My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin edit to spell last name correctly
Also not a woman, but I really enjoyed the Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaVelle
Sorry, most of my recs are geared towards horror as that is my fave genre!
I'd add N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy to this list, the first book The Fifth Season in particular. It's absolutely masterful, and the whole series is wonderful. Dark, but wonderful
It’s also very satisfying that she went to war with all of white male scifi-dom. They were like, “you can’t suddenly have all the awards! You can have token awards!” But didn’t know she was a tenner and would obliterate them.
For more romance the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms trilogy by Jemisin. I'm ashamed to say that I've only read those and the Dreamblood Duology. Jemisin blew up with the Broken Earth Trilogy but I haven't gotten around to those yet even though my husband bugs me about it all the time.
Parable of the Sower and it's sequal, Parable of the Talents are excellent. Everything I've read by Octavia Butler is amazing. Highly recommend her work.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. It’s dystopian and not a thriller but the book is so incredible that I recommend it to everyone. I genuinely believe Octavia Butler is one of the best authors to ever live.
100% agree. So sad she's gone. I still haven't read Parable of the Sower though!!!! I've read the Lillith trilogy and her short story collection Bloodchild, as well as some other books of hers though. Loved them all.
This book was the reason someone suggested Percival to me! I’ll check it out sometime soon. A friend of mine read Erasure and said that after she finished she’d decided that Percival had the potential to be one of her favorite writers and she strongly encouraged me to pick him up. She is my most reliable source for book recommendations so I gave him a shot. I have not been disappointed.
I love any of Yaa Gyasi’s books, I’ve also enjoyed Bolu Babalola and the Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré. I also enjoyed Blood to Poison by Mary Watson.
It actually IS my favorite book of all time. It's a devastating, but inspiring, epic novel. I recommend this book to everyone I meet.
Transcendent Kingdom is also great, but Homegoing is by far her best. And her debut nonetheless!
Read homegoing by yaa gyasi this year and think it's one of the best books I've ever read. Deeply moving
Chimamanda ngozi adiche is also incredible. I loved half of a yellow sun
NK Jemisin is my favorite black fantasy author
Came here to suggest this! Her books are fantastic, and would probably interest those who love magical realism.
I personally love her short story collections (What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, in particular) and think that's a great starting place for anyone wanting to get into her works.
Giovanni’s Room - James Baldwin (short, intense, beautifully written)
The Color of Water - James McBride (great memoir)
Between The World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates (powerful, concise memoir)
Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (great novel)
All The Sinners Bleed - S.A. Cosby (solid thriller)
My favorite novel by a black author is probably *Their Eyes Were Watching God* by Zora Neale Hurston. Although Richard Wright's autobiographical *Black Boy* was also impressive.
Those are older books, of course. There are so many talented brothers and sisters writing today! I peeked below and saw several mentions of Octavia Butler books. If you like her stuff, you should give the works of Samuel Delany a shot.
I loved all of ZNH’s books. Jonah’s Gourd Vine is also a must read to me, along with her short stories Gilded Six Bits and Sweat. Of course her unpublished book about the last African born slave was just published a few years ago too.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (also The Mothers but I liked TVH more)
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Dominoes by Phoebe Mcintosh
The vanishing half and such a fun age we're really good!
OP - I found homegoing to be just ok. It had a lot of potential that it just didn't quite live up to. The author of the poet x is afro Latina and I really liked it. Def listen to the audiobook if you can!
I've never read anything like Quan Barry's book *When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East.* Haven't read anything else by her but that was a really unique book!
I don’t know if you are aware of the fact that the juvenile detention center she called Graceland, maybe? Did exist. The author Colson Whitehead also wrote a novel about it titled “The Nickle Boys.” I used to live about 40 miles from there. Both of these novels are based on true stories of the people about whom they wrote. If you’re interested, I know about the now closed facility. Dozier School for Boys. “The Nickle Boys,” by Colson Whitehead is also the novelization of the Dozier School for Boys. It was a real juvenile detention center where mass graves were discovered by USF anthropology students who wanted to see if they could learn the truth about the atrocities committed at the detention center. They learned more than the bargained for.
THE NICKEL BOYS made me break down crying as I rarely do when reading.
Tananarive Due has one of the best modern haunted house novels I’ve ever read. If you like thrillers, try it!
Jackal by Erin E Adams is mystery/mindfuck
Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers is a sweet queer romance
Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is the Hunger Games meets Orange is the New Black
For American Southern historical fiction (I know, not mentioned as a preference), look at books by Colson Whitehead and Jesmyn Ward.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Absolutely Alyssa Cole! She has a new one out too.
Plus her contemporary romances are amazing, and filled with women that you’d genuinely want to be friends with, and men you’d actually want to know
Anything I’ve read by Octavia Butler
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
And I’m excited to read The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
It sounds like you would really like SA Cosby. Other suggestions: Kelly Reid, Angie Thomas - and you have got to read Octavia Butler’s books. They are so good and will give you the excitement and intensity that thrillers offer. One of my favorite books is by Rivers Solomon: The Deep.
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor is really great! It’s very graphic and at times upsetting (triggers for sexual violence, war, abuse, etc.) but really well done!
Burned through it.
Came looking for this. Finally got round to reading Things Fall Apart after an old copy got passed onto me literally falling apart. Easy to see why it's a classic and recommended on so many "books you must read" lists. A tight, well structured and satisfying story of village life.
I suggest her every time romance comes up, but I think Jasmine Guillory is one of the best romance authors working right now, and she happens to be Black. Start with The Wedding Date and then if you like it, there are a bunch in that same world.
"BINTI" by Nnedi Okorafor. SO many well deserved awards. There's sequels, too.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binti\_(novella)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binti_(novella))
Check out these awesome books:
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, this book is about Korede, who always has to clean up after her beautiful but deadly sister, Ayoola. It's a mix of thriller and family drama.
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris, this psychological thriller is about Nella, the only Black employee at her publishing house, who starts getting threatening notes after another Black girl is hired. It's a real page-turner!
I found the Other Black Girl to be extremely frustrating and a let down. SUCH a great idea that was executed terribly. 300 pages of build up for 15 pages of climax! Really a bummer.
Here's some of my favourites. I don't read a lot of mystery, thriller, or psychological novels, but maybe you will like these:
* Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. Historical fantasy.
* Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany. Pulp sci fi.
* The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. Apocalypse fantasy
**Caul Baby** by Morgan Jerkins
Criminally overlooked when it was released in 2021. Family drama about gentrification and motherhood, with some magical realism thrown in for spice.
**Dread Nation** and **The Deathless Divide** by Justina Ireland
Alternative history/horror about the Civil War being cut short by a zombie apocalypse. Like if *World War Z* and *Ring Shout* had a Civil War baby. Has my very favorite depiction of female friendship.
**Deacon King Kong** by James McBride
I’ve only laughed out loud for two books in my lifetime and this is one of them.
**Transcendent Kingdom** by Yaa Gyasi
I’ve seen Homegoing already recommended— and it’s amazing— but I really love this little gem of a book. It’s very different and more meditative, explores the intersection of faith, science, culture, mental health, and addiction.
**She Would Be King** by Wayetu Moore
Magical realism about the founding of Liberia. I had to stare into space for a few minutes when I was done with it
**The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X** by Les and Tamara Payne
Don’t know if you’re at all interested in non fiction, but this is one of the best biographies I’ve ever read.
**Queenie** by Candice Carty Williams
I love the main character so much. I wanted to hug her and shake her at the same time.
**The Ugly Cry** by Danielle Henderson
Memoir. One of the few accounts of childhood abuse (that’s not all it’s about) that I could relate to in its matter-of-factness. Not a lot of hand wringing.
Everyone is saying it already, but another vote for Jemisen and Butler
Powerful SJ/race/gender studies authors bell hooks and Audre Lorde
Assatta’s eponymous autobio should be required reading imho
Rachel Howzell Hall!! She can set so much tension in a thriller and it starts making ME feel a bit paranoid. She’s a lesser known author so I love being able to direct people to her work. Her protagonists are body positive but come with their own insecurities and non-physical flaws, and I always end up getting attached to them
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Erasure by Percival Everett
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Another Country by James Baldwin
Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Queenie by Candace Carty-Williams
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Kiley Reid, Tayari Jones, Cherie Jones, Bernardine Evaristo, Zadie Smith, Malorie Blackman, Bolu Babalola, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - anything by any of them :D
From my county I love Whiti Ihimaera’s works - The Whale Rider and his short stories collection Pounamu Pounamu.
Overseas - The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas. There’s also the Three Musketeers but could never quite get into it
Mondays not coming by Tiffany Jackson
Her name is knight by Yasmin Angoe
The perfect sister by desiree
Razor blade tears by S.A. Cosby
Chain gang all stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
You said you’ve read Tiffany D. Jackson. She has a book called The Weight of Blood which is a retelling of Carrie. Sounds up your alley if you haven’t read it
Disclaimer: I have only read some of the books on this list,but I hear the others are good. All of the following books were written by Black authors about Black main characters.
