Black History Month only lasts for a paltry few weeks, but you can (and should) read Black mystery authors all year long! Here is a month-by-month breakdown of upcoming works, so no one has an excuse to ever plead ignorance again when it comes to diversifying their reading lists. The following list includes a wide variety of subgenres, including cozies, crime fiction, legal thrillers, international thrillers, psychological thrillers, detective novels, historical fiction, romans noirs, urban fiction, and even some YA, because (unsurprisingly) there’s as much variety in crime fiction by Black authors as there is in the genre at large. 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.
(We’ll be updating and redistributing this guide throughout the year, so feel free to let us know about more books we should add to the list.)
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JANUARY
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Kwei Quartey, Sleep Well, My Lady
(Soho Crime)
“Smooth prose complements the well-wrought plot. This distinctive detective series deserves a long run.”
–Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review
Valerie Wilson Wesley, A Glimmer of Death
(Kensington)
“The creator of Newark private eye Tamara Hayle dials back the wisecracks and bumps up the paranormal hints to launch a new series featuring a widowed African American realtor whose workplace is a hot mess.”
–Kirkus Reviews
Rudolph Fisher, The Conjure-man Dies
(Collins Crime Club)
Reissue
“As far as crime fiction goes, The Conjure-Man Dies gets down and dirty in a style more in the American hardboiled fashion than the British country house fashion. And it does seem likely that Fisher, besides reading Agatha Christie, read Dashiell Hammett and other early hardboiled writers.”
–L.A. Review of Books
V.M. Burns, A Tourist’s Guide to Murder
(Kensington)
“Colorful characters and just enough mystery trivia boost the fast-moving plot. Cozy fans are sure to have fun.”
–Publisher’s Weekly
Melanie Raabe, The Shadow
Translated by Imogen Taylor
(House of Anansi)
“Raabe’s previous novels, The Trap and The Stranger Upstairs, have earned her an international reputation as a master of suspense and tension, and The Shadow proves she has no shortage of twisty, brilliant, page-turning ideas to send a shiver down readers’ spines.”
–Open Book
Pamela N. Harris, When You Look Like Us
(Quill Tree Books)
“Harris unapologetically gives voice to the grief that a community can feel when the law fails them, as well as their need to, instead, rely on the hope, love, and power they bring to one another. The strength and endurance of the Black family reverberate throughout this achingly honest debut.”
–Publishers Weekly
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FEBRUARY
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Walter Mosley, Blood Grove
(Mulholland Books)
“Mosley does a fine job highlighting a world of Black survivors who know how difficult their struggle remains, every day of every decade. This marvelous series is as relevant as ever.”
–Publishers Weekly
Delia C. Pitts, Murder My Past
(Bookbaby)
“Rook is a modern, hard-boiled antihero; as the story carries on, he demonstrates ability, humility, decency, and respect and concern for Harlem and its inhabitants…”
–Kirkus Reviews
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MARCH
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Femi Kayode, The Lightseekers
(Mulholland)
“Femi Kayode’s debut novel about an investigative psychologist’s quest to uncover the truth behind the mob killing of three university students is an original and fast-paced thriller which masterfully explores the smoldering historical tensions underpinning modern-day Nigeria, the role of social media, and the complexities of family, friendship and belonging.”
—Lauren Wilkinson, Edgar Award-winning author of American Spy
Abby Collette, A Game of Cones
(Berkley)
“Cozy readers will look forward to the further adventures of Win and friends.”
–Publishers Weekly
Shelly Ellis, The Three Mrs. Greys
(Kensington/Dafina)
“The first book of Shelly Ellis’s new series is saucy, wicked, and a whole lot of fun! The Three Mrs. Greys is a thriller wrapped around three sexy love stories. The wives all have distinct voices, personalities, and agendas. I can’t wait to see what Ellis does with this story in the next book!”
–Samantha Downing, International bestselling author of My Lovely Wife and He Started It
Nadine Matheson, The Jigsaw Man (Hanover Square)
“A deliciously dark cat-and-mouse thriller that pits the best new detective in fiction against a truly menacing killer”
–Kia Abdullah, author of Take It Back
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APRIL
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Sifiso Mzobe, Young Blood
(Catalyst Press)
“This debut novel is a compelling journey through the underbelly of the streets of Umlazi Township, Durban, and marks the arrival of a fresh new voice on the South African literary scene.”
