Here is a month-by-month breakdown of upcoming mysteries and thrillers by Black authors, because Black History Month comes once a year but we should be reading Black authors all year long. The following list features a wide variety of subgenres and crossovers, including cozies, psychological thrillers, detective novels, historical fiction, romans noirs, dark fantasy, and young adult. This list is intended as both a resource and a reminder: there’s tons of good stuff out there. So let’s all get to reading it.
Abby Collette, A Killer Sunday
(Berkley, January 4)
“A deliciously satisfying new cozy mystery series. It’s got humor, a quirky cast a of characters and ice cream. What more could you want?”—V.M. Burns, Agatha nominated author of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery Series
Nikki May, Wahala
(Custom House, January 25)
“Wahala is both great fun and extremely smart in how it captures some of the central issues in modern city living: women’s evolving roles in home and work, interracial relationships and multicultural identity, the current of competition that runs through so many friendships and daily interactions and, most of all, how easily intimacy can morph into enmity.” –Carole Bell, NPR
Brendan Slocumb, The Violin Conspiracy
(Anchor Books, February 1)
“[A] galvanizing blend of thriller, coming-of-age drama, and probing portrait of racism … This flawless debut will do for classical music what The Queen’s Gambit did for chess.” –Booklist
Kristen R. Lee, Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman
(Crown Books, February 1)
“This novel will speak to anyone who has struggled with knowing whether the right thing to do was the right thing for them…A moving and authentic exploration of one young woman’s moral compass.” –Kirkus Reviews
Bethany C. Morrow, Cherish Farrah
(Tiny Reparations, February 1)
“Morrow returns to adult fiction with a chilling thriller about race, class, and female friendship… The shocking ending to this suspenseful novel with a masterfully drawn narrative voice will leave readers breathless.”—Booklist
Andrea Hairston, Redwood and Wildfire
(Tordotcom, February 1)
“Hairston (Master of Poisons) conjures a powerful coming-of-age saga highlighting hoodoo magic and the power of storytelling and set in an alternate 1890s American South…It’s a spectacular feat.” —Publishers Weekly
Barbara Chase-Riboud, The Great Mrs. Elias
(Amistad, February 8)
In early 1900s New York, light-skinned Hannah Elias passes for southern European, brilliantly invests the alimony she receives after divorcing her white husband, and ends up with a fortune and an Upper West Side mansion. Then the police barge in with questions after one of Hannah’s old lovers is murdered. Celebrated sculptor/novelist/poet Chase-Riboud reimagines the life of one of America’s richest Black women; with a 60,000-copy first printing.—Library Journal
Valerie Wilson Wesley, A Fatal Glow
(Kensington, February 22)
“Wesley perfectly captures her protagonist’s emotions, including the lingering melancholy she feels for her late husband. . . . Readers will hope to see a lot more of kind, empathetic Odessa.” —Publishers Weekly
Veronica G. Henry, The Quarter Storm
(47north, March 1)
Praise for Veronica G. Henry’s debut, Bacchanal: “Henry skillfully layers historical realism with fantastic elements to explore the way times of desperation test the ethics of oppressed communities. Henry is a writer to watch.” —Publishers Weekly
Kellye Garrett, Like a Sister
(Mulholland, March 8)
“Agatha winner Garrett (the Detective by Day series) delves into the vagaries of families, fame, and wealth in this insightful, briskly plotted novel…This talented author has upped her game with this one.”—Publisher’s Weekly
Shelly Ellis, Truth, Lies, and Mr. Gray
(Dafina, March 29)
“Saucy, wicked, and a whole lot of fun!” —Samantha Downing, International bestselling author of My Lovely Wife and He Started It
Kosoko Jackson, Survive The Dome
(Sourcebooks Fire, March 29)
“A speculative thriller about personal growth that deals with all-too-real traumas.” — Kirkus
Gary Phillips, One Shot Harry
(Soho, April 5)
“Phillips vividly captures the sights and sounds of the era (jazz and blues on Central Avenue) as well as the ubiquitous racism and police brutality that threatened everyone in the Black community. Ingram emerges as a particularly satisfying, no-nonsense hero.”—Booklist, Starred Review
Andrea J. Johnson, Deceptive Justice
(Agora, April 5)
Praise for Poetic Justice, Johnson’s debut:
“Readers will cheer the plucky Victoria every step of the way.” –Publisher’s Weekly
Alex Jennings, The Ballad of Perilous Graves
(Redhook, June 21)
Since we could not find a review of this one yet to quote from, we would like to add that this book looks really, really good. And perfect for New Orleans lovers!
Nekesa Afia, Harlem Sunset
(Berkley, June 28)
Praise for Dead Dead Girls, Nekesa Afia’s debut:
“In this terrific series opener, Afia evokes the women’s lives in all their wayward and beautiful glory, especially the abruptness with which their dreams, hopes and fears cease to exist.”—The New York Times
Louise Hare, Miss Aldridge Regrets
(Berkley)
“Full of intrigue and tension, Miss Aldridge Regrets is an expertly plotted, beautifully set novel. With every character hiding something, Louise Hare builds the story in a way that is compelling and completely unputdownable.”—Nekesa Afia, author of Dead Dead Girls
Shanora Williams, The Wife Before
(Dafina, July 28)
“This heart-pounding twisty thriller is an unexpected story of suspicion and redemption.”—Cari Dubiel, Twinsburg Public Library (Twinsburg, OH)
Rachel Howzell Hall, We Lie Here
(Thomas & Mercer, July 12)
Praise for Rachel Howzell Hall:
“Rachel Howzell Hall continues to shatter the boundaries of crime fiction through the sheer force of her indomitable talent.” –S.A. Cosby, author of Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland
Juliana Goodman, The Black Girls Left Standing
(Feiwel and Friends, July 28)
From the publisher: “In Juliana Goodman’s powerful young adult debut The Black Girls Left Standing, Beau Willet will stop at nothing to clear her sister’s name.”
Percival Everett, Dr. No
(Graywolf, November 1)
Praise for The Trees: “With a highwire combination of whodunnit, horror, humor and razor blade sharp insight The Trees is a fitting tribute of a novel: Hard to put down and impossible to forget.”—NPR.org
Ousmane Power-Greene, The Confessions of Matthew Strong
(Other Press, December 6)
Praise for Against Wind and Tide:
“Power-Greene’s Against Wind and Tide is successful in engaging the historical literature on emigration and colonization and in revealing the schemes mounted by racist colonizationists and the black and white resistance to the movement.” —Journal of African American History