Romance: (All of these books are about heterosexual couples unless stated otherwise)
1. The Davenports by Krystal Marquis (Set in early 1900s Chicago, Illinois, USA)
2. The Wild Wynchesters series by Erica Ridley
It’s set in early 1800s England and follows the romantic adventures of a group of adopted siblings. Each book is about a different sibling.The first book in the series is about a white heterosexual couple. The second book is about a white lesbian couple. The third book is about a black heterosexual couple.
3. Aphrodite and The Duke by JJ McAvoy (Set in early 1800s England)
4. One Season With The Duke by Addy Du Lac (Set in 1830s England and Scotland)
5. That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole (Female x Female)
6. How To Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole (Set in a modern fictional African Kingdom)
Mystery/Thriller:
7. Land of Shadows by Rachel Hall
8. These Toxic Things by Rachel Hall
Romantasy (Romance novel with fantasy elements) (All of these books are about heterosexual couples, unless stated otherwise) :
9. Lore of The Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
10. . Faebound by Saara El Arifi (Female x Female)
11. That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
Ace of spades (YA mystery inspired by Get Out)
When no one is watching (adult mystery also inspired by Get Out)
Seven days in June (adult second chance romance)
The color purple (classic / literary fiction?)
Akwaeke Emezi - they’re a nonbinary ogbanje Nigerian author and they write *phenomenally*, literally anything they’ve written is spectacular
War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi - idk how you feel about sci fi but I read this book in a single day and still think about it years later. Far future Nigerian civil war, focuses on two sisters trying to survive
(Disclaimer: I am white and grew up in small town New Hampshire)
Really anything by Toni Morrison; Beloved and Song of Solomon are my favorites, with Sula coming in as a close third. I don't know if they really fit the mystery/thriller genre, as they're pretty solidly literary fiction, but Beloved definitely has elements of mystery, as well as speculative, which is cool. It's one of the most original and genius ghost stories ever written.
I also really love Helen Oyeyemi's White is for Witching and I'm really excited to read her other books. That one's also got elements of thriller/mystery and speculative stuff (haunted house...so cool). For a more realist pick, a year or two ago I read Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and it did a great job of setting up a light and humorous romantic story and then quickly descending into a psychological exploration of the mental/emotional toll of existing as a black woman (but it doesn't get too terribly depressing unlike Morrison who can be very emotionally taxing).
I enjoyed the Blanche White series by Barbara Neely! They're murder mysteries.
I'm currently reading the second book in the Earthseed series by Octavia Butler, and it's very good. I've enjoyed everything I've read by Octavia Butler. Sci-fi but honestly the only sci-fi I like (so far), if that says anything.
Eta because I just saw that you sometimes like romance, Talia Hibbert is one of my favorite romance writers! The Brown Sisters series is *so* good and my favorite, but I've loved every book I've read by them.
Not a book, but an extremely good short story by Octavia E. Butler. It’s free to read.
[Bloodchild](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/bloodchi.htm)
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Song of Solomon and Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor, The Other Black Girl by Zadie Smith, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
I've seen Octavia Butler mentioned like 50 times so far and this is the first response I've seen mention James Baldwin, who is an infinitely better writer than Butler. Redditors just love their dystopias I guess.
Beverly Jenkins for romance! The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton is an older YA mystery with a really adventure-y, creepy vibe. It reminded me of Lovecraft Country (which was not written by a Black author but has a primarily Black cast and is just. really good horror/sci-fi). Brandon Taylor writes literary fiction, not thrillers/fantasy but he’s a really solid academia, relationships, lonely slice of life author.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Americanah
Brit Bennett: the Vanishing Half
Octavia Butler: Kindred
Bernardine Evaristo: Mr Loverman and Girl, Woman, Other
Yaa Gyasi: Homegoing
Maaza Mengiste: the Shadow King
Isabel Wilkerson: the Warmth of Other Suns
Toni Morrison: Beloved but you'll have read that likewise Alice Walker: the Colour Purple and Zora Neale Hurston: their Eyes Were Watching God
James by Percival Everette , whom I believe is African American and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston. I can’t tell you how much I loved this book.
Intercepted by Alexa Martin (sports romance)
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (a romance with some paranormal mixed in)
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins (one of my favorite historical romances)
Continuum by Danielle Allen (my favorite novella, I read it 2 years ago and think about it all the time still)
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (romance with autistic representation)
Came here to say Kindred by Octavia E Butler is great for suspense and a little science fiction, but I’m now adding My Sister the Serial Killer to my stack. Great recs in this thread!
