Read These With the Lights On: Black Crime and Mystery Novels We Love
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Let’s face it – real life is hard AF. That’s why a juicy murder mystery can be just the escape from reality we need and a chance to tap into our inner detective. I mean is there anything more satisfying than putting the clues together and identifying the killer before the police can?
With everything happening in the world today, we recommend losing yourself in a good whodunnit every now and then. That’s why we’ve rounded up some of our favorite crime and mystery novels by Black authors we love.
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Apparently that may not have been quite enough aging for Young Sheldon
Set in 1948 Los Angeles, “Devil in a Blue Dress” is one of renowned crime fiction writer Walter Mosley’s best and the inspiration for the 1995 film starring Denzel Washington. The story follows a Black war veteran whose financial prayers are answered when a white man offers to pay him to help find a missing white woman known to hang out in Black jazz clubs.
“Blanche on the Lam” by Barbara Neely
The first novel in Barbara Neely’s Blanche White series, “Blanche on the Lam” introduces readers to Blanche White, a Black housekeeper working for rich families in North Carolina. But when she becomes the prime suspect for a murder she didn’t commit, Blanche is forced to use her wit and her connections with other domestic workers to help uncover the truth and save herself.
“Black Water Rising” by Attica Locke
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist in the Mystery/Thriller category, “Black Water Rising” is the first book in a series centering around Jay Porter, a struggling lawyer who uncovers dangerous secrets after saving a woman’s life.
“Hollywood Homicide” by Kellye Garrett
Kellye Garrett’s “Hollywood Homicide” was named one of BookBub’s “Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time.”
All of the buzz around Hollywood’s award season comes to a halt when a popular publicist is killed. Now Dayna Anderson, an actress turned private investigator, is out to find her killer. But everything changes when she discovers that what everyone believed to be a robbery-gone-wrong was actually something way more sinister.
“American Spy” by Lauren Wilkinson
“American Spy” got big props from Former President Barack Obama, who included it on his 2019 summer reading list. The story centers around Marie Mitchell, a young Black FBI intelligence officer who gets the chance of a lifetime when she’s asked to join a secret task force looking to take down the revolutionary president of Burkina Faso. But although she signed on to the mission, she secretly admires him and finds herself in a messy situation that leaves her with questions about her identity and her allegiances.
“Broken Places” by Tracy Clark
In “Broken Places” we meet Cass, a former Chicago police officer starting over as the head of her own private investigation agency. And she’s out for justice as she tries to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of her friend and father figure, Father Ray Heaton, who is found murdered in his church.
“We Lie Here” by Rachel Howzell Hall
“We Lie Here” follows TV writer Yara Gibson who is back in her hometown for her parents’ anniversary party. But things get weird when she receives a mysterious text from Felicia – a woman claiming to be her mother’s childhood friend, who says she has life-changing information. Before Yara can meet with Felicia, her body is found floating in a lake. But she left behind a key to a remote cabin containing secrets that leave Yara with more questions than answers.
“Glory Be: A Glory Broussard Mystery” by Danielle Arceneaux”
The New York Times Book Review called Danielle Arceneaux’s debut “Glory Be” a Best Crime Novel of the Year. Set in the Louisiana bayou, the book introduces us to amateur sleuth Glory Broussard, who has just learned that her best friend, a well-loved nun in the community, has been found dead in her apartment. The police think it’s a suicide, but Glory belives there’s more to the story and launches an investigation of her own.
“Three-Fifths” by John Vercher
In “Three-Fifths” we meet Bobby Saraceno, the son of a white mother and a Black father he doesn’t know who has lived his life hiding the truth about his identity. But when his best friend comes home from prison a racist and assaults a young Black man, Bobby knows his secret could put him in danger. And the stakes get even higher when Bobby’s father comes into the picture after 20 years.
“The Striver’s Row Spy” by Jason Overstreet
“The Striver’s Row Spy” is a stunning crime novel set during the Harlem Renaissance. When Sidney Temple is chosen to be the FBI’s first Black agent, he sees an opportunity to get justice for people who look like him. But he finds himself in a dangerous situation when he chooses to use his talent to obstruct the agency’s biased investigation into Marcus Garvey and give W.E.B. DuBois insider information.
“My Sister, The Serial Killer” by Oyinkin Braithwaite
If a story that centers around a murder can be funny, “My Sister, The Serial Killer” is it. Korede is trying to help her sister Ayoola after her third boyfriend is killed at the hands of Ayoola’s knife. And after she helps move the body and clean up the mess (without getting credit), Korede realizes she’s had enough when the handsome doctor she has her eyes on asks for her sister’s number.
“Murder in G Major” by Alexia Gordon
“Murder in G Major” is a musical mystery that follows Gethsemane Brown, a Black classical musician desperate to return to the United States from Ireland after nearly losing it all. To get back home, she accepts a challenge to turn a group of young boys into a successful orchestra. But the cottage she’s staying in is haunted by the ghost of her favorite composer, who wants her help clearing his name of false murder-suicide charges.
“Death’s Echoes” by Penny Mickelbury
“Death’s Echoes” centers around Police Lieutenant Gianna Maglione, the head of the DC Police Department’s Hate Crimes Unit. Her job is stop violent hate crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice, but things change when one of her officers becomes a victim and her girlfriend is targeted for a hit.
“Sex, Murder and a Double Latte” by Kyra Davis
In “Sex, Murder and a Double Latte,” mystery writer Sophie Katz swears a crazy fan is sneaking into her apartment and acting out the plot of her books, even though everyone else thinks its just her imagination. But when a filmmaker friend is killed, she thinks she could be next. And if she can’t get to the bottom of it, she believes the plot of her next book could spell out the manner of her own death.
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