Mystery Fiction Africa

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.

Enzo and Angel are back and this time with a vengeance. Micah was hell-bent on forcing their hands and pushing them back into the lifestyle they'd left behind after Damien Orlando's demise. With time ticking away along with Enzo's desire to keep his career and family intact, he will become the monster Micah accused him of being. Enzo will embrace the darkness that flows freely through his veins and make Micah rue the day he awakened the sleeping giant.

Lauren Daniels had everything planned. She'd go to college, get the degree, settle down, get married, build her career as a sought-after architect and have a family. For the most part, things worked accordingly. Until she decides to change the plans to get what she wants. Now, a chance encounter with a handsome man brings more than just the broken vows of infidelity. Leaving Lauren to wonder if she should have left well enough alone. How quickly we forget that things done in the dark always comes to light. Sometimes the best laid plans can spell disaster or even cost you a life.

Meet the gang; Wynn, Daena, Kaiman, and Teion. They’ve been thick as thieves since the third grade and blood couldn’t make them closer. While time seemed to sail by, friendship turned into love, and lust morphed into infatuation. Unbeknownst to the gang, the sins of their parent’s past have created a prowler that’s willing to do anything he can to obtain his heart’s desires; including kill. On the night deemed as a rite of passage for teenagers, tragedy is struck. Leaving everyone wheeling, friendships torn, and lovers scorned. Buckle up, because this two part series is about to ...

𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍, 𝑴𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂, 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 ...

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.

The D-City crew has had their share of up and downs, but nothing like the drama that they are facing now. Kyra and Ace are both devastated to learn that their daughter has been kidnapped, and that Shelly, Kyra’s mom, has been killed. Will their grief tear them apart? Or draw them together? Akia has always been a killer. Now that Ray has taken their daughter, Akia is in beast mode! Can Tan handle Akia the Killer? Or will he throw in the towel like Ray? Ro/Viper thought that he was getting everything under control. He and Aja are engaged, about to start a family, and he is getting help for ...

Just when Aja and Ro were starting to heal and fall in love; the unthinkable happened and they are torn apart. Aja is missing and Ro is devastated and driven into an unstable condition. Can he find Aja in time before he loses himself? Ace has been in love with Kyra since they were young. He had given up on her and moved on with Camille. When circumstances start to lead him back to Kyra, her secret comes out devastating him. Will he forgive Kyra and choose her? Or will her secret lead him to stay with Camille? Akia and Ray have always been the perfect couple. But cracks start to form when ...

In this explosive fourth installment of The Thugtress of Harlem, Lady reigns supreme over the DuPont crime family after the death of Drac. Firm in her newfound position, she controls the family with an iron fist. Confined to federal lockup, fighting unbeatable charges, Big Bear’s infuriated when learning that mostly everyone has flipped on him. Tension rises behind bars, and he strikes a powerful Harlem figure. This move brings forth chaos in the streets, causing many to flip on the DuPont’s for his actions. With Harlem turning on the DuPont’s, and even their own soldiers flipping, ...

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.

MEMORIES BECOME THE MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON WHEN YOU CAN'T TRUST YOUR OWN. Willow Harper has been charged with the brutal murder of her friends. But confined to Bordeaux Behavioral Hospital with no recollection of that tragic night, she is left questioning her own innocence. Public defender Donovan Thomas takes on her case, determined to get to the truth. But Willow's convenient amnesia raises more questions than answers. Why can't she recall any details? And why does it seem like she's hiding something? But to comprehend Willow's unstable grip on reality means confronting the cracks in his ...

Dontay Walker had it rough growing up in the projects with a drug-addicted mother who forced him to become a man at the young age of 15. His father was a rolling stone, having multiple children with many women. Dontay always fought for his father's attention - until taking his spot became more important than gaining his love. Now, at the age of 30, Don is the leader of one of the most successful and most feared drug organizations in the city of Philadelphia.

In this fascinating tale set in 1919, the Thomas family leaves New Orleans for Chicago as part of the Great Migration, seeking equality denied in the South. They are confident and optimistic. But hope is extinguished when they are met by 6,000 National Guard troops deployed to quell an earlier race riot. Linda and Ben prepare their nephew Trey to lead the family through the treacherous landscape of a big city plagued by segregation, police violence, and corruption. Is he ready? They devise a risky plan to challenge real estate covenants banning Blacks from buying homes in white ...

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.

The most lethal ride-or-die women in Memphis now run their gangs and the streets. But the aftermath of an all-out war means merciless new enemies, time-bomb secrets... and one chance to take it all... Bullets have no names and collateral damage is the game as the women of the Dirty South push to secure total control.

The most ruthless ride-or-die women of Memphis saved their empire by nearly destroying the streets. But as unexpected new rivals rise and brutal secrets shatter lives, betrayal means winner rules all. Putting out chaos with gasoline is one play that even the women of the Dirty South can't control. One merciless kill vaults good-girl-gone-bad Ta'Shara into gangland's power elite - but an enemy she doesn't see is targeting everything she can't afford to lose.

For Carter Madden, his time in the military isn't the only thing that haunts him. For Serenity Taylor, unanswered questions can drive a sane mind mad with speculation. But a Madden man may not be for every woman, especially when broken promises cut deep and unknown secrets whisper loudly in the dark.

At the height of the Bloods gang epidemic of the 1990’s plaguing New York City, Spade meets Sue Blue, a female Crip from the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Forging a tight bond, the two eventually create an epidemic of their own, adding to the city’s already existing gang problem. As Sue Blue completes a short stint in the city’s notorious juvenile lockup, Spofford, Spade becomes a dominant force in his neighborhood, a leading figure. However, he never forgets his friend, Sue Blue, and, outside of her presence, places her at the top tier of a gang he organizes in Brooklyn, giving ...

Stacy has always been the good girl from her Brooklyn neighborhood, balancing her studies and dreams of a better life while navigating the gritty reality of project living. But everything changes when a traumatic event shatters her innocence, pushing her into the depths of a world she wanted no parts of. In the wake of her violation, Stacy’s perspective on life flips upside down; the streets that once seemed dangerous now feel like her only escape. Desperate for connection and understanding, she finds herself drawn to Ace, a charismatic yet hardened boy from her projects who knows the ins...

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.