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin edit to spell last name correctly Also not a woman, but I really enjoyed the Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaVelle Sorry, most of my recs are geared towards horror as that is my fave genre!
I'd add N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy to this list, the first book The Fifth Season in particular. It's absolutely masterful, and the whole series is wonderful. Dark, but wonderful
It’s also very satisfying that she went to war with all of white male scifi-dom. They were like, “you can’t suddenly have all the awards! You can have token awards!” But didn’t know she was a tenner and would obliterate them.
When I finished that series, I was so bereft that I ate ten tacos and it didn't help.
I listened to the Broken Earth Trilogy last year and damn it was so good, really stuck with me for a while
The Fifth Season was a completely unique experience. Really adore it. Jemisin is such an amazing writer.
I wholeheartedly agree, it's top of my To Be Re-read list, and her other works are top of my TBR.
All her work is great
Came to recommend My Sister the Serial Killer! I laughed out loud so many times lol
Seriously love the humor in this book lol!
Based on what you've listed and I've loved, I'm adding My Sister the Serial Killer to my TBR!!!
Seconding The City We Became. That's a great read!
Came to recommend my Sister the Serial Killer Oyinkan Braithwaite is amazing fantastic new talent!
Seconding Victor LaValle!
Anything and everything by Butler and Jemison. I haven't read Braithwaite, I'll check it out.
My sister the serial killer was so good! Really loved it.
Here’s [Bloodchild](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/bloodchi.htm), free to read.
I didn’t know NK Jemison was POC! How neat! I love everything she’s written.
I’m reading the first one and it’s really good. And it’s a very quick read.
My Sister, the Serial Killer was a great read!
Came here to say My Sister the Serial Killer! It's hilarious, disturbing, and brilliantly well-written.
For more romance the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms trilogy by Jemisin. I'm ashamed to say that I've only read those and the Dreamblood Duology. Jemisin blew up with the Broken Earth Trilogy but I haven't gotten around to those yet even though my husband bugs me about it all the time.
Parable of the Sower and it's sequal, Parable of the Talents are excellent. Everything I've read by Octavia Butler is amazing. Highly recommend her work.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. It’s dystopian and not a thriller but the book is so incredible that I recommend it to everyone. I genuinely believe Octavia Butler is one of the best authors to ever live.
Also KIndred! So good.
I read Kindred 20 years ago and remember it like it was yesterday. Amazing.
Kindred is so good and outlander stole this plot
Loooove Kindred!
THIS and patternmaster and … every book of hers I’ve read
This was recommended by a friend last Friday. I am now over halfway through the sequel. It is amazing - bleak as hell at times, but amazing
100% agree. So sad she's gone. I still haven't read Parable of the Sower though!!!! I've read the Lillith trilogy and her short story collection Bloodchild, as well as some other books of hers though. Loved them all.
The Parable of the Sower is SO good! Couldn't put it down -- highly recommend.
Agree with this.
Here’s [Bloodchild](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/bloodchi.htm), free to read.
Percival Everett is a winner.
Came to say Percival Everett! I’ve done; Dr. No, James, and i’m in the middle of The Trees right now. Dr. No has been my favorite
You should check out Erasure too. All of his work is terrific though.
This book was the reason someone suggested Percival to me! I’ll check it out sometime soon. A friend of mine read Erasure and said that after she finished she’d decided that Percival had the potential to be one of her favorite writers and she strongly encouraged me to pick him up. She is my most reliable source for book recommendations so I gave him a shot. I have not been disappointed.
the trees is my favorite from him. "m - i - crooked s - crooked s - i - p - p - i" edit: wow, forgot 3 letters
James is one of my favorite books I've read this year hands down!
Erasure is so so wonderful, and the basis of the recent movie American Fiction.
Beloved by Toni Morrison . Tragic story beautifully told.
Was going to recommend this one too. My favorite of hers that I’ve read so far.
I love any of Yaa Gyasi’s books, I’ve also enjoyed Bolu Babalola and the Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré. I also enjoyed Blood to Poison by Mary Watson.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi might be one of my favourite books of all time
It actually IS my favorite book of all time. It's a devastating, but inspiring, epic novel. I recommend this book to everyone I meet. Transcendent Kingdom is also great, but Homegoing is by far her best. And her debut nonetheless!
Came here to check someone had mentioned this one! Such an incredible book.
