I love mysteries and thrillers! In honor of Black History Month and as help for those of us who want to diversify our reading, I’ve made a list of Mysteries and Thrillers by Black Women Authors. Some I’ve read, some I’m going to read soon!
This list contains affiliate links.
Mysteries and Thrillers by Black Women Authors
All of these I’ve tried have been great, and I found a few new titles I’m excited to try. If you have any suggestions for my list, please tell me in comments!
New Mysteries and Thrillers By Black Women Authors: 2025-2027 (details below)
2027 (more titles coming!)
- Strivers by Afia Atakora (Historical fiction; see details below!)
- Better Than You Know Yourself by Kristen L. Berry
2026
- Behind These Four Walls by Yasmin Angoe (free on Kindle Unlimited)
- Nobody Heard a Thing by Angela Henry
- The Exes by Leodora Darlington
- Murder from A to Z by V.M. Burnes
- Starseekers by Nicole Glover
- Bush Tea Murder by Ashley-Ruth Bernier
- The Ferryman’s Daughter by Yasmin Angoe (free on Kindle Unlimited)
2025
- History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook
- We Don’t Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry
- Death of an Ex (Vandy Myrick #2) by Delia Pitts
- Fog and Fury by Rachel Howzell Hall
- Savvy Summers and Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (Cozy)
- Edge by Tracy Clark
- Mysterious Death of Junetta Plum by Valerie Wilson Wesley
Police Procedurals/PI Books by Black Women Authors
Fog and Fury by Rachel Howzell Hall
A former Black female cop retires to a charming seaside town and hangs out her shingle. At first, she’s just finding lost dogs, but when the body of a teenage boy turns up, her copy training kicks in.
My most exciting new find for this list is Tracy Clark and her police procedurals. Harri is a great character and I love the Chicago setting! Be sure to check these out.
- Hide (2023) Here’s my Review!
- Fade (2023)
- Echo (2024)
- Edge (2025)
Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts (2024)
PI Vandy Myrick is working in Queenstown, New Jersey, her former home town.
Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts (2025)
In book two, Vandy’s husband is murdered, and she decides to solve the case.
And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall
Isabel Lincoln is gone and it’s up to Grayson Sykes to find her. Although she is reluctant to track down a woman who may not want to be found, Gray’s search for Isabel Lincoln becomes more complicated and dangerous with every new revelation.
I LOVED this and my review is here.
Land of Shadows (Book 1 of the Detective Elouise Norton series) by Rachel Howzell Hall
When the body of a teenage girl is found at a condominium construction site, Detective Elouise “Lou” Norton’s new partner, Colin Taggert, assumes she took her own life. Lou isn’t buying the easy explanation.
When Death Comes Stealing (Tamara Hayles mystery series) by Valerie Wilson Wesley
A cop turned PI solves crimes in Newark.
Struggling as a single mother to make ends meet on the mean streets of Newark, New Jersey, ex-cop-turned-PI Tamara Hayle races against time to find a murderer when someone begins killing her ex-husband’s sons–and her own son might be next.
Inner City Blues by Paula L. Woods
Charlotte Justice is a black woman in the LAPD in this mystery set during the 1990s LA riots.
Detective Charlotte Justice is a Black woman in the very white, very male, and sometimes very racist LAPD. It is 48 hours into the LA riots, and she and her fellow officers are exhausted. But when she discovers the body of the main who murdered her husband and young daughter, she knows she has to get to the bottom of things.
Amateur Detective Stories by Black Women Authors
Behind These Four Walls by Yasmin Angoe (2026)
Isla’s had a rough life and is still mourning the disappearance of her best friend, Eden. So when she gets a chance to go undercover at the compound of the rich Corrigan family, Eden’s former employers, she takes it. Even if it puts her in grave danger!
Like a Sister by Kellye Garrett (2022)
When a hip hop mogul’s daughter is found dead, her half-sister vows to get to the truth.
On the morning after her twenty-fifth birthday party, reality TV star Desiree Pierce is found dead on a playground in the Bronx. The police and the media announce she died by overdose.
Desiree’s half-sister Lena knows that can’t be the case. Lena becomes determined to find justice for Desiree.
I read this and really enjoyed it. My Review is here. With a snarky main character I could relate to and a lot of twists, this was a really great read!
Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett (2024)
This new suspense novel by Kellye Garrett is a gripping story of a young woman who heads off on a romantic weekend with a new boyfriend. One morning, she wakes up to find him gone and a dead woman in the living room of their Airbnb.
If she doesn’t solve this crime herself, she’s the prime suspect.
Here’s my Review of Missing White Woman
These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall.
A scrapbook curator investigates the death of one of her clients.
Mickie Lambert creates “digital scrapbooks. ” When Nadie, her latest client, dies, Mickie receives threatening messages to leave Nadia’s past alone. Discovering the truth means crossing paths with a long-dormant serial killer.
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (also check out The Cutting Season).
A lawyer who participated in the Black Power movement in the 1960s and 70s gets caught up in a murder.
Jay Porter’s most promising client is a low-rent call girl, and he runs his fledgling law practice out of a strip mall. One night he impulsively saves a drowning woman’s life, and her secrets put Jay in danger, ensnaring him in an investigation that could cost him his practice, his family, and even his life.
As the Wicked Watch by Tamron Hall.
A Chicago crime reporter wants to draw more attention to a case involving a young Black girl.
When crime reporter Jordan Manning leaves her Texas hometown to take a job in Chicago, she keeps getting called to cover the deaths of Black women, all of them quickly forgotten.
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
A corporate attorney in Atlanta struggles to balance her career, her family secrets, and the death of her boss.
