Myst Noir: African-American Mysteries

Featured Title for February: Kosher Kill By Sterling Anthony

2012-01-31T18:09:00.000-08:00

Lieutenant “Bloody Mary” Cunningham of the Detroit homicide unit is back! In the long-awaited sequel to Cookie Cutter, Mary investigates a series of murders, each bearing the signature of a killer who seems to be equal parts assassin and apparition. Unfortunately, Mary is beset with life-and-death personal problems that distract her, stealing from her focus, at a time when she needs all of her sleuthing skills. The trail proves to be serpentine, winding through various false starts, dead ends, and setbacks. But true to her nature, Mary perseveres until, finally, a suspect materializes, one who is every bit Mary’s equal in intellect and guile. Reeling in the suspect will require expert angling, the least mistimed tug and a killer wiggles free. And, although Mary is certain that the murders were not random and that the victims were targeted, there’s still the question: how long is the killer’s list and who might be next?

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Featured Title for January: No One Knows You're Here By Rachel Howzell

2011-12-31T22:35:00.000-08:00

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Three weeks out of cancer surgery, crime reporter Syeeda McKay is in the pursuit of Los Angeles’s most active serial killer. Over the last twenty years, the Phantom Slayer has hunted African-American prostitutes working in one of the worst parts of South Los Angeles, killing eight victims in the alleys off Western Avenue, and then disappearing into the shadows. But Syeeda doesn’t know that the killer has turned his sights on her.

Detective Adam Sherwood, a hotshot investigator with the Robbery-Homicide Division of the LAPD, has been handed the Phantom Slayer cases, and together, he and Syeeda must figure out who is doing the killing . . . before Syeeda becomes his next victim.

About the Author: Rachel Howzell was born and raised in South Los Angeles. An avid reader and lover of books, she received her B.A. in English and American Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz. In 2002, Rachel’s first novel, A Quiet Storm, was published by Scriber to great notice, including reviews from O Magazine and Publishers Weekly, with a starred review from Library Journal. A Quiet Storm was also a featured selection for Borders’ Original Voices program, as well as an alternate selection for Black Expressions book club. She published her second novel, The View from Here, in November 2010.

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Featured Title for December: All I Did Was Shoot My Man By Walter Mosley

2011-12-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

In the latest and most surprising novel in the bestselling Leonid McGill series, Leonid finds himself caught between his sins of the past and an all-too-vivid present.

Seven years ago, Zella Grisham came home to find her man, Harry Tangelo, in bed with her friend. The weekend before, $6.8 million had been stolen from Rutgers Assurance Corp., whose offices are across the street from where Zella worked. Zella didn't remember shooting Harry, but she didn't deny it either. The district attorney was inclined to call it temporary insanity-until the police found $80,000 from the Rutgers heist hidden in her storage space.

For reasons of his own, Leonid McGill is convinced of Zella's innocence. But as he begins his investigation, his life begins to unravel. His wife is drinking more than she should. His oldest son has dropped out of college and moved in with an ex prostitute. His youngest son is working for him and trying to stay within the law. And his father, whom he thought was long dead, has turned up under an alias.

A gripping story of murder, greed, and retribution, All I Did Was Shoot My Man is also the poignant tale of one man's attempt to stay connected to his family.

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Walter Mosley Website

Featured Title for September: My Own Worst Frenemy By Kimberly Reid!

2011-09-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

MY OWN WORST FRENEMY (Langdon Prep Series #1)

By Kimberly Reid

Fifteen-year-old Chantal Evans is the new girl at Langdon Preparatory Academy. Her mother, an undercover cop, calls in a favor to get Chanti into the posh private school. The plan was to keep Chanti out of trouble in her tough Denver neighborhood, but her mom got it twisted. Within a week of starting Langdon Prep, Chanti is accused of a string of thefts at school. When the crimes she's accused of grow more serious, Chanti doesn't know who has her back and who might be trying to set her up. She must race to clear her name before her life becomes so much more complicated than being the new girl and getting Marco Ruiz to notice her.

Author Website
Langdon Prep Fan Page

Featured Title for August: Snitch by Booker T. Mattison

2011-08-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

In Jersey City the code of the streets is simple. No matter what, you don't talk to the cops. You don't snitch. But when young bus driver Andre Bolden witnesses a murder on his route, the code gets personal and every decision leads him deeper into worlds that he never intended to enter.

In this rich story that ratchets up the tension and suspense at every turn, the reality of life on the street is infused with spiritual truth. Gifted storyteller Booker T. Mattison's realistic tale of revenge and redemption offers hope about the strength of community against violence and intimidation. Click link below to purchase.

Snitch: A Novel

Author Website

"Snitch: A Novel" Book Trailer from Booker T Mattison on Vimeo.

Featured Title for May: When the Thrill is Gone By Walter Mosley!

2011-05-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

When the Thrill is Gone By Walter Mosley

The economy has hit the private-investigator business hard, even for the detective designated as "a more than worthy successor to Philip Marlowe" (The Boston Globe) and "the perfect heir to Easy Rawlins" (Toronto Globe and Mail). Lately, Leonid McGill is getting job offers only from the criminals he's worked so hard to leave behind. Meanwhile, his life grows ever more complicated: his favorite stepson, Twill, drops out of school for mysteriously lucrative pursuits; his best friend, Gordo, is diagnosed with cancer and is living on Leonid's couch; his wife takes a new lover, infuriating the old one and endangering the McGill family; and Leonid's girlfriend, Aura, is back but intent on some serious conversations...