Homegoing is in my top 10 - so good
Read homegoing by yaa gyasi this year and think it's one of the best books I've ever read. Deeply moving Chimamanda ngozi adiche is also incredible. I loved half of a yellow sun NK Jemisin is my favorite black fantasy author
my favorite author is from Nigeria!! Helen Oyeyemi 💕 strange, gothic type books. definitely not for everyone but I loooove them
Came here to suggest this! Her books are fantastic, and would probably interest those who love magical realism. I personally love her short story collections (What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, in particular) and think that's a great starting place for anyone wanting to get into her works.
Was going to ask where to start with her. Thank you!
Yes I love Helen Oyeyemi! I think Gingerbread was my favorite!
My recommendation, too! Her work is beautifully creepy.
Love Oyeyemi so much!
This sounds cool, I’m going to check her out! Thanks!
Giovanni’s Room - James Baldwin (short, intense, beautifully written) The Color of Water - James McBride (great memoir) Between The World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates (powerful, concise memoir) Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (great novel) All The Sinners Bleed - S.A. Cosby (solid thriller)
Giovanni’s room is a perfect book ❤️ absolutely brilliant
I find most of Baldwin's work to be shockingly easy to read and accessible and I highly recommend it
“The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store,” by James McBride great book. Also based on true events
I love love love Americanah
Sameee, also the purple hibiscus by her was a great book!
“How to Say Babylon” Should be on this list. As should Nightcrawling, and Things Fall Apart. (In my opinion)
Been scrolling looking for Americanah - it’s so amazing. Stay With Me by Ayòbámi Adébáyò is also very good, moving.
My favorite novel by a black author is probably *Their Eyes Were Watching God* by Zora Neale Hurston. Although Richard Wright's autobiographical *Black Boy* was also impressive. Those are older books, of course. There are so many talented brothers and sisters writing today! I peeked below and saw several mentions of Octavia Butler books. If you like her stuff, you should give the works of Samuel Delany a shot.
I loved all of ZNH’s books. Jonah’s Gourd Vine is also a must read to me, along with her short stories Gilded Six Bits and Sweat. Of course her unpublished book about the last African born slave was just published a few years ago too.
TWWG is one of my fav books of all time. Glad someone else mentioned it!
I want to get the line “work all day for money, fight all night for love” from TEWWG tattooed so bad
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (also The Mothers but I liked TVH more) My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid Dominoes by Phoebe Mcintosh
Love to see the appreciation for Such a Fun Age!
The vanishing half and such a fun age we're really good! OP - I found homegoing to be just ok. It had a lot of potential that it just didn't quite live up to. The author of the poet x is afro Latina and I really liked it. Def listen to the audiobook if you can!
I read Kiley Reid's new book, Come and Get It, earlier this year and really enjoyed it as well!
I've never read anything like Quan Barry's book *When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East.* Haven't read anything else by her but that was a really unique book!
Ooh yes, Such a Fun Age was really good!
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A Cosby is a good mystery thriller.
All the Sinners Bleed was also fantastic!
I second this!! Awesome book and S.A. Cosby has become one of my favorite black authors.
Came here to say this one!! Just read razorblade tears, and personally thought all the sinners bleeding was superior
Tananarive Due is an amazing writer. I especially loved The Reformatory.
I don’t know if you are aware of the fact that the juvenile detention center she called Graceland, maybe? Did exist. The author Colson Whitehead also wrote a novel about it titled “The Nickle Boys.” I used to live about 40 miles from there. Both of these novels are based on true stories of the people about whom they wrote. If you’re interested, I know about the now closed facility. Dozier School for Boys. “The Nickle Boys,” by Colson Whitehead is also the novelization of the Dozier School for Boys. It was a real juvenile detention center where mass graves were discovered by USF anthropology students who wanted to see if they could learn the truth about the atrocities committed at the detention center. They learned more than the bargained for.
THE NICKEL BOYS made me break down crying as I rarely do when reading. Tananarive Due has one of the best modern haunted house novels I’ve ever read. If you like thrillers, try it!
The Reformatory was the best book I read last year. Due is an amazing writer.
wow thanks for this comment, it reminded me of reading the Between a couple years ago and it blowing my mind. need to go get her other books asap now
Jackal by Erin E Adams is mystery/mindfuck Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers is a sweet queer romance Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is the Hunger Games meets Orange is the New Black
I read Chain-Gang this year, it's so good.
Chain-Gang is a contender for my favorite book of 2024. Check trigger warnings- but it is exceptional and important.
