African American Mystery Thriller Suspense

The Wallace family's vacation to a luxury game reserve in Zimbabwe becomes a living nightmare in this heart-stopping psychological thriller from visionary writer/director Nyasha Hatendi. Starring Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things, The Deliverance), who delivers a gripping performance in his Audible debut, Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi (mBeerwee) plunges listeners into a world where ancient spirits collide with inner wounds and family secrets are as deadly as the strange beasts that stalk the savanna.

Funded by the U.S. Reparations Act and a consortium of billionaires, Kingsland rose from the sea to become a haven for Black excellence—and one of the richest nations in the world. But as its 10th anniversary nears, a series of shocking murders rocks the island. Enter Jamison Wright. An elite profiler lured away from the FBI with an offer no one could refuse: a new life in Kingsland for him and his family. But the deeper he digs into the killings, the more he realizes that Kingsland isn’t just a utopia—it’s a mystery wrapped in surveillance, secrets, and power plays far beyond his imagination.

The battle between good and evil continues as Virginia and her infant son Joshua flee from Detroit, pursued by the sinister Luther Bell (Giancarlo Esposito) and his Morning Stars cult. With her estranged husband Ryan and Moses (Dulé Hill), a devotee with a mysterious past, Virginia finds unlikely allies in Samson (Rhenzy Feliz) and Delilah (Ebony Obsidian). Together, they uncover the truth about Joshua's place in an ancient prophecy. Each perilous step of their journey is guided by Virginia's haunting visions while Bell's forces close in, threatening to tear their world apart.

Blanche White is a plump, feisty, middle-aged African-American housekeeper working for the genteel rich in North Carolina. But when an employer stiffs her, and her checks bounce, she goes on the lam, hiding out as a maid for a wealthy family at their summer home. That plan goes awry when there's a murder and Blanche becomes the prime suspect. So she's forced to use her savvy, her sharp wit, and her old-girl network of domestic workers to discover the truth and save her own skin.

Kimera Davis finds comfort in dating married men. It's easier that way. Her needs are taken care of, and she doesn't have to give more of herself than she wants to. No messy feelings involved. But when the man she's seeing poses an unexpected question, Kimera quickly realizes she's not the only woman pulled in by his charm. Their new arrangement doesn't require much from Kimera, but she soon discovers someone else is pulling the strings. She's not looking for complications, yet she can't help feeling there's something devious at play.

Cops can make mistakes, even when they're not rookies. Deeply traumatized by a shooting incident, Cass Raines resigned from the Chicago PD, leaving one less female African-American on the force. Now she's the head of a one-woman private investigation agency. She also plays chess with the only father figure she's ever known, Father Ray Heaton. When Father Ray asks Cass to look into a recent spate of vandalism at his church, she readily agrees to handle the case. But only hours later she's horrified to discover his murdered body in the church confessional, a dead gangbanger sprawled out nearby.

On the eve of trial, Assistant District Attorney Lainey Abbott gets a disturbing phone call. Her baby sister, Stephanie, who should have been back at her college dorm after visiting for the weekend, never arrived. At first, she isn’t too worried, because she’s a system insider and has plenty of resources available to locate her sister quickly, including Russ Sanders, the police detective she’s been on and off with for years. It’ll take a couple days, tops. They’ll find Steph and give her a piece of their mind for being so irresponsible.

Cleveland Noir joins Columbus Noir as the Akashic Noir series continues its tour of Ohio and navigates the dregs of the North Shore.

Austin joins Dallas and Houston in Akashic's deep dive into the Lone Star State's darkest dimensions. Featuring brand-new stories by: Gabino Iglesias, Ace Atkins, Amanda Moore, Jeff Abbott, Scott Montgomery, Richard Z. Santos, Alexandra Burt, Lee Thomas, Miriam Kuznets, Jacob Grovey, Chaitali Sen, Molly Odintz, Amy Gentry, and Andrew Hilbert.

Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.

This drive through the dark streets of the Motor City “is one of the best in Akashic Books’ noir series. You cannot go wrong with this anthology.”—Reviewing the Evidence From cri….

Delighted by a surprise invitation, Miriam Macy sails off to a luxurious private island off the coast of Mexico, with six strangers - an ex-cop, a chef, a financial advisor, a nurse, a lawyer, and a young widow. Surrounded by miles of open water in the gloriously green Sea of Cortez, Miriam is shocked to discover that she and the rest of her companions have been brought to the remote island under false pretenses - and all seven strangers harbor a secret. Danger lurks in the lush forest and in the halls and bedrooms of the lonely mansion.

Having earned starred reviews and a fervent following for her urban Christian fiction, Leslie J. Sherrod delivers the first in a riveting new series. In Losing Hope, Sienna St. James thinks she’s finally close to getting over her long-lost, globetrotting husband. Or so she thinks. One Tuesday, everything begins to come apart when a succession of strange events - including the mystery surrounding a girl named Hope - brings her past, present, and future into question.

With a race against time and evil oozing from every surface, Shatina and Max are in for the fight of a lifetime. Will they get Shatara back, or will Shatina lose her twin sister forever?"

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.

With a drug addict mother and a drug lord father, Aphtan learns how to fend for herself at an early age. Being the princess of an empire has its perks - until her father gets arrested. From stealing clothes and food to committing fraud, Aphtan does what she has to do to take care of her mother and herself. But when her schemes prove problematic, she turns to a new hustle: dancing at Pearl Tongue, the most notorious strip club in Texas.

Small-town lawyer Bocephus Haynes comes home late one night to find District Attorney General Helen Lewis waiting for him. Her ex-husband has just been killed. She’s about to be arrested for his murder. And she wants Bo to represent her. There’s a lot working against them. Just before his death, Helen’s ex-husband threatened to reveal a dark secret from her past. Bo has been in a tailspin since his wife’s death.

Teen pop star Brittany Crutcher is found dead in small-town Tennessee. For attorney Bocephus Haynes, it’s just another night in Pulaski. Bo swore off criminal work after his last case, but the beloved singer’s murder demands answers. The prime suspect is local high school football hero and the victim’s boyfriend, Odell Champagne. However, this fallen athlete is one of Bo’s son’s best friends. Bo knows this young man and does not believe him capable of the crime. When Odell is charged with murder, Bo reluctantly takes the case, sparking outrage throughout the town.

Animal, the gentle and kind-hearted family man, is still infamous for turning at any moment into a cold-blooded killer. Animal is the product of ruthless abuse and the unforgiving streets - he is the product of the world we all live in. Is there anything that could push you to the breaking point of murder? Are you absolutely sure there isn't? After all, there's an Animal in all of us.

Blanche White is working as a temporary cook and housekeeper for a right-wing Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate, Alistair Brindle, when someone tries to blackmail him. It's an ugly mess that Brindle's political team is eager to sweep under the carpet and that Blanche can't resist cleaning up herself...especially after a young black man is killed who knew too much about Brindle's dirty laundry. Her investigation raises dark secrets involving sex, environmental contamination, and political corruption, difficult stains that someone is trying to remove with murder.