Mysteries by Black Authors

I discuss the Zora Neale Hurston short story, "A Bit of Our Harlem." A wonderful short story that captures kindness shared between two people in 1920s Harlem.

Join me on my trek through the short stories of Zora Neale Hurston.

https://www.ifoundthisgreatbook.com/reading-zora-neale-hurstons-short-stories/

This week I am featuring the creator of the Gotta series of romantic mysteries, Deliah Lawrence. I discuss Deliah Lawrence's two novels, "Gotta Let It Go" and "Gotta Get It Back".

https://www.ifoundthisgreatbook.com/reading-zora-neale-hurstons-short-stories/

This week I am featuring author Glenville Lovell. He is the author of the Blades Overstreet series of hard-boiled mysteries.

View all the books in the Blades Overstreet series at https://www.ifoundthisgreatbook.com/62

This week I am featuring mystery author Pamela Samuels Young, the author of the Vernetta Henderson Series and Dre Thomas Series.

Books in the Vernetta Henderson Series

• Every Reasonable Doubt
• In Firm Pursuit
• Murder on the Down Low
• Attorney-Client Privilege
• Lawful Deception

Books in the Dre Thomas Series

• Buying Time
• Anybody's Daughter
• Abuse of Discretion
• Failure to Protect

This week I am celebrating a milestone. There are now 100 authors in the Black Mystery Author Directory. There are 444 books of all styles of mysteries. In this episode I give a brief break down of the types of mysteries you will find in the directory and the different options available to discover authors and browse the books. I am continuing to add new authors every Monday, Wednesday and Friday so check back regularly to see what is new in the directory.

You can browse the directory by going to www.ifoundthisgreatbook.com/bmad.

I have very special treat for you. I have a wonderful interview with the fantastic writer Justina Ireland. Justina Ireland is the author of Dread Nation and the sequel, Deathless Divide. I had the pleasure of talking about Dread Nations with the fantastic bloggers Marci and Ako of the Colored Pages Book Club. They have a wonderful bi-monthly podcast where they talk about fiction, fantasy, and magical realism written by writers from colorful backgrounds. Marci and Ako joined me for this interview. This was a great collaboration with them.

Dread Nation and Deathless Divide are set in a post civil war time period where the dead have come alive as zombies (called shamblers). In this world black people just one step out of slavery are dealing with the powers to be are trying hard to hold on to a world that is no longer possible. The story follows the lives of Jane McKeene and Katherine Deveraux, two young black women who are being trained to become attendants. Attendants are black women who are trained to kill shamblers and be the protectors of well off white women.

I enjoyed both of these books and I definitely recommend them. The pacing and depth of the world built by Ms. Ireland is incredible. Jane and Katherine are fantastic characters. The bring the art of killing zombies to a whole new level. I listened to the audiobook version of both books and that experience was fantastic. These stories are real page turners. Justina Ireland presents an alternative history that is very believable.

I want to thank Justina Ireland. It was wonderful talking with her and she shared so much wisdom about the writing process. I can not recommend her books enough. Her ability to present an alternative history in such a compelling way is stunning. This makes the third Justina Ireland book I have read and I enjoyed all of them. You can check out my episode on her first book Vengence Bound here.

Finally, a big thank you to Marci and Ako from the Colored Pages Book Club for joining me. Please check out Marci and Ako's podcast episode featuring this interview. They do a great job of synopsizing the books they read. They are great people and their insights into the books they read are fantastic.

This week I am featuring the author Austin Camacho. He is the author of the Hannibal Jones Mystery Series and the Stark and O'Brian Thriller Series. He also has two stand alone mysteries.

The Hannibal Jones Series include the following books:

• The Troubleshooter
• Blood and Bone
• Collateral Damage
• Damage Goods
• Russian Roulette
• Pyramid Deception
• The Wrong Kind

His Hannibal Jones series is a gritty hard boiled mystery series with a lot of action and intrigue.

Here is the book blurb from the first book in the series:

"Dan Balor, a high powered Washington attorney, buys an apartment building in the heart of the city, hoping to create low income housing for good families. Instead he finds the building occupied by squatters: drug dealers, winos, and hookers intent on staying in place. Police and private investigators are unable to empty the building for use by paying residents. No one seems willing or able to take on this challenge until Balor meets Hannibal Jones. Hannibal soon finds himself up against a local crime boss and his powerful mob connected father. The conflict spreads until Hannibal realizes that his stand against the mob could explode into a full-fledged riot unless he can somehow end it all, without surrendering the building and the neighborhood to the criminals."

Austin Camacho has a stand alone mystery titled "Beyond Blue".

From the back cover:

"Beyond Blue is a mosaic about a privately funded detective agency whose only purpose is to help police officers in trouble. The story follows four of the agency's cases, which overlap and intersect:

• An undercover officer is in danger of really being drawn into a life of crime.

• A crooked lawyer is destroying police careers by making arresting officers appear to have violated criminals' rights.

• A cop's wife accuses him of abusing their daughter.

• A retired policed detective who is in charge of airport security could lose his job because of drugs being smuggled in through JFK International.

Pursuing these cases is a team of unique and intriguing detectives. The agency's director, the enigmatic Paul Goman, sits at the center of the action, pulling the strings to direct a team of unique and intriguing agents to solve their cases and cover each other."

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Camacho and getting copies of his books signed. You can go to www.ifoundthisgreatbook.com/57 to see my picture with Austin Camacho.

Austin Camacho is also editorial director for Intrigue Publishing, a Maryland small press. He is deeply involved with the writing community. He is a past president of the Maryland Writers Association, past Vice President of the Virginia Writers Club, and is an active member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

If you love a good hard boiled mystery or thriller, you should check out the works of Austin Camacho.

This week I am featuring the prolific and versatile mystery author R. Barri Flowers.

R. Barri Flowers is an award-winning criminologist and bestselling author of more than eighty books, including mystery and thriller fiction, relationship novels, young adult mysteries, and children's books.

You can see all of his books by going to his website www.rbarriflowers.com.

You can also go to his author page in the Black Mystery Author Directory by going to https://www.ifoundthisgreatbook.com/56