Jackal was such a mindfuck. In such a good way. That was one of my favorite books of 2023.
Chain-Gang All Stars was one of my favourite recent releases. I have a signed copy.
For American Southern historical fiction (I know, not mentioned as a preference), look at books by Colson Whitehead and Jesmyn Ward. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Jesmyn Ward is a national treasure. I was so happy when she was given the MacArthur grant.
Hear hear!!
Americanah was great; Half of a Yellow Sun was even better.
Half a Yellow Sun was amazing!
Looooved Americanah. Very complicated and beautiful story.
If you want a thriller/suspense, try "When No One Is Watching" by Alyssa Cole.
Absolutely Alyssa Cole! She has a new one out too. Plus her contemporary romances are amazing, and filled with women that you’d genuinely want to be friends with, and men you’d actually want to know
Girl, woman, other by Bernardine Evaristo
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
One of the best books ever.
I try to recommend this one whenever I can!
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is terrific, and a literary classic.
Anything I’ve read by Octavia Butler Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi And I’m excited to read The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
It sounds like you would really like SA Cosby. Other suggestions: Kelly Reid, Angie Thomas - and you have got to read Octavia Butler’s books. They are so good and will give you the excitement and intensity that thrillers offer. One of my favorite books is by Rivers Solomon: The Deep.
Octavia Butler’s Kindred
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor is really great! It’s very graphic and at times upsetting (triggers for sexual violence, war, abuse, etc.) but really well done! Burned through it.
I burned through the Binti series also. I need to read the rest of her stuff.
Okorafor is a poet of dark things
Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett
I second this. I just finished this. So good.
Things fall apart by chinua achebe
Came looking for this. Finally got round to reading Things Fall Apart after an old copy got passed onto me literally falling apart. Easy to see why it's a classic and recommended on so many "books you must read" lists. A tight, well structured and satisfying story of village life.
Harlem Shuffle and Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead, Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins Valdez
Also Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead!
Underground Railroad is incredible! Very inventive. Harrowing to read
The Nickel Boys is one of my all time favourite books. Just incredible. I’ll read anything by this author.
Both of those won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction
The Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
I suggest her every time romance comes up, but I think Jasmine Guillory is one of the best romance authors working right now, and she happens to be Black. Start with The Wedding Date and then if you like it, there are a bunch in that same world.
It’s a sci-fi pick, but Nnedi Okorafor! I started with “Binti”
"BINTI" by Nnedi Okorafor. SO many well deserved awards. There's sequels, too. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binti\_(novella)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binti_(novella))
I love N.K. Jemisin. She’s one of my favorite authors of all time. The Broken Earth Trilogy is my favorite.
Jesmyn Ward is my favorite author. I highly recommend Salvage The Bones first and then Sing, Unburied, Sing.
Anything by S.A. Cosby but top read is All the Sinners Bleed and Blacktop Wasteland
"Mr fox" by Helen Oyeyemi
Marlon James is an incredible author.
Check out these awesome books: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, this book is about Korede, who always has to clean up after her beautiful but deadly sister, Ayoola. It's a mix of thriller and family drama. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris, this psychological thriller is about Nella, the only Black employee at her publishing house, who starts getting threatening notes after another Black girl is hired. It's a real page-turner!
I found the Other Black Girl to be extremely frustrating and a let down. SUCH a great idea that was executed terribly. 300 pages of build up for 15 pages of climax! Really a bummer.
Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark Bullet Tooth, By Grant Wamack And anything Walter Mosley has written, because he's my favorite author.
I second P. Djeli Clark.
Here's some of my favourites. I don't read a lot of mystery, thriller, or psychological novels, but maybe you will like these: * Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. Historical fantasy. * Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany. Pulp sci fi. * The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. Apocalypse fantasy
Nk Jemisin is awesome. Her world building is so strange and thoughtful
**Caul Baby** by Morgan Jerkins Criminally overlooked when it was released in 2021. Family drama about gentrification and motherhood, with some magical realism thrown in for spice. **Dread Nation** and **The Deathless Divide** by Justina Ireland Alternative history/horror about the Civil War being cut short by a zombie apocalypse. Like if *World War Z* and *Ring Shout* had a Civil War baby. Has my very favorite depiction of female friendship. **Deacon King Kong** by James McBride I’ve only laughed out loud for two books in my lifetime and this is one of them. **Transcendent Kingdom** by Yaa Gyasi I’ve seen Homegoing already recommended— and it’s amazing— but I really love this little gem of a book. It’s very different and more meditative, explores the intersection of faith, science, culture, mental health, and addiction. **She Would Be King** by Wayetu Moore Magical realism about the founding of Liberia. I had to stare into space for a few minutes when I was done with it **The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X** by Les and Tamara Payne Don’t know if you’re at all interested in non fiction, but this is one of the best biographies I’ve ever read. **Queenie** by Candice Carty Williams I love the main character so much. I wanted to hug her and shake her at the same time. **The Ugly Cry** by Danielle Henderson Memoir. One of the few accounts of childhood abuse (that’s not all it’s about) that I could relate to in its matter-of-factness. Not a lot of hand wringing.