So how can he say no to the beautiful young woman who walks into his office with a stack of cash? She's an artist, she tells him, who's escaped from poverty via marriage to a rich collector who keeps her on a stipend. But she says she fears for her life, and needs Leonid's help. Though Leonid knows better than to believe every word, this isn't a job he can afford to turn away, even as he senses that-if his family's misadventures don't kill him first-sorting out the woman's crooked tale will bring him straight to death's door. Click here to purchase

Featured Title for March: Winter Break by Kayla Perrin

2011-03-01T05:15:00.000-08:00

Winter Break by Kayla Perrin

Didi Randall doesn’t think her life can get much worse than public humiliation when her boyfriend is the subject of a vicious rumor on campus. Despite their four-year relationship, the rumor puts a wedge between her and Drake, but Didi is hopeful that they can reconnect on the winter break cruise. She, Drake, and a handful of Lan-U students will be sailing the high seas of the Caribbean just before the start of the New Year and new semester.

The cruise turns out to anything but happy and carefree when ugly secrets and grudges between friends are revealed. But Didi’s troubles go beyond simple public humiliation when she wakes up on deck early in the morning, disoriented, and then learns that Drake is missing. It quickly becomes clear that he must have gone overboard. But was it an accident—or was it murder? Click here to buy!

Author Website

Featured Title for April: Black Orchid Blues by Persia Walker!

2011-03-01T05:07:00.000-08:00

Black Orchid Blues by Persia Walker

Lanie Price, a 1920s Harlem society columnist, witnesses the brutal nightclub kidnapping of the "Black Orchid," a sultry, seductive singer with a mysterious past. Price, a female 1920s version of Dominick Dunne, soon finds herself elbows-deep in a story in which everyone seems to be either lying or keeping a secret to die for. When hours pass without word from the kidnapper, puzzlement grows as to his motive. Then a gruesome package arrives at Price's doorstep and the questions change. Just what does this kidnapper want--and how many people is he willing to kill in order to get it?

Evil hides behind the genteel façades of affluent Strivers' Row and stalks the ballroom of one of Harlem's most famous gay parties. In a complex plot that keeps you tied to the page, Black Orchid Blues explores the depths of human depravity and the desperation of its victims. Click here to purchase!

Author Website

Featured Title for February: The Science of Paul By Aaron Philip Clark

2011-01-31T11:44:00.000-08:00

Ex-convict Paul Little has just walked out on the only woman who has ever loved him to return to a life of crime in Philadelphia. But when Paul gets involved with a petty thug who is later murdered, he finds himself pinned between the volatile gangster accused of the crime and the straight-laced detective who put Paul away years ago. Realizing the city may be the death of him, Paul looks to escape to North Carolina and live alone on a farm left to him by his recently deceased grandfather. Can Paul survive long enough to make it to the succor of the farm? Will he inevitably return to a life behind bars? Or is it his fate to die a victim in Philadelphia? THE SCIENCE OF PAUL is a stunning tale of redemption and self-exploration, as one man navigates the precariousness of the streets and the inner workings of his mind. Click here to purchase!

Aaron Philip Clark

Featured title for January: The Paris Secret By Angela Henry

2011-01-01T00:22:00.000-08:00

The Paris Secret by Angela Henry

Less than twenty-four hours after fleeing to Paris, Maya Sinclair is the prime suspect in a brutal murder—and targeted by the real killer. When she's viciously attacked in the gardens of Versailles, Maya barely escapes with her life thanks to sexy French journalist Simon Girard.

Simon has been investigating the mysterious death of his brother, an art forger with ties to the woman Maya is suspected of killing. Still healing from heartbreak of his own, Simon reluctantly joins forces with Maya, who has awakened feelings within him he thought long dead.

Their search for answers uncovers the existence of a secret society, and puts them on a quest to find a missing crucifix rumored to hold the key to everlasting life. Together, Maya and Simon race through Paris one step ahead of a killer who will do anything to ensure some secrets remain buried forever...

Click here to pre-order from Carina Press!
Click here to pre-order from Amazon!

Visit The Paris Secret Blog!

Featured Title for December: The Midnight Show Murders by Al Roker & Dick Lochte!

2010-12-01T05:34:00.000-08:00

The Midnight Show Murders by Al Roker & Dick Lochte

Professional chef turned amateur sleuth Billy Blessing once again finds himself in hot water, when a brutal killing cancels a TV show—and its host—during its debut.

Billy has never liked going to the West Coast, but when he runs into high-energy comic Desmond O’Day, he reluctantly agrees to play second banana on the funnyman’s new late-night talk show. Los Angeles holds bad—and bloody—memories for Billy. Twenty years ago, he had suspected obnoxious chef Roger Charbonnet of murdering his ex-starlet girlfriend there, and told the cops. A tricked-up alibi freed Roger, who vowed vengeance. And now Billy might be on the verge of getting burned.

After a horrifying explosion during a TV taping kills more than Desmond O’Day’s chance at high ratings, Billy believes that he was the intended target—and that Roger Charbonnet was somehow involved. And when politics, infidelity, and high finance are sprinkled in, the case turns out to have more ingredients than Billy could ever have imagined. Soon a beautiful female TV producer convinces Billy to find the culprit himself—on camera. And the table’s set for a conspiracy with too many cooks and far too many killers.

Featured Title for November: The Last Confession By Solomon Jones!

