African American Crime Mystery

Doing Time: For the prison writers whose work is included in this anthology, it means more than "serving a sentence"; it means staying alive and sane, preserving dignity, reinventing oneself, and somehow retaining one's humanity. For the last quarter century the prestigious writers' organization PEN has sponsored a contest for writers behind bars to help prisoners face these challenges. The contest honors the best short stories, plays, essays, and poems among hundreds submitted annually by men and women nationwide.

The LaCroixs are four beautiful Haitian American women bound by money and blood. On the surface, the LaCroix Group is a venture capitalist company, but underneath, it’s so much more. The four sisters run long cons, targeting wealthy, prominent business figures. They have a system: Find the perfect mark, create the problem, then present the solution. For a cost....

Katrina – A Dark and Thrilling Romantic Suspense 💀 She was their victim. Now, she’s their worst nightmare. 💀 By day, Detective Frank Gilford hunts criminals. By night, he’s consumed by an obsession—the elusive assassin known as The Phantom. For months, he’s tracked her kills, watching as she eliminates traffickers, corrupt politicians, and untouchable criminals. She’s not just a killer. She’s delivering justice the law can’t reach. Then, she calls him. Her voice is calm. Controlled. Dangerously familiar. She warns him about an enemy lurking in the shadows—the ...

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes.

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.

For Reece and Qwess, being rap superstars was the dream, but in real life, nothing moved without the money. So they formed the Crescent Crew, an outfit of young, ruthless hustlers who locked the Southern drug trade in a stranglehold. They're at the height of their power when Qwess is offered a record deal from a major label. He accepts and makes plans for his whole crew to go legit, but Reece enjoys his position as king of the streets and has no desire to relinquish his crown.

Carlton “Big-Carl” Watts made his name in the streets by robbing and terrorizing drug dealers in order to provide for his family. That is, until he was murdered by a close friend. Leaving his wife to raise their two sons, ‘Champ and Mook’, alone in a poverty-stricken environment where only the strong survive. After their father's untimely demise, brothers, Champ and Mook, find themselves knee-deep in street life at very young ages. Burdened with the pressures of providing for their family as well as living up to the ruthless legacy their father left behind, they decide to dive head-...

Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.

When a Boeing 747 drops out of the sky with the men of the Cartel aboard, the women of the family have to step into their own. With the federal government on their heels and the family on the brink of destruction, a female dynasty is born. After the government's case is thwarted, the ladies plan to take the family legit. They head west to establish a new endeavor, but with new territory come new problems.

“A stellar novel of action, adventure, and intrigue.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author The presumed president-elect has been assassinated. The fate of the United States is at stake. And Detective Jim Murphy of the Chicago PD is to blame. Serving as extra security in a parade for the apparent presidential winner, he succumbs to a moment of distraction. That indelible lapse allows an assassin to take down the president-elect. His shame is made even more profound now that Bryan, his rivalrous brother from the Justice Department, has come to Chicago to investigate the ...

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).

Walter Mosley, "one of crime fiction's brightest stars" ( People), returns to mysteries at last! Fearless Jones is a dazzling new thriller, set in 1950s L.A. and featuring the most engaging hero since Easy Rawlins.

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?

Teen pop star Brittany Crutcher is found dead in small-town Tennessee. For attorney Bocephus Haynes, it’s just another night in Pulaski. Bo swore off criminal work after his last case, but the beloved singer’s murder demands answers. The prime suspect is local high school football hero and the victim’s boyfriend, Odell Champagne. However, this fallen athlete is one of Bo’s son’s best friends. Bo knows this young man and does not believe him capable of the crime. When Odell is charged with murder, Bo reluctantly takes the case, sparking outrage throughout the town.

The Diamond family has survived murder, deceit, and betrayal. Through it all, they’re still standing tall, and a new era has begun. After surviving an attempt on her life, Breeze has moved into the queen’s position by Zyir’s side. Zyir has taken over the empire and locked down Miami’s streets; the world is in his hands. But there is always new blood ready to overthrow the throne. Young Carter has retired and moved away from the madness - that is, until he gets an unexpected visitor at his home. This person shakes up the whole family, causing chaos that threatens to bring down the Cartel for good.

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.

Robyn and Aries are "The Murder Mamas", contract killers from Los Angeles who take no prisoners. It doesn't take them long to link up with Hollywood's biggest drug kingpin, who hires them to take out a snitch and a judge. But the plans backfire, and they complete only half the job. Robyn is caught and put on death row, and Aries goes on the run. She winds up in the islands, where she takes up a new life as a mother and wife and tries to forget who she once was.

TE’QUI is a well-known killer and stickup kid that pumps fear into the hearts of hustlers. He’s cold and calculating—traits that have helped him survive in the trenches. Despite his hard exterior, his desire for a woman to love and trust run deep, which leads him to KESHA, a beautiful hood chick looking for the right man to cherish and hold her down. Together they take the jack game by storm, stacking blood money and leaving D-boys outlined in chalk. But due to an unexpected occurrence, Kesha has to put her gun on the shelf, leaving her man to secure the bags alone. Te’Qui attacks ...

After losing his job, MELVIN finds himself struggling to make ends meet. Figuring that he doesn't have any choice but to get it how he lives, he decides to get his the ski mask way. Melvin's first jack move is successful, but the caper nearly leaves him knocking on death's door. Realizing that he'll need someone in the streets to watch his back, he finds a crime partner in his fifteen-year-old son, TIAZ, a dangerous young thug who's destined for ghetto stardom. On their road to riches, the father and son duo stack plenty of money and dead bodies along the way. But it isn't until they run ...

A smash debut novel from rising star Yasmin Angoe, Her Name Is Knight features an elite assassin heroine on a mission to topple a human trafficking ring and avenge her family....