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Mysteries by Black Women to Add to Your Reading List
Kellye Garrett's first novel, Hollywood Homicide, was released in August 2017 and won the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Independent Publisher “IPPY” awards for best first novel. Hollywood Ending, the second book in her Detective by Day mystery series, was chosen as a best mystery of 2018 by Suspense Magazine, Book Riot, and CrimeReads. In addition to being featured on the TODAY show’s Best Summer Reads of 2019, it was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original and a Lefty Award for Best Humorous Novel. She lost both awards, but to really cool people, so it was OK, she swears!
In addition to writing, Garrett currently serves on the national board of directors of Sisters in Crime and is a cofounder of Crime Writers of Color alongside Walter Mosley and Gigi Pandian. Her most recent project is an #ownvoices domestic suspense novel about a woman looking into the overdose death of a onetime reality star found within blocks of her house—her own estranged younger sister.
In addition to writing, Garrett currently serves on the national board of directors of Sisters in Crime and is a cofounder of Crime Writers of Color alongside Walter Mosley and Gigi Pandian. Her most recent project is an #ownvoices domestic suspense novel about a woman looking into the overdose death of a onetime reality star found within blocks of her house—her own estranged younger sister.
Happy Black History Month!
February is a great time to expand your reading lists to include more marginalized voices. Of course, you’d be doing yourself a huge disservice if you only picked up mysteries by Black authors once a year, especially with so many talented authors being published right now: names like Attica Locke, S.A. Cosby, Lauren Wilkinson, Gary Phillips, Alyssa Cole, Nikki Dolson, John Vercher, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Kwei Quartey, Carolyn Wilkins, Elizabeth Wilkerson, Faye Snowden, Femi Kayode, Rachel Edwards, Stacey Abrams, Christopher Chambers, and others.
We’re definitely in a golden era when it comes to #ownvoices crime fiction, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Gar Anthony Haywood’s Aaron Gunner and Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins ushered in a new wave of Black American mysteries in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
And unlike 30 years ago, when the focus was more hard-boiled private detectives and cops, today’s books encapsulate a variety of genres to fit whatever your tastes may be, whether it’s funny Janet Evanovich–esque beach reads like my own Detective by Day series or twisty, domestic suspense like Cate Holahan’s upcoming Her Three Lives.
For this Black History Month, I decided to focus on the first book in a series, specifically ones written by Black American women over the past 30 years. This way, your TBR list will be covered all year long.
I remember the excitement I felt as a Black woman and as a mystery lover when I first discovered each and every one of these series. Hopefully, you’ll find your own joy while reading them.
Neely once accurately described herself as Ginger Rogers to Walter Mosley’s Fred Astaire. Her debut broke barriers as the first Black woman sleuth in almost a century. The story about a heavy-set, deeper-complexioned woman who stumbles across a murder while working as a domestic worker for rich white folks won the Anthony, Agatha, and Macavity awards. She passed away in 2020, right before receiving the Mystery Writers of America coveted Grand Master Award.
(Four books in the series.)
(Four books in the series.)
Taylor Bland was right behind Neely when it came to breaking the glass ceiling. The first in her series introduced us to a Black woman police detective who moves from Chicago to small-town Illinois and looks into a murder witnessed by two homeless children. After she died in 2010, Sisters in Crime created the Eleanor Taylor Bland grant for up-and-coming mystery writers of color in her honor.
(Fourteen books in the series.)
(Fourteen books in the series.)
While Neely tackled the amateur detective and Taylor Bland focused on a cop, Wilson Wesley’s New Jersey-set debut brought much-needed color to the woman private detective genre that first exploded in the ’80s. The first has Tamara racing to uncover who is killing her ex-husband’s sons before her own boy is next.
(Eight books in the series.)
(Eight books in the series.)
Like Neely, Edwards passed in 2020, and also like Neely, she left quite the legacy. Her Mali Anderson series is about a former cop in Harlem who, in the first book, looks into the death of her friend when she finds his body after stopping a child abduction.
(Four books in the series.)
(Four books in the series.)
Thomas-Graham bucked stereotypes with her Harvard economics professor who always stumbles upon a murder while at Ivy League colleges. Her debut focuses on the death of the Black woman who is Dean of Students at Harvard’s Law School.
(Three books in the series.)
(Three books in the series.)
Davis’ series about a Black Jewish bestselling mystery novelist showed that Black women can be the star of fun and lighter amateur detective novels. The first has Sophie looking into a copycat killer when a friend’s murder is a bit too similar to the death scene in one of his films.
(Seven books in the series.)
(Seven books in the series.)
There’s a lot of talk about the successor to Walter Mosley, and in my opinion, Howzell Hall is it. The first in this cop series focuses on a Black woman who must discover what happened to a dead teen found in the closet of an unfinished condo in a gentrified section of Los Angeles.
(Four books in the series.)