2010-11-01T08:50:00.001-07:00

The Last Confession By Solomon Jones

Having come of age on the mob-controlled streets of 1960’s South Philly, Detective Mike Coletti learned early to walk the fine line between cops and criminals. That skill served him well during his thirty-one years in homicide. But it never stopped the nightmares. The screams in the sanctuary still haunt him, the sound of the gunshots still torment him, and the truth of the Confessional Murders still speaks to him, if only in his dreams. Now, on the eve of Coletti’s retirement, the priest whom he arrested for the decade-old crime is about to be put to death, and in one final nightmare, Coletti clearly sees the truth. The priest is innocent, and it all comes to light when the real killer reemerges and embarks on a killing spree that turns Philadelphia upside down. To set things right and stop the execution of an innocent man, Coletti must catch a mysterious killer who now calls himself the Angel of Death. As the chase winds through art galleries and gritty streets, ancient prophecies and holy ground, the game intensifies, cultures collide, and Philly’s best detective is forced to face his nightmarish past—a past that could very well destroy him.

Featured Title for October: First of State By Robert O. Greer!

2010-10-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

First of State By Robert O. Greer

Robert Greer’s latest novel—a prequel to his CJ Floyd mystery series—takes readers back in time to a very young CJ Floyd. It’s 1972, and the 22-year-old decorated war vet has recently returned to Denver from Vietnam with post-traumatic stress disorder. Navigating depression, he finds a friend in World War II vet and amputee Wiley Ames, who shares his passion for rare and valuable western memorabilia.

When Ames and a mysterious Chinese man are found murdered, CJ’s already fragile world threatens to collapse. His attempts to find his friend’s killer are thwarted at every turn, and finally he joins his Uncle Ike’s business as bail bondsman and bounty hunter. Five years later one of Ames’s treasured antique license plates turns up at a Denver flea market, and CJ is once again off and running. The trail to Wiley Ames’s murderer leads CJ down a dark path strewn with backstabbing antique dealers, conniving friends and relatives of Ames’s, and a shadowy musician. Equally a white-knuckle-ride murder mystery and a tale of a traumatized young man coming to terms with his past, First of State features the kind of fresh characters, street-smart dialogue, and ingenious plot twists that have made this series a critical and commercial success. Click here to purchase First of State!

Featured Title for September: Island of Deceit!

2010-09-01T05:34:00.001-07:00

Island of Deceit by Candice Poarch

Ex-Wall Streeter Barbara Turner wants revenge on the scam artist who swindled her grandmother out of her life savings and then killed her. Posing as a hair stylist, Barbara arrives in Paradise Island, shocked to discover that she’s related to the town matriarch—and that she’s one of the trustees of the family’s antique bowl, which has mysteriously disappeared. Determined to solve these mysteries on her own, Barbara refuses to ask the town’s sheriff for help… Unfortunately, Sheriff Harper Porterfield—Paradise Island’s most eligible bachelor—already suspects Barbara of hiding something. But that isn’t the only reason he won’t let the plus-sized beauty out of his sight. He finds her thoroughly irresistible, but her subterfuge could destroy any chance of a happily ever after—especially while there’s still a killer on the loose…

Mystery News & Deals

2010-08-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

Voting has begun for the African American Literary Awards Show! Congratulations to the following nominees in the mystery category:

Click here for the complete list of nominees and to cast your vote!

Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due & Steve Barnes – From Cape Town with Love: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel

Walter Mosely – Known to Evil

Teresa McClain Watson – Murder Through the Grapevine

Pamela Samuels Young – Buying Time

Iris Bolling - A Heart Divided

Click here to listen to thriller author Stephen Carter's NPR interview in their Thrilled to Death series!

Angela Henry, author of the award-winning Kendra Clayton mystery series, has signed a contract with Harlequin's brand new digital-first imprint Carina Press for her romantic thriller The Paris Secret. Click here to read about her inspiration for the book.

Featured Title for August: Murder Through the Grapevine!

2010-08-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Murder Through the Grapevine By Teresa McClain Watson

Roni Jarrett was once in love with a high-rolling strip club owner who used her and abused her. He caused her to lose the job of her dreams, not to mention her self respect. With nothing left but her newfound faith in Christ and her old BMW, she hits the road and ends up where she started, in her old hometown. With a new job in an upscale beauty salon, and a position as music director for her church, she's doing all she can to live a life that's pleasing in the eyes of God.

Unfortunately, other people's drama has a way of following Roni Jarrett and it follows her to her new life in Florida. When her best friend from childhood turns up dead in the streets, the local police behaves as if Roni may have had a hand in that death, and everything changes. Roni finds herself caught up in a dangerous maze of gossip and lies that could lead to her own destruction. The only man willing to help her, Police Chief Don Gillette, is a gorgeous hunk of a human being who makes Roni's heart pound, but his own reputation causes even more drama to enter her life. Roni is tested time and again as she struggles to understand what is happening around her. Her budding relationship with Don Gillette, a relationship that seems sent from God, may get caught in the wreckage too. Will Roni's newfound faith be able to withstand so many trials, and will Don Gillette turn out to be the love of her life or the worse thing that had ever happened to her?

Featured Title for July: Murder in the Hamptons!

2010-07-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

Murder in the Hamptons by Danita Carter

The residents of Coco Beach, a private enclave tucked away in the Hamptons, are a hoity-toity bunch. Black society snobs with roots in Sag Harbor that run generations deep. So imagine how incensed the locals become when their tranquil summer getaway is infringed upon by TuSmArt, a rapper with money, but without the necessary pedigree to fit into this upper-crust community.

When a body is found floating face down at TuSmArt’s yacht party, the police waste no time swarming in to find the killer. The snooty locals rejoice, automatically assuming that now the police will rid the area of the unwanted inhabitants. However, their victory song is cut short when one of the most prominent residents of Coco Beach is implicated in the murder.

