Open Books Challenge 2025: BIPOC Mystery Author

Updated December 31, 2024
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Dead dead girls
Afia, Nekesa
Paper Book
"In this terrific series opener, Afia evokes the women's lives in all their wayward and beautiful glory, especially the abruptness with which their dreams, hopes and fears cease to exist."--TheNew York Times The start of an exciting new historical mystery series set during the...
Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick! A Printz Medal AND Morris Award Winner! Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground.
The family Chao : a novel
Chang, Lan Samantha
Paper Book
One of Literary Hub's and The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of 2022 A Goodreads Readers' Most Anticipated Mystery of 2022 An acclaimed storyteller returns with "a gorgeous and gripping literary mystery" that explores "family, betrayal, passion, race, culture and the American...
Looking for smoke
Cobell, K. A.
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK In her powerful debut novel, Looking for Smoke, author K. A. Cobell (Blackfeet) weaves loss, betrayal, and complex characters into a thriller that will illuminate, surprise, and engage readers until the final word. A must-pick for readers who enjoy books by...
A deadly inside scoop
Collette, Abby
Paper Book
This book kicks off a charming cozy mystery series set in an ice cream shop-with a fabulous cast of quirky characters. Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family's ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she's going back to basics. Win is renovating Crewse...
Razorblade tears
Cosby, S. A.
Paper Book
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer * New York Times Notable Book * NPR's Best Books of 2021 * Washington Post's Best Thriller and Mystery Books of the Year * TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books...
Queen of the tiles
Hanna Alkaf
Paper Book
They Wish They Were Us meets The Queen's Gambit in this "stunning...unforgettable" (Publishers Weekly) thriller set in the world of competitive Scrabble, where a teen girl is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend when her Instagram comes back to life...
Sheine Lende : a prequel to Elatsoe
Little Badger, Darcie
Paper Book
Best of the Year: NPR - Common Sense Media - BookPage - Kirkus Shane works with her mother and their ghost dogs, tracking down missing persons even when their families can't afford to pay. Their own family was displaced from their traditional home years ago...
Arsenic and adobo
Manansala, Mia P.
Paper Book
In the small town of Shady Palms, Illinois, Lila Macapagal and her relatives run Tita Rosie's Kitchen, serve delicious Flipino dishes, and solve crimes on the side.
The widows of Malabar Hill
Massey, Sujata
Paper Book
Bombay, 1921: Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father's law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a law degree from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes her especially devoted to championing and...
Tristan Strong keeps punching
Mbalia, Kwame
Paper Book
Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the finale of Kwame Mbalia's trilogy, in which Tristan Strong faces off with his archenemy, King Cotton, once and for all. "Imagine if you combined Anansi the Spider, John Henry, and Marvel into, like, one book."--New York Times best...
The Bangalore Detectives Club
Nagendra, Harini
Paper Book
A "">New York Times Notable Book of the Year The first in a charming, joyful crime series set in 1920s Bangalore, featuring sari-wearing detective Kaveri and her husband Ramu. Perfect for fans of Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies...
Under lock & skeleton key
Pandian, Gigi
Paper Book
"Wildly entertaining." --The New York Times Book Review A Lefty Nominee for Best Mystery Novel Known for her wonderfully addictive characters, multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in this heartfelt series debut. Under Lock...
The verifiers
Pek, Jane
Paper Book
ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S BEST MYSTERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR * Introducing Claudia Lin: a sharp-witted amateur sleuth for the 21st century. This debut novel follows Claudia as she verifies people's online lives, and lies, for a dating detective agency in New York City. Until...
Mango, mambo, and murder
Reyes, Raquel V.
Paper Book
Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quinones-Smith becomes a seasoned sleuth in Raquel V. Reyes's Caribbean Kitchen Mystery debut, a savory treat for fans of Joanne Fluke and Jenn McKinlay. Food anthropologist Miriam Quinones-Smith's move from New York to Coral Shores, Miami,...
Harvest house
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Paper Book
NSK Neustadt Laureate and New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith delivers a thrilling cross-genre follow-up to the acclaimed Hearts Unbroken. Deftly leading readers to the literary crossroads of contemporary realism and haunting mystery, Cynthia...
Vera Wong's unsolicited advice for murderers
Sutanto, Jesse Q.
Paper Book
A USA Today bestseller Edgar Award Winner for Best Original Paperback Audie Award Winner for Mystery Libby Award Winner for Best Mystery A lonely shopkeeper takes it upon herself to solve a murder in the most peculiar way in this captivating mystery by...

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