I loved this one, which was as much a family story and a narrative of the difficulties of being a black woman in the corporate world!
Cozy Mysteries by Black Women Authors
This is a great list of cozies written by Black cozy mystery writer Esme Addison – find it her on her author website. Here is her series plus a few of her recommendations.
Murder from A to Z by V.M. Burnes (2026)
This book is part of the Mystery Bookshop series, featuring bookstore owner Samantha Washington.
Bush Tea Murder by Ashley-Ruth Bernier (2026)
Food journalist Naomi Sinclair heads to her native St Thomas and can’t help but solve a variety of puzzling cases.
Starseekers by Nicole Glover (2026)
A cozy and magical historical mystery set in the 1960s. A NASA engineer with magical powers investigates a museum theft.
History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook (2025)
A junior professor at a small college starts digging into the death of one of her colleagues.
My Review of History Lessons is here!
Savvy Summers and Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (2025)
The proprietor of a soul food cafe has to solve a mystery when one of her customers turn up dead.
A Spell for Trouble (Enchanted Bay series) by Esme Addison (2020)
A woman solves mysteries in a seaside North Carolina town.
Alex Daniels hasn’t set foot in the quiet seaside town of Bellamy Bay since her mother’s tragic death. Bellamy Bay is a town that harbors dark secrets. When her aunt Lidia is arrested, Alex is certain Lidia is being framed, and she resolves to find out why.
Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett
A “semi-famous, mega-broke Black actress” gets embroiled in a murder.
A semi-famous, broke actress witnesses a deadly hit-and-run. While she can really use the fifteen grand reward, she soon finds herself doing a full-on investigation.
Psychological Suspense and Horror by Black Women Authors
Better Than You Know Yourself by Kristen L. Berry (2027)
The friendship of two ride-or-die best female friends is tested when the investor in their new business is found dead. When one of the women becomes the prime suspect, will these friends band together or fracture apart?
Nobody Heard a Thing by Angela Henry (2026)
A documentary filmmaker tackles a 25 year old cold case.
The Exes by Leodora Darlington (2026)
A woman who has finally found Mr. Right is shocked when her exes start turning up dead.
My review of The Exes is here!
We Don’t Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry (2025)
A former journalist returns to her hometown to help clean out her mother’s house. What she discovers shocks her: evidence of a string of unsolved missing persons cases from the 1960s, all of them young Black women.
Loved this one! Check out my review.
What Never Happened by Rachel Howzell Hall (2023)
Coco relocates to her Catalina Island home, where, twenty years before, she was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion.
But as Coco learns more about the number of elderly residents dying on the island, she quickly realizes that the circumstances surrounding them are remarkably similar…and not natural. I
Jackal by Erin E. Adams (2024)
Part “evil in a small town” book, part horror, this one was a fantastic read with an ending that had me going… what??!!
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. On the night of the wedding, the newlyweds’ daughter, Caroline, disappears—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.
As a frantic search begins, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern.
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
Gentrification in Brooklyn takes a truly sinister turn in this cozy-turned-horror book.
Sydney’s beloved Brooklyn neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo.
But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.
Legal Thrillers by Black Women Authors
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams (2021)
First in the Avery Keene series, this book follows a Supreme Court law clerk. When the justice she clerks for (a regular swing vote on the court) slips into a coma, Avery needs to get to the bottom of what’s happening.
Book two: Rogue Justice (2023)
Book three: Coded Justice
Every Reasonable Doubt by Pamela Samuels Young
When attorneys Vernetta Henderson and Neddy McClain are tapped to take on the biggest case of their careers, they are less than thrilled about working together on a case for a socialite client charged with the brutal murder of her husband.
Historical Mysteries by Black Women Authors
Harlem Renaissance Mystery series by Nekesa Afia
Louise Lloyd, a survivor turned reluctant amateur detective, investigates murders against the backdrop of Prohibition-era Harlem nightlife.
- Dead Dead Girls (2021) — Book 1
- Harlem Sunset (2022) — Book 2
- A Lethal Lady (2024) — Book 3
A Canary Club Mystery series by Louise Hare
Lena Aldridge, a mixed-race singer navigating the 1930s nightclub scene, gets pulled into murder on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Miss Aldridge Regrets — Book 1, set in 1936 aboard the RMS Queen Mary
- Harlem After Midnight — Book 2, set in 1936 Harlem
The Mysterious Death of Junetta Plum by Valerie Wilson Wesley (A Harriet Stone Mystery)
Set in 1926 Harlem, newly arrived Harriet Stone inherits a brownstone after her cousin is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, and turns amateur detective to find out why.
Strivers by Afia Atakora (coming February 2027)
Strivers is a standalone novel set in the same Harlem Renaissance era and also Afia Atakora’s first mystery. Atakora’s award-winning debut, Conjure Women, was historical fiction set before and after the Civil War. Strivers is a murder mystery that follows a documentary crew who unearth a body in a Harlem brownstone’s wall, a body linked to a bootlegger-turned-speakeasy-owner’s downfall.
Tell me what you thought of any of these Mysteries and Thrillers by Black Women Authors and give me your suggestions for my list in the comments!
Some of those books look interesting.
Oooh, these all look so good! I hadn’t of A Darker Shade Of Crimson before, now I definitely want to read it. Thanks for the great list!
I am super excited about that series as I love Dark Academia-style stuff. If you haven’t checked out my Dark Academia Book List, I linked it. Haven’t added this series yet; but I hope to read the first book first!
Try One Drop by Alice Fried. Takes place during Katrina in New Orleans… Great read.
Thanks so much for the recommendation!
Thank you for putting this together.
If you have suggestions of books to add please let me know!