Featured Title for June: Death at the Double Inkwell

2010-06-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

Death at the Double Inkwell By Shonell Bacon

Sometimes life is stranger than fiction; take the lives of mystery novelists and twins, Jovan Parham-Anderson and Cheyenne Parham. They are young, beautiful, talented, and on their way to their sixth best-selling novel; that is, until Jo learns her husband, Cordell Anderson, founder of Anderson Technologies, is having an affair with Alisha Stewart, his right hand at Anderson. Before she can confront him, tragedy strikes her home, and Jovan must deal with the fact that the careful, safe life she had with Cordell was merely smoke and mirrors.

Mystery News-Deals & More: R. Barri Flowers

2010-06-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

Bestselling crime novelist R. Barri Flowers will be interviewed on two shows in June.

On Wednesday, June 9th, Barri's interview on Investigation Discovery channel's Wicked Attraction series can be seen. The episode is titled, "Twisted Twosome," and will be shown twice at Jun 09, 9:00 am, EST, and Jun 09, 2:00 pm, EST.

And for those of you who live in Canada or have access to Canadian programs on cable, Barri's interview on the History Channel's series, Crime Stories, will be broadcast on Monday, June 21st. The episode is titled, "The Love Slave Murders," and will be shown twice at Jun 21, 11 am, EST, and 3 pm, EST.

R. Barri Flowers has signed a three book deal with Urban Books to write mainstream suspense novels under the pen name, Devon Vaughn Archer. The first title, THE SECRETS OF PARADISE BAY, will be released on July 1st 2010.

THE SECRETS OF PARADISE BAY is the taut tale of bad blood between brothers, the beautiful woman who turns their lives upside down, and a vengeful man determined to kill all three.

The second book, THE HITMAN'S WOMAN, is set to be released in the summer of 2011.

Barri has also signed with Twilight Times to edit a second mystery anthology, MURDER HERE, MURDER THERE, written by bestselling, award winning authors belonging to the American Crime Writers League. It is scheduled to be released in August 2011.

Book Trailer: From Cape Town With Love!

2010-05-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Featured title for May: From Cape Town with Love!

2010-04-30T22:35:00.001-07:00

THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS OF CASANEGRA AND IN THE NIGHT OF THE HEAT TEAM UP FOR A THIRD TIME TO PRESENT FROM CAPE TOWN WITH LOVE, A TENNYSON HARDWICK NOVEL.

Actor-turned-detective Tennyson Hardwick has solved two high-profile deaths in Hollywood, but nothing has prepared him for a race to save a child’s life. Tennyson’s past in the sex game cost him his new girlfriend, and he brings her to Cape Town, South Africa—a scenic film destination and playground for the rich—to try to win her back. There Tennyson is hired as a bodyguard by superstar Sofia Maitlin when she visits an orphanage to adopt an African child.Months later, Maitlin offers Tennyson one of Hollywood’s hottest tickets—a job as a bodyguard at adopted daughter Nandi’s A-list celebrity birthday party. But the party is over before it begins. When Nandi’s birthday goes dreadfully wrong, it’s up to a guilt-ridden Tennyson to save a child’s life and reunite a Hollywood family.But how? He can’t go to the police, the FBI has threatened to arrest him, and Big Brother is monitoring his telephone calls. To find Nandi, Tennyson will have to rely on tips from his father—a retired LAPD captain—and a mysterious woman from his past, Marsha, who has already proven she can’t be trusted. His strongest lead is a deadly knife fighter known only as Spider.

When his search for the missing child crosses Marsha’s covert investigation into a criminal gang with ties to South Africa, Tennyson knows that finding Nandi might cost him his freedom—or his life.

Featured Title for April: Known to Evil!

2010-03-31T18:33:00.001-07:00

Known To Evil By Walter Mosley

Leonid McGill-the protagonist introduced in The Long Fall, the book that returned Walter Mosley to bestseller lists nationwide -is still fighting to stick to his reformed ways while the world around him pulls him in every other direction. He has split up with his girlfriend, Aura, because his new self won't let him leave his wife-but then Aura's new boyfriend starts angling to get Leonid kicked out of his prime, top-of-theskyscraper office space. Meanwhile, one of his sons seems to have found true love-but the girl has a shady past that's all of sudden threatening the whole McGill family-and his other son, the charming rogue Twilliam, is doing nothing but enabling the crisis.

Most ominously of all, Alfonse Rinaldo, the mysterious power-behind- the-throne at City Hall, the fixer who seems to control every little thing that happens in New York City, has a problem that even he can't fix- and he's come to Leonid for help. It seems a young woman has disappeared, leaving murder in her wake, and it means everything to Rinaldo to track her down. But he won't tell McGill his motives, which doesn't quite square with the new company policy- but turning down Rinaldo is almost impossible to even contemplate.

Known to Evil delivers on all the promise of the characters and story lines introduced in The Long Fall, and then some. It careens fast and deep into gritty, glittery contemporary Manhattan, making the city pulse in a whole new way, and it firmly establishes Leonid McGill as one of the mystery world's most iconic, charismatic leading men.

The Meet Kendra Clayton Kindle Promotion!

2010-03-12T16:00:00.001-08:00

For a limited time, the Kindle edition of Schooled in Lies is only .99 cents! So, what are you waiting for? Click here and meet Kendra Clayton for less than a buck. And the best part is, it's DRM free so you can read it on multiple devices!

Later!
Angela ; )

Featured Title for March: Spring Break!

2010-02-28T19:39:00.001-08:00

Spring Break By Kayla Perrin

“Help me . . .”