(Four books in the series.)
Like Davis, Gordon defies expectations with both her setting and her genre in an #ownvoices mystery novel. A Black American classical musician moves to Ireland on a whim and finds herself helping the ghost of the onetime owner of the cottage she’s staying at clear his name in his wife’s death.
(Five books in the series.)
(Five books in the series.)
Intersectionality is something that’s not addressed enough in crime fiction, which is why Head’s Detroit-set series about a Black lesbian private eye is so needed. The first in the series deals with a missing-person case that leads Charlie to Birmingham, Alabama, and murder.
(Six books in the series.)
(Six books in the series.)
Pitts’ self-pubbed series focuses on a down-on-his-luck unemployed private detective renting a room in a brothel. When a fire at the brothel kills a woman, Rook joins a local detective agency while trying to uncover what happened.
(Five books in the series.)
(Five books in the series.)
Burns’ series about a police detective on leave from the force mixes genres with the fun characters (and recipes!) of a cozy and the more serious investigative focus often found in a noir. In the first books in the series, RJ looks into a house fire that killed a controversial choir director.
(Three books in the series.)
(Three books in the series.)
Collette is a hybrid author whose latest cozy series introduces a woman who just wants her family’s ice cream shop to succeed. Of course, she gets more than she bargained for when she finds a dead body and her dad is the police’s chief suspect.
(Two books in the series.)
(Two books in the series.)
Bonus: Here are three new series by Black American women out in 2021
Richards’ debut is a romantic suspense novel that introduces us to security expert Ryan West, who must keep a hotel CEO safe from the person desperate to find out more about her presumed dead brother.
(Available now.)
(Available now.)
Matthews’ second cozy series focuses on a Georgia librarian who uses her love of research and crime novels to clear her best friend when a dead body is found in a bookstore.
(Available in March.)
(Available in March.)
The first in Afia’s debut historical series focuses on a jaded flapper in 1926 Harlem who reluctantly investigates the murders of young Black women in the city to avoid jail time.
(Available in June.)
(Available in June.)
Fellow fans of mystery, what are some of your top reads of 2020? Share your picks with us in the comments.
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 54 (54 new)
Great list! I have read most of these.I would add:
Do Not Go Gently - By Judith Smith-Levin the first in her Starletta Duvall mystery series.
Death's Favorite Child by Frankie Y. Bailey, the first in the Lizzie Stuart mystery series
Pennywise by Jill Brock, the first in the Odessa and Maggie mystery series.
I'd also add Penny Mickelbury's Mimi Patterson and Gianna Miglione mysteries starting with Keeping Secrets.
Ohhhh excellent list I have read two of the books on this list already and sdding the rest to my tbr I am on a mystery reading surge right now.
Add Tyora Moody she has a Eugeena Patterson mystery series. The first book is Deep Fried Trouble.
Thank you! It was wonderful to see some of these starters again, as well as ones unfamiliar to me. This just makes my TBR list a little more unmanageable, but....
I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'
Thanks for this list. I intend to read Olivia Matthews's Murder by Page One.
Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"I do too and I think most people do. In fact, I rarely even know the ethnicity of the author and given the ambiguity of a lot of names I may not even know the gender of the author. But I expect that the point of this list is to recognize that it is Black history month.
Will add the series by Olivia Matthews. Thanks!
Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"That's awesome that you choose books this way. Happy to share that all these books are also REALLY good so they still fit your requirements. :-)
I'd recommend the Nanette Hayes Mysteries by Charlotte Carter. I read Coq au Vin (the second in the series) a couple of years ago and just loved it. I still need to get the other books & read those.From this list I've only read A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Colette & I'm looking forward to the next in the series. Adding Murder by Page One: A Peach Coast Library Mystery from Hallmark Publishing to my TBR.
Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"I use that criteria too, though I can't know if it's any good before I read it.
However, in all of my high school lit classes and many of the lit classes required to graduate with my CLA degree, most of the chosen authors were white men. So it's wonderful to have help from lists such as this one to see life through eyes different than those who decided all of those curricula.
Mwgrl2000 wrote: ...it's wonderful to have help from lists such as this one to see life through eyes different than those who decided all of those curricula."I agree that it's a fine thing to try to learn what life is like for other people than yourself by reading novels. Though I wouldn't say that this list is the best way to do that; "mysteries by black women" is a tad too specific (and thus limited).
Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"Then chances are your chosen authors will skew white and/or male just because of what gets published and the wide exposure, you'll miss out on a lot of quality books, and your world view will be narrower. You don't know what you're missing out on until you intentionally widen your search!
Greer wrote: "Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"T..."
You're sort of making assumptions here, though. Your comment would make sense if Diane had said that she only reads books that get wide exposure. But, well, she didn't say that. She only said that she reads books that seem good and have interesting subject matter.
You say that she should widen her search, but there's no indication that her search isn't wide already, right?
