Publication Date February 24, 2026
I admit to being sort of a true crime fan…ok, more than sort of, but perhaps I am just old and out of touch…or not the demographic for whom things like this are created. But I confess I have been totally unaware of BMF – both the organized crime group as well as the TV series (on STARZ for at least four years), or any of the rap songs with that name. In case you are as out of it as I am, here’s a bit of the Wikipedia entry under BMF: “The Black Mafia Family (BMF) is a drug trafficking and money laundering organization in the United States. It was founded in 1985, in Southwest Detroit, by brothers Demetrius Edward “Big Meech” and Terry Lee “Southwest Tee” Flenory. By 2000, it had established cocaine distribution sales throughout the United States through its Los Angeles–based drug source and direct links to Mexican drug cartels.The Black Mafia Family operated from two main hubs: one in Atlanta for distribution, run by Demetrius Flenory; and one in Los Angeles to handle incoming shipments from Mexico, run by Terry Flenory.”
Reading some publicity for a new book about the organization in general and the woman at the head of it all, I was curious. “How did a nice middle-class girl from Detroit become one of the top cocaine distribution Mafia Queens in America? It wasn’t because of the drugs. By the time Tonesa Welch was running her criminal empire—distributing thousands of kilos from Mexican cartels for tens of millions of dollars a month nationally—she had conquered her addiction to cocaine and replaced it with a new one: shopping.”
Tonesa was eventually sent to prison for money laundering and had to rebuild her whole life. Told by people with insider knowledge of the Black Mafia Family, it is full of revelations about how Tonesa went from blaming everyone else for her many problems to working her way back. It is told from two points of view: hers and that of her youngest son Corey. Sure to be enjoyed by fans of true crime, the TV series, stories of recovery and redemption, and anyone who is curious about the whole drug business. It’s scary, entertaining, and definitely not aimed at a retired librarian age 70+. Four stars, and thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley.