I Need a Good African American Books to read?

Question

I need anotherr good afriacn AM. Book to read i just got done with reading this book called " It's On And Popin" by Alastair J. Hatter... It was really good now im looking 4 another book to read as well
hit Me Back if you know any!!!!
Mz. Jujicy Moore
Chatt- town Tennessee

Answer 1

what type of african american books interest you? there are so many great books by AA. AA writes books in every genre.

check the african american literature book club

http://aalbc.com/

also, check out http://www.shelfari.com/. this site has many african american authors as members and you can talk to them about their books.

good luck.

Answer 2

There are many wonderful African American authors. Here are two of my favorites to get you started:

Eric Jerome Dickey
Drive Me Crazy
Between Lovers
Cheaters
Milk in my Coffee
Sleeping With Strangers

Zane ( erotica)
Dear G Spot
Love is Never Painless
Addicted
Nervous

Go to www.blackexpressions.com....this is a book club you could join....

www.cushcity.com......more authors

Answer 3

African Americans have a rich heritage and are well represented by some of the most articulate and thoughtful authors. Check out the Harlem rennaisance authors Maya Angelou is perhaps the best know African American author. Her works are classics, but "I know why the caged bird sings" is her most famous and won the pulitzer Alice Walker wrote many books including the Color Purple (also a pulitzer winner) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz Pultizer winner The Known World by Edward P. Jones Pulitzer Winner Toni Morrison Terry McMillian wrote "How Stella got her groove back" and many others. James Baldwin including "Go Tell It on the Mountain" Alex Haley including "Roots" and Autobiography of Malcolm X Sojouner Truth

For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDD1R

Answer 4

1

Answer 5

try the African to American dictionary

hav fun...

Answer 6

Have you read all the classics?

If not, try The Color Purple and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Answer 7

hmm... have you ever heard of the "invisible man?" it's by ralph ellison. it's a harder read but it was pretty good. a little sad if i remember correctly. i had to read it in AP english.

Answer 8

read "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

Answer 9

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" - Zora Neale Hurston

Answer 10

Women's Issues: Popular Fiction by and for Women

Terry McMillan's blockbuster novel Waiting to Exhale (Viking, 1992) is the fast-paced story of four friends in their mid-thirties, and the men who trouble their otherwise confident and successful lives. The support and friendship among the women in the story hit a nerve with black women in America and marked an upsurge in this type of novel, marketed to middle-aged middle class African American women. In the decade since publication of Waiting to Exhale, McMillan has explored many issues faced by African American women, always expressed in her inimitable humorous style. In McMillan's new book, The Interruption of Everything (Viking, 2003), we find Marilyn Grimes wrestling with a full schedule, fluctuating hormones and a nest empty of children, but inhabited by her do-little husband and his live-in mother. She's lucky to have her girlfriends, Bunny and Paulette, who are ready to pick her up when the surprises around the corner knock her over.

Bebe Moore Campbell's book Singing in the Comeback Choir (Putnam, 1998) features Maxine, a successful African American television talk show producer, whose once-famous jazz singer grandmother now needs her attention. Grandmother Lindy Walker is living in the party past, still in her old neighborhood, now run-down and dangerous. The woman who raised Maxine needs help recovering her life -- in the present. To top it off, in addition to the pressures of her demanding work life, Maxine is pregnant and she finds out her husband cheated on her. These are real problems faced by real women in a modern world, and Campbell sets out to solve them with warm humor. Campbell's most recent book, What You Owe Me (Putnam's, 2001), is a complex story of two generations and of a friendship between two women betrayed by greed and mended by hope.

In her wonderfully uplifting style, Pearl Cleage introduces readers to Ava Johnson and her big sister Joyce in What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (Avon, 1997), a heartwarming and surprisingly funny novel about new beginnings and the support only sisters can give. Ava returns to her childhood town of Idlewild, Michigan, thinking her life is basically over. She has AIDS. When wild Eddie Johnson, dreads and all, meets her at the airport, she has no idea that hope for her life has just arrived. Her sister Joyce's story of community building and seeking a new life is continued in I Wish I Had a Red Dress (William Morrow, 2001). Cleage's latest book, Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do (One World/Ballantine, 2003) features Regina Burns, whose new job with an old boss brings her to Atlanta where she meets the love of her life. Themes of support between women and the need for men to be strong and responsible in the community coexist with the simmering romance brewing between Gina and the enigmatic Blue.

Forced to choose between two men she cares for, the widowed Sandy confronts her own insecurities in Some Sunday by Margaret Johnson-Hodge (Kensington, 2001). Her best friends, Martha, a district attorney; Britney, a stay-at-home mother; and the beautiful Janice (all from Butterscotch Blues, St. Martin's Press, 2000) provide her with the support she needs to decide.

Men and Women Together: Popular Fiction by Men for Women and Some Men

Characters in most modern popular women's novels struggle through all kinds of relationship problems, but African American popular fiction seems to zero in on honesty, fidelity and on keeping one's word, especially in marriage. Formerly the province of women authors, now male authors surprise readers with their take on love relationships and marriage, perhaps coming to the same conclusions from a different angle.

Eric Jerome Dickey, who hits readers with fast-paced action, hot sex and violence in male-oriented Thieves' Paradise (Dutton, 2002), shifts to an unnamed female narrator who plans revenge on an unfaithful husband in The Other Woman (Dutton, 2003). Again in Naughty or Nice (Dutton, 2003), Dickey takes the female perspective. The McBroom sisters, Frankie, Livvy and Tommie act as each other's support group when men mess up their lives and the consequences of past mistakes seem insurmountable. Dickey's message is nearly always "do the right thing" and "be honest," but he unquestioningly supports a "have fun doing it" attitude that makes his novels so popular with both men and women. His latest, Drive Me Crazy (Dutton), is expected to be released in July 2004.

Three brothers find out that honesty is the best way out of tough situations in Bittersweet (One World/Ballantine, 2002) by Freddie Lee Johnson III. Clifford, Victor and Nathan face crises in their lives with women. Clifford's perfect fast-track life is destroyed when his wife announces she's leaving him for a more exciting life. Victor, who since his divorce has been interested only in shallow sexual liaisons with women, now shocks himself by falling for a "nice" girl with a young child. And a lovely parishioner tempts the upstanding Christian pastor, Nathan. Only the love and support of their brothers will serve to keep them each on track. Johnson's newest book, A Man Finds His Way (2003) portrays a man trying to do the right thing and getting buffeted by problems with women, a teenage son, and differences of opinion at work.

In a sequel to his debut novel Good Peoples (2000), Marcus Major picks up the lives of Myles and Marisa Moore in A Family Affair (Dutton, 2004). Now married four years and heavily involved in their extended family, Myles's parents' relationship is on the rocks, and when his father Lenny is caught red-handed talking dirty to his mistress, it looks like the end of the forty-year marriage. To compound matters, Myles's teenage niece Jasmine hooks up with a shady character she met at the mall. Major has a gift for developing believable characters whose daily interactions and problems remind us that real life can be handled with the love and support of a family.

Passion catches Joi Weston by surprise when she meets handsome writer Michael Brockmier in Timmothy B. McCann's book, Emotions (Kensington, 2002). Despite her eighteen-year marriage to aspiring politician Phillip, Joi's recent failure to land an acting job because of her age makes her vulnerable to a man who finds her attractive. In a difficult position himself, with failure as a writer imminent, Michael finds himself attracted to Joi in return. Honest self-reflection and open communication may save her marriage. . . .

Only personality makeovers and years of counseling, however, will serve to mend the lives of the characters in Connie Briscoe's P.G. County (Doubleday, 2002)! The affluent African American community of Prince George's County, Maryland is a hotbed of illicit sex and scandalous secrets. Lampooning the immoral rich, Briscoe exposes the guilty secrets of every character she introduces, to such an extent that the reader is left helpless with laughter, ruefully wondering how people can ever get to this sad state. Rampant alcoholism, deceit, shady politics, extramarital affairs, kinky sex, secrets from the past and embarrassing relatives reveal the depravity of lives malnourished on accumulating wealth and starving for honesty, integrity and real love.

Urban Soaps and "Reality" Romances

While most women's fiction is marketed to people in their 30's and 40's, urban soap operas or reality romances often expose wrong living for younger adults in their twenties, and challenge old-fashioned thinking by introducing new sexual mores. The underlying message, however, is the same: be honest, be trustworthy, be a good friend. The difference is that in these books, characters have some very explicit fun on the way to self-discovery!

God's Gift to Women (Simon & Schuster, 2003) by Michael Baisden introduces the perfect man in the form of an after-hours radio talk show host. Women call in for advice on love and Julian Payne always gives them the right answer. What his listeners don't know is that Julian's own love life is on the rocks because a one-night stand is about to ruin his chances with the perfect woman.

Lolita Files portrays young African American women taking the world by the horns and determinedly getting ahead in life any way they can, often finding out that good values assure real success. Beautiful aspiring actresses like Bettina in Blind Ambitions mistakenly think sexual favors given to powerful men in the business will reap career rewards. More often than not, as her friends Desi and Sharon discover, Hollywood welcomes only an elite few and others must make difficult choices and redirect their ambitions. Files's new book, Tastes Like Chicken (Simon & Schuster), came out in May 2004.

The New York gay community features in James Earl Hardy's latest B-Boy Blues story, Love the One You're With (Amistad, 2002). Mitchell Crawford has every intention of staying true to his "beaufriend" while Pooquie chases a career in Hollywood, but he just can't resist the attentions of a hot jazz singer called Montee. Playful scenes and family-like relationships among the gay crowd make this sexy tale a warm read as well as a reminder of the unconditional nature of friendship and love.