Scrolled down for James macbride, just read the heaven and earth grocery store and really enjoyed it! He’s a great novelist
Loved loved loved Caul Baby
Thanks for posting this. 💕 love all these suggestions
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Everyone is saying it already, but another vote for Jemisen and Butler Powerful SJ/race/gender studies authors bell hooks and Audre Lorde Assatta’s eponymous autobio should be required reading imho
Anything by Edwidge Danticat! Especially the short story collection Krik? Krak!
Rachel Howzell Hall!! She can set so much tension in a thriller and it starts making ME feel a bit paranoid. She’s a lesser known author so I love being able to direct people to her work. Her protagonists are body positive but come with their own insecurities and non-physical flaws, and I always end up getting attached to them
Yes! She has a detective series and a stand-alone closed-room mystery as well
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson Erasure by Percival Everett Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin Another Country by James Baldwin Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward Queenie by Candace Carty-Williams Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Older: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston Newer: Octavia Butler, Issa Rae, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Angie Thomas
I've heard good things about Attica Locke.
Bluebird, Bluebird is very good!
Now she can write a book.
The Cutting Season
**Economic Facts and Fallacies** by Thomas Sowell **Eraced** by John Amanchukwu **Devil In A Blue Dress** by Walter Mosley
Anyone who downvotes this simply because Sowell makes the list seriously needs to walk right on out the door.
Kiley Reid, Tayari Jones, Cherie Jones, Bernardine Evaristo, Zadie Smith, Malorie Blackman, Bolu Babalola, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - anything by any of them :D
From my county I love Whiti Ihimaera’s works - The Whale Rider and his short stories collection Pounamu Pounamu. Overseas - The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas. There’s also the Three Musketeers but could never quite get into it
The Wikipedia page for Dumas is also a great story, especially with his father's
Who Fears Death (Nnedi Okorafor); definitely Butler and Jemisin.
Half of a yellow sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Nearly all men in Lagos are mad by Damilare Kuku Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo
Mondays not coming by Tiffany Jackson Her name is knight by Yasmin Angoe The perfect sister by desiree Razor blade tears by S.A. Cosby Chain gang all stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
“Dhalgren”, Samuel R. Delaney.
Octavia Butler, James Baldwin
Definitely check out The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I’ll also ready anything by Helen Oyeyemi
Kindred by Octavia Butler
You said you’ve read Tiffany D. Jackson. She has a book called The Weight of Blood which is a retelling of Carrie. Sounds up your alley if you haven’t read it
I loved "Luster", can't remember who it's by, but she's black. Wow, that was an incredible book. It's about being in your early 20s.
Disclaimer: I have only read some of the books on this list,but I hear the others are good. All of the following books were written by Black authors about Black main characters. Romance: (All of these books are about heterosexual couples unless stated otherwise) 1. The Davenports by Krystal Marquis (Set in early 1900s Chicago, Illinois, USA) 2. The Wild Wynchesters series by Erica Ridley It’s set in early 1800s England and follows the romantic adventures of a group of adopted siblings. Each book is about a different sibling.The first book in the series is about a white heterosexual couple. The second book is about a white lesbian couple. The third book is about a black heterosexual couple. 3. Aphrodite and The Duke by JJ McAvoy (Set in early 1800s England) 4. One Season With The Duke by Addy Du Lac (Set in 1830s England and Scotland) 5. That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole (Female x Female) 6. How To Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole (Set in a modern fictional African Kingdom) Mystery/Thriller: 7. Land of Shadows by Rachel Hall 8. These Toxic Things by Rachel Hall Romantasy (Romance novel with fantasy elements) (All of these books are about heterosexual couples, unless stated otherwise) : 9. Lore of The Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana 10. . Faebound by Saara El Arifi (Female x Female) 11. That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
Ace of spades (YA mystery inspired by Get Out) When no one is watching (adult mystery also inspired by Get Out) Seven days in June (adult second chance romance) The color purple (classic / literary fiction?)
