As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, it’s the perfect season to pour a hot toddy, don your Snuggie, and disappear into a page-turning mystery or thriller that keeps you up far too late. This fall’s selections, brought to you by Queer Crime Writers, reveal fascinating trends: queer crime novels are increasingly unafraid to wade into political waters overtly, from anti-LGBTQ+ legislation to the machinations of power itself. They also burrow deep into the psychological, exploring guilt, secrecy, and identity, while wielding humor as a shield and a scalpel. Whether historical, noir, or darkly comic, these books remind us that crime fiction is at its best when it exposes not just who did it, but why we hide what we do.
Crime Ink: Iconic, Edited by: John Copenhaver & Salem West
Pub Date: September 2
A 2023 study of thirty leading crime anthologies found that of 517 published stories, fewer than one percent were written by LGBTQ+ authors. Crime Ink: Iconic, co-edited by Bywater Books publisher Salem West and award-winning novelist John Copenhaver, seeks to redress that imbalance. Drawing inspiration from queer icons including James Baldwin, Radclyffe Hall, Candy Darling, Oscar Wilde, Megan Rapinoe, and Laverne Cox, the anthology features a powerhouse lineup of contributors such as Robyn Gigl, Margot Douaihy, Katrina Carrasco, Ann Aptaker, Greg Herren, and Cheryl Head. Together, these writers deliver a vibrant showcase of how queer voices are reshaping the boundaries of contemporary crime fiction.
Cathy Pegau, A Murderous Business: A Harriman and Mancini Mystery
Pub Date: September 16
In 1912 New York, determined businesswoman Margot Baxter Harriman fights to keep her late father’s company, B&H Foods, afloat. When she finds his former assistant dead beside a half-written confession, she turns to private investigator Loretta “Rett” Mancini for help. Rett, who took over her father’s detective agency after he became increasingly forgetful, agrees to go undercover at the factory. As the two women uncover layers of deceit and corruption, their partnership deepens into something more. Pegau’s historical mystery pairs wit and tension, exploring ambition, loyalty, and forbidden connection against the backdrop of an era that left little room for women to lead—or to love freely.
Lev Rosen, Mirage City: An Evander Mills Mystery
Pub Date: October 7
In 1950s Los Angeles, private investigator Andy Mills is summoned from San Francisco to help the Mattachine Society locate missing members of the fledgling queer rights group. The search turns perilous when the trail leads to a psychiatric clinic run by his estranged mother. As Andy navigates Hollywood’s glittering façades and the shadows behind them—drugs, deceit, and covert identities—he must confront old wounds and mounting danger. Mirage City, the fourth entry in Lev Rosen’s acclaimed Evander Mills series, brings noir intrigue and emotional depth to a story about secrecy, survival, and the costs of truth in a world that refuses to see it.
Tom Ryan, We Had a Hunch
Pub Date: October 14
In 2000, the small town of Edgar Mills, Massachusetts, became obsessed with its so-called Teen Detectives—a pair of twin sisters, Alice and Samantha VanDyne, who helped their sheriff father crack a drug ring, and a tech-savvy boy, Joey O’Day, who exposed an online scammer. Their friendly rivalry made them national sensations, landing on talk shows and magazine covers. But the story took a dark turn when a string of murders led to the brutal deaths of Sheriff VanDyne and Alice’s boyfriend at the hands of a killer known as the Janitor. Twenty-five years later, the surviving detectives—now grown and estranged—are pulled back together when a new murder bears the Janitor’s unmistakable signature.
Ann Aptaker, Gold for the Dead: Cantor Gold Crime Series 7
Pub Date: October 14
In late-1950s New York, art thief and smuggler Cantor Gold hunts the killer of her close friend, bookmaker Nick Fortunato. With suspects ranging from Nick’s right-hand, the gorgeous Abbey O’Brien to gambling queen Sylvia Georgiadis, Cantor plunges into the city’s underworld of risk and betrayal. Aided by her assistant Judson Zane, getaway driver Rosie Bliss, and mentor Esther “Mom” Sheinbaum, she races to uncover the truth while evading the NYPD’s scrutiny. In her seventh adventure, Cantor navigates the fine line between loyalty and survival, love and danger, in the period-noir style for which the series is known.
Rick R. Reed, Jealous of the Clouds
Pub Date: October 25
Ted Cornish believes he’s found love with Joshua Kade—until a true-crime podcast reopens the unsolved murder of Josh’s ex, Reggie Baker. A decade earlier, Reggie was found stabbed to death in a Chicago alley, and though Josh was never charged, the rumors never faded. Now, podcaster Bailey Anderson is investigating the case, and new evidence begins to point directly at Josh. As Ted reexamines their relationship, unsettling memories of jealousy, control, and flashes of rage resurface. But Bailey harbors secrets of his own, and as the truth comes to light, Ted must decide whom to trust before history repeats itself in this psychological thriller.
Austin Thomas Burton, Shelter 6
Pub Date: October 21
When Drew returns to his quiet Oklahoma hometown, he expects monotony—until he hears rumors of a secret gay cruising spot deep in the woods. Curiosity turns to fear when a body is discovered nearby. As suspicion ripples through the conservative town, Drew becomes both investigator and suspect, forced to confront old grudges, dangerous desires, and long-suppressed truths. Burton’s debut blends mystery and psychological tension, tracing the impact of secrecy and identity in a close-knit community where everyone knows your name—and some will do anything to keep their secrets buried.
Marshall Thornton, A Winter of Discontent for Henry Milch
Pub Date: October 28
In the fourth Wyandot County Mystery, Henry Milch’s life is turned upside down when his mother vanishes, leaving him to care for his infant sister. Between bottles and bedtime, Henry takes on his first case as an investigator for PI Hamlet Gilbody looking into a woman suing a local winery. But when the woman’s body is found dumped outside the tasting room, the small-town scandal explodes into something far darker. Balancing family, work, and danger, Henry must untangle a web of secrets before the killer strikes again and before his fragile new life unravels completely.
Michael Craft, Not Our Crowd, Darling
Pub Date: November 1
For years, Meghan Auric has lived in seclusion in her penthouse overlooking the Great Plains, distancing herself from a past marked by betrayal. When a special election threatens to expose long-hidden truths, she is drawn back into public view to confront events from twenty-five years earlier. As political tensions rise and personal history resurfaces, Not Out Crowd, Darling examines the intersection of power, secrecy, and consequence, exploring the price of ambition and the struggle to reconcile with one’s past.
Ronica Black, The Secrets of Rhydian Hill
Pub Date: November 1
After catching her girlfriend cheating, Dr. Gianna Walford leaves city life behind for the seaside town of Cliffside, Oregon. Embracing small-town medicine, she makes house calls and builds trust with her patients—until she meets the guarded and magnetic Kiera Davenport. Gianna’s curiosity draws her closer, unaware that Kiera is really Jenny McAllister, a woman living under a false identity after witnessing a murder. As attraction deepens, danger follows. The Secrets of Rhydian Hill intertwines romance and suspense in a tale of reinvention, risk, and the blurred line between who we are and who we pretend to be.