These are the last words Chanetelle hears from her friend Ashley, in a static-filled phone call that soon goes dead. Their trip to the island paradise of Artula started the way any trip should, and soon Chanetelle and her friends find themselves in sun-drenched days and party-hopping nights. The vacation is not without its conflicts, however, and old rivalries and new jealousies come to light as the week passes. But no one expects things to turn as ugly as they do. No one expects that they won’t all return. And no one expects that murder might be the ultimate souvenir.

When Ashley disappears, the question is asked: Was it a random act of violence? Or is something more sinister going on? And is Ashley really dead, after all?

With a breakneck pace and cat-and-mouse twists, Spring Break is the ultimate beach read.

Mystery News

2010-02-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Author Pamela Samuels-Young's latest legal thriller, Buying Time, has won the 2010 BCALA Literary Award for Best Fiction from the Black Caucus of the American Library. Click here for more details.

Crime writer R. Barri Flowers has signed a three-book deal with Urban Books for three suspense novels to be written under the name Devon Vaughn Archer. Click here for more details.

Author Gar Anthony Haywood was interviewed in the February issue of the International Thriller Writer’s publication The Big Thrill about his new novel Cemetery Road. Click here for interview.

Author Attica Locke’s debut novel Black water Rising has been nominated for an Edgar Award for best first novel by the Mystery Writer’s of America.

The Fall of Heaven, the play adapted by best-selling author Walter Mosley from his novel Tempest Tales, opened at Cincinnati’s Playhouse in the Park on January 23rd and will run until to February 20. Click here for more details.

Featured Title for February: Cemetery Road!

2010-01-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

Cemetery Road by Gar Anthony Haywood

The new novel from a critically acclaimed and award-winning author - When Errol ‘Handy’ White returns to his native Los Angeles to attend the funeral of his old friend R.J. Burrow, who has been brutally murdered, a terrible secret threatens to reveal itself. Twenty-six years earlier, Handy, R.J. and O’Neal Holden pulled a heist that went horrible awry, and Handy’s been waiting for it to come back and haunt them ever since. Was the murder linked to the past? Handy knows he can’t leave until he finds out for sure.

NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEES

2010-01-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Outstanding Literary Work-Fiction
"The Long Fall" Walter Mosley (Riverhead Books)

Outstanding Literary Work-Debut
"Black Water Rising" Attica Locke (Harper)

Congratulations & Good Luck!

Featured Title For January: Schooled In Lies!

2010-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Schooled In Lies By Angela Henry

GED instructor Kendra Clayton’s high school days were nothing to brag about. So she’s not too thrilled when on top of having to take a class to renew her teaching certificate or be fired, she gets roped into serving on her high school’s reunion committee.

Spending time with her former classmates is even less fun than having a root canal. Then to make matters worse, Kendra and the other committee members start receiving strange messages and having freak accidents. When one of the accidents results in a death, Kendra is convinced it’s murder. Unfortunately, neither the reunion committee nor the police take her seriously.

To try and prevent another death—and to keep from worrying about all the time her sweetie, Carl, has been spending with his scheming ex-wife—Kendra digs into the lives of her fellow committee members and uncovers enough secrets, lies, and betrayal to make her head spin. When a second murder occurs, Kendra realizes she needs to watch her back in her search for the truth before a killer turns her into another buried secret.

Featured Title For December: The Morning Show Murders

2009-12-01T04:38:00.000-08:00

Network TV can be murder. Just ask Billy Blessing, famous for his smile, charm, and ability to survive the shark tank that is high-stakes morning TV. But though Billy has outlived his fair share of prima-donnas, his cooking segment on Wake Up America! is a staple of the American diet, and his Manhattan bistro is a mega-success, his career has just taken a very dangerous turn: His show’s perky cohost, Gin McCauley, has launched into some brass-knuckles contract negotiations. A visiting Mossad agent is about to tell all on the air. And then the network’s head honcho is murdered in his luxury apartment, and an ambitious D.A. decides that Billy is to blame.

Forensics show that Gerry Gallagher was poisoned and that the fatal coq au vin came from Billy’s restaurant. Gerry had an impressive list of women in his black book—and a news assignment in Afghanistan had plunged the TV exec into the heart of a violent international secret. Now unsavory characters are coming out of the woodwork, and another murder strikes the show’s inner circle. Billy knows that someone’s trying to frame him. He also knows that a ruthless international assassin has just arrived in New York City. And suddenly, for the most trusted guy on TV the ultimate career move is not about ratings. It’s about staying alive—and stopping the next murder from becoming tomorrow’s breaking news.

Featured Title for November: Buying Time

2009-10-31T17:09:00.001-07:00

Buying Time By Pamela Samuels-Young

Waverly Sloan is a down-on-his-luck lawyer. But just when he's about to hit rock bottom, he stumbles upon a business with the potential to solve all of his problems.

In Waverly's new line of work, he comes to the aid of people in desperate need of cash. But there's a catch. His clients must be terminally ill and willing to sign over rights to their life insurance policies before they can collect a dime. Waverly then finds investors eager to advance them thousands of dollars—including a hefty broker's fee for himself—in exchange for a significant return on their investment once the clients take their last breath.

The stakes get higher when Waverly brokers the policy of the cancer-stricken wife of Lawrence Erickson, a high-powered lawyer who's bucking to become the next U.S. Attorney General. When Waverly's clients start dying sooner than they should, both Waverly and Erickson—who has some skeletons of his own to hide—are unwittingly drawn into a perilous web of greed, blackmail and murder.

Featured Title for October

2009-10-01T06:28:00.001-07:00

Sassy By Gloria Mallette

A successful romance novelist, Sassy is a woman looking to fulfill her own fantasy. When the man of her dreams step right out of the pages of her latest novel, Butterfly, Sassy falls madly in love with him. But what evil lies behind Norris Yoshito's beautiful eyes and sexy smile? And while Sassy has to take care of her favorite cousin, Bernard, who is dying of AIDS, is the man of Sassy's dreams a serial killer of women who made the mistake of trusting him just as Sassy did, or is Norris Yoshito himself in danger from someone who wants him dead? Is Sassy's marriage a horrible mistake that will lead to her own death?

Featured Titled for September: Resurrecting Midnight

2009-08-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

International assassin Gideon spilled blood for the first time when he was seven years old, with a single shot to the head of a man who was attempting to kill the woman Gideon had known as his mother. The victim was none other than his own father, a man of unspeakable evil. This pivotal event shaped Gideon throughout his life, made him who he is, one of the fiercest, most feared hired guns in the world.

And one of the most hunted.

After nearly losing his life in Antigua during a mission that went terribly wrong, Gideon trusts no one. But when a former lover and grifter, Arizona, resurfaces in need of his skills, she reminds him he was indebted to a man who had once saved his life: the son of the legendary con-man Scamz. Gideon is forced to take on an assignment which will lead him to Argentina in pursuit of a briefcase containing one part of a larger puzzle. The "package" contains material that another group of assassins - the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - will kill to obtain and protect. One of the leaders of the Four Horsemen has a connection to Gideon that neither man is aware of -- a connection that will be exposed when they meet face-to-face and gun-to-gun. Each member of The Four Horsemen is a world-class killer, each with a dark and dangerous past, and nothing will stop that team of renegades from completing their mission.

As Gideon struggles to keep promises and uncover information about his past, he finds himself at the center of the ultimate double-cross and he is forced to do what he must to protect himself and those closest to him. Set amidst the exotic and vibrant streets of Miami and Buenos Aires, Resurrecting Midnight is an action-filled, pulse- pounding thriller from bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey.

Interview w/ Pamela Samuels-Young

2009-08-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

Author Pamela Samuels-Young discusses her latest mystery Murder On the Down Low on All the Buzz!

Featured Title for August: Sleep Don't Come Easy

2009-08-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

National bestselling authors J.D. Mason and Victor McGlothin combine their literary talents to deliver a double dose of intrigue...

“The Lazarus Man” by J.D. Mason

When a young female city employee is murdered, the case brings together an unlikely team: an investigative reporter whose career is on the line, a lead detective who would rather work alone, and an elderly, delusional homeless man named Lazarus who frequents the shelter where the victim volunteered. Lazarus claims he witnessed the killing—though his hold on reality is questionable. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and with the detective at the helm, the trio soon unearths a shocking truth no one would have ever suspected…

“Tomorrow’s Edge” by Victor McGlothin

Smart, sexy P.I. Vera Miles is an expert at finding people who don’t want to be found. But her latest client is a rare, and possibly dangerous, exception: a handsome drifter with amnesia who believes he’s killed someone—though he can’t remember who or why. Is the man guilty of murder or innocent and in big trouble? With no clues, Vera takes a shot in the dark that sends her on a trail from the local diner to the medical examiner’s office to the seedy digs of a street informant, all the way to the FBI. But as she gets closer to solving the mystery, Vera wonders if her client is better off without his memory…

Best Mystery Nominees/African-American Literary Award Show

2009-07-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

Congratulations and good luck to all the nominees!

Click here to cast your vote.

Walter Mosley-The Long Fall
Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due & Stephen Barnes - In the Night of the Heat
Pamela Samuels-Young - Murder on the Down Low
Brenda Hampton - The Dirty Truth

Attica Locke Discusses Her New Thriller

2009-07-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Deadly Charm Featured on Galleycat!

2009-07-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Claudia Mair Burney's third Amanda Bell Brown mystery, Deadly Charm, is featured on Galleycat!

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2009-07-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

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Jericho's Fall Featured on The Daily Beast

2009-07-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Click here to read an excerpt of Stephen L. Carter's new spy thriller, Jericho's Fall, on The Daily Beast!

Mysterious Chocolate

2009-07-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

If you’re a fan of Kyra Davis’s Sophie Katz mystery series then you are well aware of Sophie’s addiction to CocoaBella Chocolates, which is an actual company in San Francisco. To celebrate their role in the Sophie Katz mystery series, CocoaBella has created a limited edition box of chocolates named after Sophie Katz. And if you’re in San Francisco on August 8th, Kyra Davis will be at CocoaBella for a book signing/chocolate tasting at 2pm.

RIP Mary Wilbon

2009-07-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

I'm always excited when I discover a new black mystery writer I've never heard of. But sadly sometimes these discoveries come too late. I first heard about author Mary Wilbon on Galleycat this morning by way of her obituary. Wilbon was the author of the recently released One Last Kiss featuring PI Cassandra Slick and 2004's Naughty Little Secrets. Both books were published by Kensington. For more info about Mary Wilbon, check out her website. Descriptions of her books are below.

One Last Kiss

Meet Cassandra Slick-a private investigator who knows that few pleasures in life can compare to a dry martini, a sexy blonde, and serving sweet justice on New Jersey-s meanest streets. While other little girls dreamed of growing up to be princesses, Cassandra Slick wanted to be Pam Grier in Foxy Brown, busting bad-ass criminals while yelling -Take that, you jive turkey!- She got her wish, but at the request of her girlfriend Laura-the beautiful, blonde daughter of New Jersey-s wealthiest clam magnate-Slick has given up cop life to be a P.I.