It's good to recommend diversity in reading, but it's also good to give people the benefit of the doubt. :)
I am touched by your e-mail and bring to our notice about black women writers in this genre. I am from far-off land "India." I had never given a thought as to whether the author's identity. To me, the book is either to my taste or not to my liking regardless of who authored it. Thanks, nevertheless, for making me alert to the women authors in the list.
I love mystery book and if they are a series even better. l didn’t realize how much I was missing. thank you so much for this list. I will most definitely read them
As an African-American woman who aspires to write a mystery novel, I am encouraged by this article. I read widely, but I had no idea that so many women like me had written such works. Thank you for educating me.
Thank you for this wonderful list. I was really saddened to read that three of these women died recently.
Thanks for the list of new (to me) authors. I look forward to reading many of them. I’m always looking for good mystery series.
Great list of new authors to read! Thank you! Please include with the other authors!
Tj wrote: "As an African-American woman who aspires to write a mystery novel, I am encouraged by this article. I read widely, but I had no idea that so many women like me had written such works. Thank you for..."TJ. You should check out our group, Crime Writers of Color. https://www.crimewritersofcolor.com/
We have members in all stages of their career and we are all super supportive of each other.
I am excited about this list. Will start reading them
I would definitely also recommend Attica Locke like others did, and also Kellye Garrett!
Margaret wrote: "I would definitely also recommend Attica Locke like others did, and also Kellye Garrett!"Tina wrote: "Great list! I have read most of these.
I would add:
Do Not Go Gently - By Judith Smith-Levin the first in her Starletta Duvall mystery series.
Death's Favorite Child..."
Those were the three series I thought were missing. I would love another one in the Frankie Y Bailey series.
Great list. Don't forget about Nora DeLoach's Mama mystery series. 8 books prior to her death. 1st book Mama Solves a Murder.
Just want to say thank you to everyone who chimed in, especially those sharing more black woman crime fiction authors! I've discovering some I haven't read myself. Yay!!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Burns, Pitts, and Gordon. Plus, that book by Kyra Davis looks awesome. Thank you for this!
L. G. Davis is good. (Not about detectives but a great thriller all the same.)
Another I would add to this list is Tracy Clark. She has written a four-book so far series about former cop Cass Raines turned private eye in the Chicago. First book is Broken Places. Fourth book Runner is due out in June.
Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"Yes, Diane! This is what I came to write. As a black woman, I am puzzled by why such a list was needed. If there was a similarly titled list featuring white writers...Oh boy.
I like a good mystery and all the authors above are new to me. Great to find some new talent, and as a black woman I am pleased that I have new black female mystery authors to read. Thanks for the recomendations.
Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"Exactly.
Thank you so much 💓 for this list! Have added several authors to my TBR, and checked out a few in streaming audiobook format.
Greer wrote: "Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"T..."
Indeed. The ones most often seen advertised or show up in your bookstore are probably by white people. It is nice to have a list like this because it brings to attention these books that are usually just not as prominently displayed in whatever form you are looking at. I don't usually deliberately look for an ethnicity when I look for a book but usually end up reading one by a white person because that is the majority of what is right in front of you. If the majority in front of me was written by a person of color I would be reading that. That's why I sometimes deliberately look for a book by a particular ethnicity/race (whatever word you want to use) to be exposed to different stories and different povs.
I am so excited to see this list especially with characters that look like me or community. Thanks for putting it together!
Diane wrote: "I choose books by content and quality, not by the gender or ethnic origin of the writer. That, to me, is secondary to the questions 'what is the book about?' and 'is it any good?'"You are depriving yourself of expanding your social and mental horizons by not seeking out points of view not familiar to you - and who says this means you are ignoring quality, hmmm?
I read Blanche on the Lam last year, and really enjoyed.I finished Murder in G Major this month and also really enjoyed - planning to read the rest of the series over the next month.
So many good comment recommendations in the comments, too. Looks like this will be a fun year of new mysteries for me to explore.
Terrific list. Who knew? Thanks so much for bringing these authors to my attention. Seems like everyday I find something new and exciting to explore thanks to recommendations and articles like this on Goodreads. Similar to music suggestions, articles like this take me on a wonderful journey encountering styles I never considered. My currently reading list is out of control, and I'm heading down the rabbit hole again! Hurray!
Imani wrote “ Yes, Diane! This is what I came to write. As a black woman, I am puzzled by why such a list was needed. If there was a similarly titled list featuring white writers...Oh boy.“ that’s the thing though. This list was meant to showcase black authors durning black history month and it’s needed since poc authors are under advertised. White people arent. White people make up most of the most advertised books. There are plenty of lists out there with best books to read that’s nothing BUT white people and white men. Women and poc authors are often underrepresented and under advertised which is why lists like this are great! It helps people find authors they would have otherwise not known.
Thanks for reading. I hope you find your next fave series!