The Scammer
Tiffany D. Jackson
Quill Tree Books
Published October 7, 2025
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About The Scammer
A ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, following a freshman girl whose college life is turned upside down when her roommate’s ex-convict brother moves into their dorm and starts controlling their every move.
Out from under her overprotective parents, Jordyn is ready to kill it in prelaw at a prestigious, historically Black university in Washington DC. When her new roommate’s brother is released from prison, the last thing Jordyn expects is to come home and find the ex-convict on their dorm room sofa. But Devonte needs a place to stay while he gets back on his feet—and how could she say no to one of her new best friends?
Devonte is older, as charming as he is intelligent, pushing every student he meets to make better choices about their young lives. But Jordyn senses something sinister beneath his friendly advice and growing group of followers. When one of Jordyn’s roommates goes missing, she must enlist the help of the university’s lone white student to uncover the mystery—or become trapped at the center of a web of lies more tangled than she can imagine.
My Review
I’m posting about a lot of books that are my first time reading books by authors this week, and this is no exception. Tiffany D. Jackson has been on my reading list for a LONG time, but I finally managed to read one of her books.
And, wow. You know that feeling on a roller coaster, where you’re being propelled upward, and you know the fall is coming any minute? That’s how it felt reading this book. It’s called The Scammer, and the back cover copy offers some pretty strong clues about what kind of story this is, so I had no reason to be surprised by Devonte’s behavior. But I felt like I wanted to jump between him and those girls, or at least to tell Jordyn to listen to herself so many times.
It was easy to feel Devonte’s magnetism, both in how people responded to him and in the way his character was written. While I wanted Jordyn to escape, I also felt how affected she was by his words and ideas.
I thought it was a really interesting choice to set the story on an HBCU campus. This posed some interesting questions and introduced ideas that a different setting may not have centered as easily.
The story is timely and bold. Jordyn’s hunger for connection with her peers, especially her roommates, was so powerful. Her grief was also easy to sense. The balance between the mystery/suspense elements and the romance was perfect. I felt like both fit well within the story.
I’m a huge fan of this author now, and I want to read everything else she’s written. I think I already own several more of her books, so hopefully I’ll get to those this year.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 16 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty frequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex. One character tells another that their family abused them, even if they don’t remember it.
Spiritual Content
One character shares some brief information about her Christian faith. Another character directs others to refer to him as a god.
Violent Content
References to death by suicide (happens off-scene). Some scenes show domestic abuse and a group attacking one person at another’s direction. References to gun violence resulting in death.
Drug Content
Some scenes show teens (college students) drinking alcohol. Someone drugs another person’s drink.
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