–Mbali Vilakazi, Cape Times
Kiki Swinson, Public Enemy #1
(Kensington)
“Edgy street fiction with an extra dose of suspense…”
–MadameNoire
Karla Holloway, Gone Missing in Harlem
(Triquarterly Books)
Holloway brings her period, place, and people alive and provides as a bonus a most unexpected culprit.”
–Kirkus Reviews
Cate Holahan, Her Three Lives
(Grand Central Publishing)
“Her Three Lives is a page-turned filled with betrayal and surprises. Cate Holahan just keeps getting better and better. Read her.” –Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author.
Noel Obiora, A Past That Breathes
Rare Bird Books
“Noel Obiora’s debut, A Past that Breathes, pits two untested criminal lawyers against each other, entangling them in danger, passion, twists and turns right to the end. The trial challenges not only the lawyers and the jury, but also the reader to examine how crimes, suspects and motives look different through the lens of racial bias.”
–Susan Henderson, author of The Flicker of Old Dreams
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MAY
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Stephen Mack Jones, Dead of Winter
(Soho Crime)
“Like Walter Mosley and Joe Ide, Jones builds a raucous and endearing cast of characters from his inner-city setting, fusing neighborhood camaraderie with streetwise know-how and head-banging action. This is a fine thriller in the grand hard-boiled tradition, but it’s also a sensitive, multifaceted portrait of race in America.”
–Booklist, Starred Review
Stacey Abrams, While Justice Sleeps
(Doubleday)
“Stacey Abrams is a true novelist, and While Justice Sleeps is a first-class legal thriller, favorably compared to many of the best, starting with The Pelican Brief, which it brings to mind. It’s fast-paced and full of surprises—a terrific read.”
–Scott Turow, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Presumed Innocent and The Last Trial
Rivers Solomon, Sorrowland
(MCD)
“Sorrowland delivers! Black Power cults. Government conspiracies. Post-Human transformations. A mother willing to defy everything and everyone—even nature itself—to protect her family. Rivers Solomon has once again created an engrossing, emotional, and original read with pages that demand to be turned. The writing is visceral and soul-clenching. The characters–bold, creative, and memorable. The action, heart-stopping. This is imaginative storytelling at its finest. Once I started, I could not put down Sorrowland until I reached the end. And then I wanted more!”
–P. Djèlí Clark, author of Ring Shout
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JUNE
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Zakiya Dalila Harris, The Other Black Girl
(Atria)
“A thrilling, edgier Devil Wears Prada that explores privilege and racism.”
–The Washington Post
Nekesa Afia, Dead Dead Girls
(Berkley)
“The start of an exciting new historical mystery series set during the Harlem Renaissance from debut author Nekesa Afia”
-From the publisher
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JULY
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S.A. Cosby, Razorblade Tears
(Flatiron)
“A fast-paced, fresh take on noir…”
—New York Times
Shanora Williams, The Perfect Ruin
(Dafina)
“You’re going to pick a side, make no mistake. And then you won’t put it down until you know the truth. A shocking, sensual thriller with sharp twists.”
–Tarryn Fisher, New York Times bestselling author of The Wives
Charlotte Carter, Rhode Island Red
(Vintage Crime)
Reissue
“Rereading the out-of-print Rhode Island Red twenty-one years after it was published, I was struck with how perfectly Carter captured pre-gentrification New York City, when young artists could still afford to live by themselves in Manhattan, dive bars thrived, and interlopers weren’t walking on the wrong side of the sidewalks with their dogs and baby carriages.”
–Michael Gonzales
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AUGUST
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Rachel Howzell Hall, These Toxic Things
(Thomas and Mercer)
“It’s a feat to keep high humor and crushing sorrow in plausible equilibrium in a mystery novel, and few writers are as adept at it as Rachel Howzell Hall.”
–Washington Post
Aya de Leon, Queen of Urban Prophecy
(Dafina)
“De León brings feminism, racial equality, and page-turning entertainment”
–Booklist
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SEPTEMBER
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Colson Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle
(Doubleday)
“[Whitehead] is a splendidly talented writer, with more range than any other American novelist currently working—he can be funny, lyrical, satirical, earnest—whatever is needed by the work.”
–George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo
