African American Fiction Mystery

They were just kids when Claudette McPhearson took them all in. Eight of them all together. All different races and ethnic makeups, but she loved them as her own. One woman taught them how to love, trust, and respect one another. She was the only glue that kept them together, the only one they wanted to please and never let down. She had been their light at the end of a long troublesome tunnel - it shined so bright. Then, one dreadful day, it all came to a crashing halt.

The Earth barely survived the Third World War. It isn’t ready for the War of the Worlds. A beam of pure Chaos has descended on the Earth connecting it to the Labyrinth Universe. Monsters will spawn, heroes will level and nations will fall. Chaos will Awaken!

To his customers and neighbors on 125th street, Ray Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver's Row don't approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it's still home. Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time.

She killed her abusive boyfriend in self-defense. But in jail, violent female gangs paid off by her enemies keep her fearing for her life - and land her in the hospital. From there, a medical testing facility is her one dubious hope for some kind of safety. But from the moment she hits the yard, she and other prisoners are victimized by illegal medical experiments. Injected with lethal diseases and made a test subject for experimental vaccines, she's clinging to determination by the slimmest thread - until she forms an alliance with a Corrections Officer.

Twenty-five year old Calla Williams is struggling since becoming guardian to her brother, Jamie. Calla is overwhelmed and tired of being the one who makes sacrifices to keep the family together. When Jamie’s actions at a protest spiral out of control, the siblings must go on the run. Taking refuge in a remote cabin that looks like it belongs on a slasher movie poster rather than an AirBNB, the siblings now face a new threat where their lives–and reality–hang in the balance. Their sister always warned them about her nightmares. They really should have listened.

It’s a hot and sticky Sunday in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Glory has settled into her usual after-church routine, meeting gamblers at the local coffee shop, where she works as a small-time bookie. Sitting at her corner table, Glory hears that her best friend—a nun beloved by the community—has been found dead in her apartment. When the police declare the mysterious death a suicide, Glory is convinced that there must be more to the story and, with her reluctant daughter in tow, launches a shadow investigation in a town of oil tycoons, church gossips, and a rumored voodoo priestess.

Joe King Oliver’s beloved Grandma B has found a tumor, and at her age, treatment is high-risk. She’s lived life fully and without regrets, and now has only a single, dying wish: to see her long-lost son. King has been estranged from his father, Chief Odin Oliver, since he was a young boy. He swore to never speak to the man again when he was taken away in handcuffs. But now, Grandma B’s pure ask has opened King’s heart, and through his hunt, he gains a deeper understanding of his father as a complicated, righteous man—a man defined by women, a man protected by women, a man he wants to know.

At first, med student Misty Heiress just wants to help. With her cousin Jillian in constant pain, and the doctor refusing to prescribe, Misty steals opioids from the Virginia Beach pharmacy where she works. But when Jillian starts reselling them to local dealers and gets big money, Misty grabs an unbelievable opportunity to get out of crushing debt. Soon Misty's boss, Sanjay, learns the truth and wants in. In no time, their illegal business dominates the street - and racks up a fortune. But when demand quickly outstrips supply, Sanjay way overplays his hand - and the Feds come calling.

Delighted by a surprise invitation, Miriam Macy sails off to a luxurious private island off the coast of Mexico, with six strangers - an ex-cop, a chef, a financial advisor, a nurse, a lawyer, and a young widow. Surrounded by miles of open water in the gloriously green Sea of Cortez, Miriam is shocked to discover that she and the rest of her companions have been brought to the remote island under false pretenses - and all seven strangers harbor a secret. Danger lurks in the lush forest and in the halls and bedrooms of the lonely mansion.

January 1970 finds Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, LA’s premier Black detective, at 50 years of age despite all expectations. He has a loving family, a beautiful home, and a thriving investigation agency. All is right with the world… and then Amethystine Stoller, his own personal Helen of Troy, arrives. Her ex-husband is missing. A simple enough case. But even as Easy takes his first step in the investigation he trips. He falls into the memory of things past. Little things, like loss, love, a world war, and a hunger that has eaten at him since he was a Black boy on his own.

The past few months have been a living hell for Persia. Seemingly overnight, she has fallen from grace and found herself scraping rock bottom, all in the name of two lovers - Chucky and cocaine. One was supposed to love her and the other take away the pain, but they've both fallen short on their promises. The last time she saw either one of them was the night she almost lost her life.

Texas Ranger Darren Mathews isn’t sure he’s been a good cop, but believes he’s got a shot at being a good man—if he manages to dodge the potential indictment hanging over his head and if he, from here on out, pledges allegiance to the truth. It’s a virtue the country appears to have wholly lost its grip on, but one Darren sees as his salvation. He is in the midst of remaking his life with the woman he loves when he is visited by his mother armed with a tall tale about a missing Black college student, Sera (whose white sorority sisters insist she isn’t missing at all).

Smoke Kings is a powerful and propulsive novel with a diverse and unforgettable cast of characters. Like Steph Cha's Your House Will Pay it explores decades of racial tensions through a fictional landscape where the line between justice and revenge is blurred.

A young woman is dead, and another is missing. Two cases worlds apart. When an old friend throws Cutter a case involving the disappearance of a young woman from Detroit’s most prominent family, he sees an opportunity to make some quick cash to keep the bookies off his back. But he soon realizes his client’s problems are a lot more sinister than he thought and finds himself in too deep.

Thirty-year-old Black woman Sidney Taylor is a talented early American history professor, working in fast-paced Washington DC, with her eyes on promotion. She's also currently persona non grata. Who knew that making an inconvenient historical discovery would see her stuck at her desk, shuffling paper? So when she receives an anonymous and very cryptic invitation to visit historic small-town Robbinsville, North Carolina and hunt for a missing archaeological treasure—with a million-dollar payout at stake—it's one she can't refuse.

Detective Easy Rawlins returns in a mystery set in 1961 Los Angeles as Easy accepts a job searching for a beautiful woman nicknamed Black Betty who works as a housekeeper in Beverly Hills.

Nobody ever gave Jamil Rock anything - much less hope. To survive a rough home life and one bad break after another, he became his hood's most successful drug dealer. With loyal friends at his back, Jamil coolly takes care of business and never thinks too far ahead - until Gia Ellis walks into his life. Suddenly, ruling the streets is nothing compared to the instant heat, and alluringly innocent aura, Jamil can't resist....

The untimely death of St. Louis kingpin King David has left a vacuum in the underworld. He leaves behind his vast empire to his surviving heirs, David Jr. and Davita. Born barely one year apart, they were raised in very different worlds. Will the family ties that bind keep the families together, or will sex, greed, drugs, and their mothers' divisive ways tear it all to hell, bringing St. Louis down with them? David Jr. and Davita have decisions to make!

Carmen has gotten her wish. Renee is no longer queen. Being stripped of her title and the power that comes with it, Renee must start from scratch and rebuild what she once controlled. Having turned their backs on one another, Renee's once strong circle is now dismantled, and each individual is after what ripped them apart - Carmen. Carmen's making it hard for them to capture her and doing whatever she must to survive. Renee wants revenge along with everyone else, but will she achieve it, or will she die in battle without the help of Julian and Dane?

New Easy Rawlins mysteries—original short stories from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning mystery author. As Carolyn See said in The Washington Post Book World: "God bless the day that Walter Mosley created Easy Rawlins!" This handsome collection contains six interconnected stories. Fans can now add these original stories in Six Easy Pieces to their Walter Mosley library: "Smoke," "Crimson Stain," "Silver Lining," "Lavender," "Gato Green," "Gray-Eyed Death," and "Amber Gate."