~ CELEBRATING BLACK AUTHORS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH ~
I find mystery novels to be great comfort reads. I typically (although not always) shy away from the cozies to grittier, darker reads. These three novels, written by Black authors, were some of my favorite 2020 published reads and I cannot recommend them more highly.
Heaven, My Home – Attica Locke
This is the second novel in Locke’s Highway 59 series. I’ve written about the first installment, Bluebird, Bluebird on this blog previously. Heaven, My Home brings us back to the Texas of Ranger Darren Matthews in the wake of Donald Trump’s 2016. Matthews finds himself appealing to his mother — who puts her own interests above those of her son – to gain evidence that could mend his reputation. This mother/son relationship adds an incredible dimension to Locke’s latest and Darren Matthews is fast becoming one of my favorite literary detectives.
Blacktop Wasteland – S.A. Cosby
Don’t open S.A. Crosby’s debut novel unless you have a few hours to read. This novel speeds along at a breakneck pace and you’ll have a difficult time putting it down. Here we meet Beauregard Montage, known as Bug, who is trying his best to get by and provide for his kids. He’s an honest mechanic with a criminal past that he desperately wants to put behind him, but cannot. Although the plot begins with the “one last crime and them I’m done” trope, this novel is anything put the same old, same old. Race and racism takes center stage and Cosby’s experiences almost certainly give urgency and authenticity to the narrative. I love a book that has the reader rooting for the criminal from the first page. And, Bug is a well-developed and sympathetic character.
When No One Is Watching – Alyssa Cole
Alyssa Cole’s When No One Is Watching begins with Brooklyn resident Sydney Green taking an historical tour of her neighborhood. Annoyed by the focus on centuries old white stories with no mention of the rich African-American history of the neighborhood, she decides to research and offer her own tour. Her discoveries as she speaks to neighbors and looks into the history of oppression, gentrification, and outright stealing begin to look a lot like some of the current events taking place with her neighbors and her own mother. Spiked with delicious twists, Cole’s novel slowly begins to vibrate with more than a few Jordan Peele vibes. (Please, oh please, let him pick us the rights to this one!) The final list of references that Cole cites at the end of the novel citing recent articles about real-life Brooklyn gives a sobering reminder that the absurd is reality.
Well-Read Neck 