Now her former precinct captain, Frank DeStasio, has called on Slick-s help to clear a colleague, Tom Brandeal, accused of murdering a gorgeous black prostitute. Brandeal is a homophobe who does the force no favors, but Slick has her own reasons for wanting to know what really happened to her old friend Paradise, a.k.a Gloria Roxley. Scouring the back alleys and red-light districts of Newark-the compost heap of the Garden State-Slick is soon knee-deep in shady senators, crooked cops, fabulous transsexuals, sordid blackmail, and lots and lots of dead bodies-and her troubles are only just beginning.

Naughty Little Secrets

In this uproarious, madcap novel Mary Wilbon introduces two irresistible heroines about to stumble into more trouble than they could ever imagine. Like a warped version of Sex in the City, Naughty Little Secrets is a wild romp through martinis, murder, embezzlement, martinis, "Homey-Sexual" cops, bad musicals, community theatre from hell, martinis, sex, seduction, betrayal, double martinis and New Jersey...and possibly the most fun you can have between the covers...

Featured Book for July

2009-06-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

WIFE OF THE GODS By Kwei Quartey

Synopsis:

Lyrical and captivating, Kwei Quartey’s debut novel brings to life the majesty and charm of Ghana–from the capital city of Accra to a small community where long-buried secrets are about to rise to the surface.

In a shady grove outside the small town of Ketanu, a young woman—a promising med student—has been found dead under suspicious circumstances. Eager to close the case, the local police have arrested a poor, enamored teenage boy and charged him with murder. Needless to say, they are less than thrilled when an outside force arrives from the big city to lead an inquiry into the baffling case.

Detective Inspector Darko Dawson, fluent in Ketanu’s indigenous language, is the right man for the job, but he hates the idea of leaving his loving wife and young son, a plucky kid with a defective heart. Pressured by his cantankerous boss, Dawson agrees to travel to Ketanu, sort through the evidence, and tie up the loose ends as quickly and as efficiently as possible. But for Dawson, this sleepy corner of Ghana is rife with emotional land mines: an estranged relationship with the family he left behind twenty-five years earlier and the painful memory of his own mother’s sudden, inexplicable disappearance. Dawson is armed with remarkable insight and a healthy dose of skepticism, but these gifts, sometimes overshadowed by his mercurial temper, may not be enough to solve this haunting mystery. In Ketanu, he finds that his cosmopolitan sensibilities clash with age-old customs, including a disturbing practice in which teenage girls are offered by their families to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods.

This is a compelling and unique mystery, enriched by an exotic setting and a vivid cast. And Inspector Darko Dawson—dedicated family man, rebel in the office, and ace in the field—is one of the most appealing sleuths to come along in years. Click here for an excerpt.

Black Mystery & Thriller Round-Up

2009-06-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

With all the recent bad news about black mystery writers being dropped by publishers, it got me to wondering what if any new or recent releases by black mystery/thriller writers were either out or on the horizon. So I put on my librarian hat and did some research. Here’s what I found.

Deadly Charm By Claudia Mair Burney is the third book in her popular Christian mystery series featuring forensic psychologist Amanda Bell Brown. I had the pleasure of interviewing Claudia here on the Crime Sistahs Blog back before the series made it’s leap from NavPress to Simon and Schuster’s Howard Books. I’m so thrilled she and Amanda Bell Brown are still around. Release Date: March 24, 2009.

Jericho’s Fall By Stephen Carter. This new thriller by New York Times bestseller Carter is about an explosive secret harbored by Jericho Ainsley, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency and a Wall Street titan who is dying. He confides the secret—that foreign governments and powerful corporations alike would kill to have—to his former lover. Sounds like a page-turner. Release Date: July 14, 2009.

Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss By Kyra Davis. After a two year hiatus, Kyra Davis is back with the fourth book in her wildly popular series featuring mystery writer and amateur sleuth, Sophie Katz. If you haven’t checked out Sophie and company, you’re in for a treat. Kyra is also giving away a trip to San Francisco, where the series is set, as well as other cool prizes. Click here for details. Release Date: June 1, 2009

Whiskey Gulf By Clyde Ford is the third nautical thriller featuring Charlie Noble. This outing has him investigating a missing sailboat and the couple aboard it. Visit Ford’s website for a video narrated by Morgan Freeman which accompanied the release of the previous Charlie Noble book, Precious Cargo. I’ve yet to read any of Ford’s books but I’ve added them to my ever-growing list. Release Date: July 14, 2009.

Black Water Rising By Attica Locke. Talk about a name meant for a book cover. Ms. Locke’s debut thriller features down and out lawyer Jay Porter and tells how his life is turned upside down after he saves a drowning white woman. This book is getting lots of buzz from heavy hitters like Georges Pelecanos and James Elroy and received a starred review in Booklist. I can’t wait to read it. Release Date: June 9, 2009

Cornered By Brandon Massey. Massey started out writing horror and has made a successful transition into thrillers. Cornered tells the tale of Cory Webb, a successful business and family man who’s dark past comes calling threatening to destroy everything he holds dear. Sounds like another winner. Release Date: August 4, 2009

The Long Fall By Walter Mosley introduces the bestselling and award-winning author’s new post Easy Rawlins character, private eye and former boxer, Leonid McGill. It’s also set in modern day New York City. It’s gotten rave reviews since its release and is sitting on my TBR pile. Release Date: March 24, 2009.

Black Noir: Mystery, Crime, and Suspense Stories by African-American Writers Edited by Otto Penzler-Features short stories by such talented authors as Paula Woods, Gary Phillips, Chester Himes, Walter Mosley, Edward P. Jones, and many others. This book is on NPR’s Recommended Summer Reading List. Click here for an excerpt. Release Date: March 3, 2009.