If you like The Color Purple try her short story collection, In Love And Trouble.
Song of Solomon Homegoing Born a Crime (especially good on audio!) The Vanishing Half
Akwaeke Emezi - they’re a nonbinary ogbanje Nigerian author and they write *phenomenally*, literally anything they’ve written is spectacular War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi - idk how you feel about sci fi but I read this book in a single day and still think about it years later. Far future Nigerian civil war, focuses on two sisters trying to survive (Disclaimer: I am white and grew up in small town New Hampshire)
Really anything by Toni Morrison; Beloved and Song of Solomon are my favorites, with Sula coming in as a close third. I don't know if they really fit the mystery/thriller genre, as they're pretty solidly literary fiction, but Beloved definitely has elements of mystery, as well as speculative, which is cool. It's one of the most original and genius ghost stories ever written. I also really love Helen Oyeyemi's White is for Witching and I'm really excited to read her other books. That one's also got elements of thriller/mystery and speculative stuff (haunted house...so cool). For a more realist pick, a year or two ago I read Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and it did a great job of setting up a light and humorous romantic story and then quickly descending into a psychological exploration of the mental/emotional toll of existing as a black woman (but it doesn't get too terribly depressing unlike Morrison who can be very emotionally taxing).
Love White is for Witching!
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is so, so, SO good!
I enjoyed the Blanche White series by Barbara Neely! They're murder mysteries. I'm currently reading the second book in the Earthseed series by Octavia Butler, and it's very good. I've enjoyed everything I've read by Octavia Butler. Sci-fi but honestly the only sci-fi I like (so far), if that says anything. Eta because I just saw that you sometimes like romance, Talia Hibbert is one of my favorite romance writers! The Brown Sisters series is *so* good and my favorite, but I've loved every book I've read by them.
Love Talia Hibbert
Nice, will check out Neeley’s books, always on the lookout for good mysteries.
Not a book, but an extremely good short story by Octavia E. Butler. It’s free to read. [Bloodchild](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/bloodchi.htm)
This is my favourite story by her. I'll never get over it.
_An American Marriage_ and _Silver Sparrow_, both by Tayari Jones
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Song of Solomon and Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor, The Other Black Girl by Zadie Smith, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derek Bell.
All things Percival Everett! I especially loved 'James'.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
belle hooks - really everything she has written is so good!
Big Girl by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
Luster by Raven Leilani! I really like her writing style
Wildseed, Octavia Butler
My two favorite novels of all time (it's a tie) are Jazz by Toni Morrison and Black Boy by Richard Wright. Enjoy.
The children of blood and bone trilogy is excellent
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin | The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
I've seen Octavia Butler mentioned like 50 times so far and this is the first response I've seen mention James Baldwin, who is an infinitely better writer than Butler. Redditors just love their dystopias I guess.
Beverly Jenkins for romance! The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton is an older YA mystery with a really adventure-y, creepy vibe. It reminded me of Lovecraft Country (which was not written by a Black author but has a primarily Black cast and is just. really good horror/sci-fi). Brandon Taylor writes literary fiction, not thrillers/fantasy but he’s a really solid academia, relationships, lonely slice of life author.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Americanah Brit Bennett: the Vanishing Half Octavia Butler: Kindred Bernardine Evaristo: Mr Loverman and Girl, Woman, Other Yaa Gyasi: Homegoing Maaza Mengiste: the Shadow King Isabel Wilkerson: the Warmth of Other Suns Toni Morrison: Beloved but you'll have read that likewise Alice Walker: the Colour Purple and Zora Neale Hurston: their Eyes Were Watching God
The Broken Earth trilogy
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
I'm currently reading **The Reformatory by Tananarive Due** and it's very, very good.
anything by Octavia Butler - she's amazing!
James by Percival Everette , whom I believe is African American and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston. I can’t tell you how much I loved this book.
Intercepted by Alexa Martin (sports romance) A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (a romance with some paranormal mixed in) Indigo by Beverly Jenkins (one of my favorite historical romances) Continuum by Danielle Allen (my favorite novella, I read it 2 years ago and think about it all the time still) Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (romance with autistic representation)
If you like romance, The Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert. The last one is my fave 🤩
For romance, I cannot recommend Talia Hibbert enough.
Came here to say Kindred by Octavia E Butler is great for suspense and a little science fiction, but I’m now adding My Sister the Serial Killer to my stack. Great recs in this thread!
Roxane Gay
Rivers Solomons books, but especially Sorrowland