the youngest brother, exclaimed before gulping his drink.
Amelia rolled her eyes, listening to the ongoing foolishness her siblings were causing.
“Well, now the party has officially started with Kavi here,” Wei said.
“You know, Omar always says this is the last time he’s helping Kavita, but here he goes helping her again,” Diego remarked. Wei raised his glass in a toast. “To our dear baby sis, Kavi, the life of the party, for better or for worse.”
Amelia met Omar at the top of the steps and brought Kavita to her room. He looked at her, lifting his eyebrows like she wasn’t his issue anymore.
“I don’t understand how Father and Mother let her leave the house after all these stunts she pulls,” Adesua said in amusement.
Wei chuckled with her. “Well, she sure knows how to keep everything lively. You know Father loves to argue with us about watching her.”
The maids and Amelia frantically scrubbed Kavita down. The aroma of alcohol reeked throughout the whole room, prompting Adesua to pour rose and jasmine oils into the water. Kavita started laughing like a madman. Her speech slurred.
“Oh, my sisters, if you coulda seen those dashing men last night, the music was truly electrifying!”
Amelia scoffed at her. “Kavita, at every event, you do this. Do you realize you’re not just affecting yourself but us too? Dusie and I are over this. You are about to be a married woman, supposedly, so act like it.”
Kavita was in another world, making bubble beards. “Well, shucks. I hear ya, Mellie. But I wish you could see how I feel.” Her eyes sparkled lazily as she smiled and started singing, “You know, on a beautiful night like this, I wish I could be a puddle of water from the rain being stepped on because I am invisible. No one would care to bother me . . .” Her voice trailed off. “A nice night of rain will make me feel cleansed.” Her
words hung empty in the air.
“Honey, what on earth are you going on about?” said an apprehensive Adesua with a side smirk of disbelief.
The maids scurried over with Kavita’s scented towel and gold robe as she clumsily jumped out of the bath. Amelia stepped over to her bed and held out a cup of coffee for her sister.
“Yuck, you know I hate black coffee, Mellie! Are you trying to kill me?”
Amelia pressed on with the hot coffee with a downward look. “Kavita, at this point, you have no room to talk. You need to wake up and get it together. We will not have you stumbling around the party like a fool.”
Amelia pulled out the black crystal gown with tulle trim for Kavita to wear.
“And you know what’s crazy, Adesua? You or I would be the ones to get in trouble for letting her come out acting wild like that. Isn’t that right, baby sis? Now, why on earth would you miss our family interview today? You know the press is going to have a field day that we couldn’t even come together for one hour.”
Kavita closed her eyes, hoping it would cause her to vanish. She instead took a few gulps of the bitter black coffee and revolted at the taste. “Oh, did I say how lovely you two look right now?”
“Oh, nuh-uh, you will not get—”
Wei walked in with Omar, following as the eldest brother would, interrupting Amelia before another ruckus broke out. “Kavita, you need to get in line. I’m tired of Mother nearly having an aneurysm over you every day. If you don’t cut it out with your silly antics, your silly fiancé, and every man in New York, will run away from you.”
Kavita let out a scream as if she were a toddler. “And what exactly do you know about getting a partner, huh, Wei? You are always so serious. No one knows how to have fun other than Henrik.”
Henrik and Diego, listening from the next room, began to chuckle. Kavita heard them and slammed the wall twice.
“Well, since everyone is listening, I might as well make a show out of it. Fine, I will sober up for you all. You want me to tap-dance for you too?”
Kavita stood up, waving her hands like a showgirl, and toppled over her feet.
“All of you boys need to leave,” Amelia said with a steady, authoritative voice. “Kavita is in no state to entertain your company. Leave this instant before Father and Mother hear.”
The boys left, with Wei hesitating before finally relenting and leaving the room. Amelia closed the door and locked it for fear of any more shenanigans. She turned to see Adesua rubbing Kavita’s head, as she had fallen fast asleep.
“Okay, we can let her have a catnap. Oh, Dusie, what are we going to do with her?”
“I don’t know, but we need to find Mr. Jenkins to see if he has your—”
There was a light knock on the door. “It’s Mrs. Darla; I was able to take your dress to a local designer earlier to get it fixed. Her name is Ann Lowe, and I think you will be surprised.”
Amelia turned to Adesua with the biggest grin and jumped up and down. The door opened to a dazzling dark-blue silk dress covered in crystals and sequins. Amelia raised her eyebrows, taking in the intricate beading tracing the lines of the dress. She could tell that Ann had sewn on every crystal with love and care. The girls gushed over their outfits and the struggle to dress Kavita. Somehow Kavita had mustered enough energy to apply a small red dot of kumkum at the middle of her forehead, creating the perfect bindi. She still practiced Hinduism, although Father and Mother had them attend the Catholic church. Kavita held that piece of her liking a mixture of both. The Ridley sisters strode to one of the rooms near the ballroom.
The moon ascended as if it were a spotlight on the Ridley estate. Tonight would be an evening of escape, wealth, and the city’s finest. The final preparations were completed, and everyone in New York held their breath, ready to witness a show that only the royal family of the grandest city in the world could deliver. Amelia had a feeling that tonight’s party would be one for the books, unforgettable in every way. She just didn’t know it’d be for all the wrong reasons.
Copyright © 2026 by K.M. Colley
In Jazz Age New York, a shocking murder shatters the privileged life of the city’s most elite family in a propulsive mystery—thriller debut from author K.M. Colley that spans from Harlem to Long Island’s Gold Coast and high society’s glittering world of deadly secrets.
In the glittering world of 1920s New York, the seven Ridley heirs seem to have it all: wealth, status, and protection as the city’s most powerful family. But when notorious gossip columnist Dale Caimen is found dead during their family’s renowned summer soiree, their carefully constructed world begins to crack.
Behind the champagne and jazz, each adopted Ridley sibling harbors secrets that could destroy them. There’s Amelia, the responsible eldest trying to hold it all together; Adesua, whose artistic ambitions in the Harlem Renaissance threaten her family’s expectations; and wild child Kavita, whose dangerous nights in speakeasies may have finally caught up with her.
As the murder investigation intensifies, long—buried tensions surface and family loyalties unravel. Someone knows the truth about the Ridleys—and they’re willing to kill to expose it. In a world where appearance is everything and power comes at a deadly price, the siblings must decide what matters more: protecting the family name or each other.
Mystery Historical [ Thomas & Mercer, On Sale: May 1, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781662536113 / eISBN: 9781662536106 ]
K.M. Colley writes thrillers, contemporary mysteries, and cinematic stories that explore legacy and ambition. Her work often centers around powerful families, glamorous settings, and complex characters. Her debut novel, THE ROARING RIDLEYS, will be published by Thomas & Mercer on May 1, 2026. She is also known as Keturah Maree for her online presence and for her appearances in The Other Black Girl, Queen Sugar, Atlanta, New Amsterdam, along with other hit shows and is a member of SAG-AFTRA. Born in Mobile, Alabama, she’s currently based in Tampa and Philadelphia. When not writing or reading, K.M. enjoys traveling, learning new languages, and building a creative legacy. She’s also passionate about raising her autistic daughter, who dreams of creating her own comic book one day.
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