African American Mystery Thriller Suspense

The Misfits are back and now they are international. Trigga, Diamond, and the crew are in London. Dame has been handled and everything should be perfect. But when a plan works too perfectly, there is bound to be some unfinished business. Secrets are exposed. Diamond has learned the game and now she must continue to embrace a life she was not meant to live while understanding the truths of her own past.

Essence best-selling authors Kiki Swinson and Noire have attracted huge audiences for their sexy, anything-goes fiction. Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless features a novella from each author. Swinson’s electric “Shamelessly Rich” showcases a spoiled bad girl facing a life-changing choice. And in Noire’s “Puttin’ Shame in the Game,” three gorgeous ladies set their sights on a wealthy cop.

Faith often feels that her man has way too much money for the small legal endeavors that he tells her about, but she chooses to believe in him. That is until the feds kicks in her door one day. She doesn't know if she has it in her to be a ride-or-die, but putting her belief in Trust may give her an everlasting love or cause her to lose what she loves most.

The queen of the street lit genre, De’nesha Diamond pens tales about the toughest ride-or-die chicks ever to roam the streets of the Dirty South. In Street Divas, four powerful women vie for total control of the Memphis hood, and they aren’t about to let past loyalties get in their way. While Lucifer is hitting the streets to get her revenge for a deadly shooting, Essence is hitting the sheets - with her best friend’s man. And Yolanda knows her path to power lies with her baby’s hustler father, but Queen G Leshelle is dead set on keeping this game all to herself.

As he struggles to control his drug empire and keep his cutthroat girlfriend in check, Kiley Jacoby Abrams has the next several months cut out for him. If that's not enough, he's got more setbacks than one man can handle: an arrogant and troublesome brother, a sneaky playa-hating friend, another friend who turns to him for everything, and a woman who only claims to have his back. Kiley's life is full of secrets from the past. Moving from Los Angeles to St. Louis doesn't allow him the change his heart desires....

Mavis Miller is not a PTA mom. She has enough on her plate with her feisty seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, an exhausting job at a nonprofit, and the complexities of a multigenerational household. So no one is more surprised than Mavis when she caves to Trisha Holbrook, the long-reigning, slightly terrifying PTA president, and finds herself in charge of the school’s brand-new DEI committee. As one of the few Black parents at this California elementary school, Mavis tries to convince herself this is an opportunity for real change. But things go off the rails at the very first meeting.

Essence® best-selling authors Kiki Swinson and De’nesha Diamond are two rising stars in the world of urban fiction. Heist presents two novellas starring young women hustling their way to the top of the game through daring robbery schemes. In Swinson’s The Ultimate Heist, pampered Shannon Marshall is accustomed to a big-money lifestyle. Her world is shattered, however, when her man is thrown into prison for gun running.

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.

Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos, including the luxe wellness center at the top of the hill, which proves to be the heart of the community. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world’s troubles.

Nine-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; now he's alone in the darkness of vast Caddo Lake, in a boat whose motor just died. A sudden noise distracts him - and all goes dark. Darren Mathews is trying to emerge from another kind of darkness; after the events of his previous investigation, his marriage is in a precarious state of rebuilding, and his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who's never exactly had his best interests at heart. Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she's not above a little maternal blackmail to press her advantage.

With few other options, African American classical musician Gethsemane Brown accepts a less-than-ideal position turning a group of rowdy schoolboys into an award-winning orchestra. Stranded without luggage or money in the Irish countryside, she figures any job is better than none. The perk? Housesitting a lovely cliffside cottage. The catch? The ghost of the cottage's murdered owner haunts the place.

After refusing to participate in a police department cover-up involving the death of a young black man, Chicago detective Ashe Cayne is pushed out of the force. But he won’t sit quietly on the sidelines: he’s compelled to fight for justice as a private investigator. When a young woman, Tinsley Gerrigan, goes missing, her wealthy parents from the North Shore hire Cayne to find her. As Cayne looks into her life and past, he uncovers secrets Tinsley’s been hiding from her family. Cayne fears he may never find Tinsley alive.

Identity thief Lauren Kelly thought she was safe. The millions she stole from her double-crossing accomplice and ex-lover Matt Connors bought a quiet upscale life for her; her unsuspecting new husband, Drake; and their precious baby. But betrayal was just the beginning. When both Drake and the baby go missing, it's courtesy of a vengeful Matt. Lauren has less than 24 hours to give him back the money. She's prepared for any payback - but nothing can keep this exchange from going all-the-way wrong.

A city full of lies, deceit, and cold-blooded murder, Detroit plays widow to drug cartel after drug cartel, and the Last Kings are the latest to take over the throne. It seems that nothing can crumble their empire, but when an unexpected series of events take place and blood is shed, everything spirals out of control. Can Sadie and Mocha survive the game as the head women in charge, or will disloyalty and treachery threaten to end them for good?

The Cartel runs Miami, and loyalty to their organization runs deep, but when someone breaks the rules, things may be beyond repair. A snitch in the crew has dismantled the notorious Cartel, and now disloyalty threatens to tear the family apart. Young Carter is in the fight for his life as he faces drug kingpin charges due to the treachery of his best friend, Ace. Kidnapping, murder, deception, and seduction fill this thrilling sequel. Will Zyir find out that Breeze is still alive? Will Mecca be exposed as his brother’s killer?

From the outside looking in, the residents of Sand Cove are perfect, but their countless secrets and lies are under the guise of expensive perfumes and honey-sweet smiles. Summer has come around again, yet it doesn't feel like summer. The sky isn't blazed in blue, and the sun isn't a celebration of oranges and yellows. It has been eight months since Luca Moretti's murder, and Agent Tyler must deal with the fact that Luca's murder may never be solved.

Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward, passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the night of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the newlyweds’ daughter, Caroline, disappears—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.

On a rainy spring day in Los Angeles, Homicide Detective Elouise "Lou" Norton is called away from a rare lunch date to Bonner Park, where the body of 13-year-old Chanita Lords has been discovered. Chanita was interested in photography and, much like Lou, a black girl destined to leave the housing projects behind. Her death fits a chilling pattern of exceptional African American girls - dancers, artists, honors scholars - gone recently missing in the same school district, the one Lou attended not so long ago.

Miamor is fighting for her life in the belly of the beast. She’s been kidnapped, and she’s staring death in the eye. Is the reign over for the head of the Murda Mamas? Carter is in federal custody and leaves the Diamond empire to Zyir and Mecca. When the past comes back to haunt Mecca and the truth finally comes to light, will the Cartel rise or fall? Breeze is in the clutches of the crazed Ma’tee, and she desperately searches for a way out. Will she escape or die his love slave? The answers are revealed here.

No matter how tough the odds, Ricky, Derrick, and Jamal learned to unite and fight during their time at the Branch Avenue Boys' Youth Institute. But their adult lives have driven them apart - and set off a series of events their friendship may not survive. All Jamal's political achievements can't erase his bargain with DC's corrupt mayor. And when he finds himself the latest target on Mayor Johnson's hit list, he'll risk everything to end the mayor's deadly reign - even if it's the last move he ever makes.