If I’ve left anyone out, please let me know. And please support these wonderfully talented authors and their books before black mystery writers become extinct. Enjoy!

By Angela Henry

Book Reviews

2009-06-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

A COLD AND SILENT DYING, by Eleanor Taylor Bland
ARC OF JUSTICE, by Kevin Boyle
THE BLACKBIRD PAPERS, by Ian Smith
BLACK MOON, by Haaji
BLONDE FAITH, by Walter Mosley
BLOOD ON THE LEAVES, by Jeff Stetson
THE BODY BOX, by Lynn Ambercrombie
BOURBON STREET, by Leonce Gaiter
CASANEGRA, by Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes
CHOSEN PEOPLE, by Karen Grigsby Bates
CINNAMON KISS, by Walter Mosley
THE CINQUEFOIL CONNECTION, by Recy Dunn
THE COLOR OF LAW, by Mark Gimenez
THE COMPANY YOU KEEP, by Angela Henry
DEAD WATER, by Barbara Hambly
DIVA'S LAST CURTAIN CALL, by Angela Henry
DOWN AND DIRTY, by Gammy L. Singer
DRAMA CITY, by George Pelecanos
DYING IN THE DARK, by Valerie Wilson Wesley
EVERY REASONABLE DOUBT, by Pamela Samuels-Young
FATAL JUSTICE, by Faye Snowden
GETTING HERS, by Donna Hill
GHOSTS OF SAINT-MICHEL, by Jake Lamar
HARLEM REDUX, by Persia Walker
IN FIRM PURSUIT, by Pamela Samuels-Young
JACKSON PARK, by Charlotte Carter
JASS, by David Fulmer
JUSTICE SERVED, by R. Barri Flowers
KILLER RICHES, by Chassie West
A LANDLORD'S TALE, by Gammy Singer
LEMON CITY, by Elaine Meryl Brown
LITTLE SCARLET, by Walter Mosley
LOUISIANA LAMENT, by Julie Smith
LOVE AND DEATH IN BROOKLYN, by Glenville Lovell
MURDER, MAYHEM, and a FINE MAN, by Claudia Mair Burney
NEW ENGLAND WHITE, by Stephen L. Carter
THE OTHER BROTHER, by Brandon Massey
PASSION, BETRAYAL, AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS, by Kyra Davis
PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE, by R. Barri Flowers
ORANGE CRUSHED, by Pamela Thomas-Graham
RAMPART STREET, by David Fulmer
RENDEZVOUS EIGHTEENTH, by Jake Lamar
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE, by Kyra Davis
SHADES OF BLACK(Anthology), edited by Eleanor Taylor Bland
STATE'S EVIDENCE, by R. Barri Flowers
TANGLED ROOTS, by Angela Henry
THE BRIDGE, by Solomon Jones
THE LAST KING, by Nichelle Tramble
TRIP WIRE, by Charlotte Carter
VIDEO COWBOYS, by Yolanda Joe
VOODOO SEASON, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
WE'LL NEVER TELL, by Kayla Perrin
WHERE THERE'S A WILL, by Walker, Hailstock, Anderson, Lewis

Research Resources

2009-06-30T05:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some great resources for those wanting to research the history, origins, and role of African-Americans in mystery and crime fiction.

BOOKS

The Blues Detective : A Study of African American Detective Fiction, by Stephen F. Soitos

Crime Fiction, 1800-2000: Detection, Death, Diversity, by Stephen Knight

Diversity and Detective Fiction Edited, by Kathleen Gregory Klein

Donald Writes No More : A Biography of Donald Goines BY Eddie Stone

The Ethnic Detective: Chester Himes BY Peter Freese

Multicultural Detective Fiction: Murder from the Other Side Edited BY Adrienne Johnson Gosselin

Out of the Woodpile: Black Characters in Crime and Detective Fiction
BY Frankie Y. Bailey

Sleuthing Ethnicity: The Detective in Multiethnic Crime Fiction Edited BY Dorothea Fischer-Hornung

Spooks, Spies, and Private Eyes: Black Mystery, Crime and Suspense
Fiction BY Paula Woods

Traces, Codes, and Clues: Reading Race in Crime Fiction, by Maureen
Reddy

Two Guns from Harlem: The Detective Fiction of Chester Himes, by Robert E. Skinner

ARTICLES

Beyond Shaft, by Kevin Burton Smith

The Black Dick: Race, Sexuality, and Siscourse in the L.A. novels of Walter Mosley - African American detective novels

The Ethnic Detective Part II, Mystery Reader's Journal, Vol. 14 #3 1998

The Fiction of Black Crime: It's No Mystery - African American mystery novelists: includes a reference for source materials

From Talma Gordon to Theresa Galloway: Images of African American Women in mysteries By Patricia A. Turner: Source: Black Scholar; Spring98, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p23, 4p

Power and Knowledge in Walter Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress - Critical Essay

What's Behind the Boon of Black Mystery Writers?

He is a "bad mother $%@!#\": Shaft and Contemporary Black Masculinity - Perspectives - Critical Essay

Invisible Detection: The Case of Walter Mosley - author - Critical Essay
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2278/is_1_26/ai_77049934

It's Black, White--And Noir By Malcolm Jones
Source: Newsweek; 6/24/2002, Vol. 139 Issue 25, p86, 2p, 4c

A Brief History of African-American Mysteries
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HST/is_5_3/ai_78226515

Please feel free to email MystNoir at MystNoir33@mailcity.com if you have a suggestion for a resource to add to this page.