Weaving some repeat characters in and out of his nearly annual new books, the popular E. Lynn Harris brings back Raymond and Basil in his sequel to Any Way the Wind Blows (Doubleday, 2001), A Love of My Own (Doubleday, 2002). More daring than many of his fellow urban romance authors, Harris explores sexual identity on a wider scale than most, placing his characters in unusual circumstances and then watching them squirm. Raymond Tyler, the new boss at McClinton's, has just moved to New York, freshly out of a relationship and in need of solace. Zola, his chief editor, leads a fast-track life and is proud of her ability to juggle work, a lover and an affair with a married boss that keeps her at the top of the media pile. No one is prepared for the profound effect of 9/11 on their emotional lives, and the drama heightens when Ray's former lover Basil Henderson appears, and both Ray and Zola must rethink their priorities.

Offering an insight into the difficulties young professional African American women face in making a good match, Yolanda Joe introduces Terri Mills, a high-powered Chicago attorney who has made a bad choice of lovers. In Hatwearer's Lesson (Dutton, 2003), Terri's cheating fiancé Derek doesn't get another chance to hurt her, because Terri leaves Chicago to visit her dying grandmother and gets a valuable lesson in relational priorities. The fairytale-like quality of the story is heightened by Grandma Ollie's stories about her own past, and by the happily-ever-after ending, which is a refreshing departure from other more angst-ridden urban tales. Joe's latest book, My Fine Lady (Dutton, 2004), features hip-hop singer Imani, whose individuality must stand in the face of a makeover artist professor who thinks she needs to change.

The many facets of female sexuality explored in depth make Jill Nelson's Sexual Healing (Consortium, 2003) a hot read. The intriguing and unusual plot surrounds two long-time friends, Lydia and Acey who start a brothel for women, a sister spa, where handsome and accommodating men cater to the sexual whims of wealthy women in need of pampering. Despite the rabid criticism of outraged citizens and church leaders, their "spa" is hugely popular and they make a fortune!

Glamour and sex are all Tabitha Knight cares about in Omar Tyree's Diary of a Groupie (Simon & Schuster, 2003). Luckily a long string of wealthy hot boyfriends keeps her out of the job market and in the good life. Tabitha keeps a diary in which she records the details of each of her relationships. When an actor is suspected of molesting girls, a private investigator offers Tabitha six figures to seduce the actor and record incriminating information. Thinking she can uses the money to help out her family and friends, and help catch a bad guy, she agrees. Her levelheaded intelligence and sharp wit make Tabitha a compelling character to watch as she grows into her new priorities in life.

Mixed Race Issues

Nicole Bailey-Williams's novel Floating (Harlem Moon, April 2004) features the biracial Shana Washington, daughter of a white Ivy League socialite and a black father from a different background. Never finding acceptance from blacks or whites, Shana falls for a bronze-skinned athlete in college, whose prejudices threaten Shana's fragile identity.

Meeting of the Waters by Kim McLarin (William Morrow, 2001) is the story of Porter Stockman, a white journalist who is rescued during a race riot by an African American reporter named Lenora Page. They meet again on the job and subsequently strike up a relationship of tenuous trust alternating with misunderstanding. McLarin realistically deals with the roadblocks biracial couples must navigate if they want to stay together in this breezy, often funny love story.

A more serious treatment of the consequences of biracial relationships, set during the Civil Rights Era, is Danzy Senna's Caucasia (Riverhead Books, 1998). By the time the 1970's roll around, having had their fill of subversive acts and each other, Birdie's parents decide they should part, each taking the daughter most like themselves. Birdie, the light-skinned child, goes with her white mother to start a new life in small town New Hampshire, while beautiful black-skinned Cole goes with their black father. This masterful, sad novel is a powerful commentary on the politics and racist attitudes that ruined so many lives in America.

Mental Health Issues

A riveting description of a family nearly destroyed by a daughter's mental illness catches readers' hearts in A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall (Scribner, 2002). The storm in the title is the insidious destruction caused by Rikki's bipolar disorder. Narrated by her sister Stacy, this compelling novel follows the sisters from childhood into adulthood, showing how the younger girl takes on the roles of protector and caretaker for her older sister, helping her to lead a somewhat normal life. At the same time, however, nothing is normal about the mood-swings, the late-night calls, and the suicidal bouts Rikki inflicts on Stacy, nearly ruining her marriage and her sanity.

Grinding poverty forces Jacinta's mother into madness in Lady Moses (HarperFlamingo, 1998) by Lucinda Roy, a complex novel that encompasses most of the elemental themes of African American literature, written in flowing poetic style. Despite her biracial heritage, her father's death, the poverty and sexual abuse she suffers, the birth of a handicapped child and the eventual death of her mother, Jacinta defiantly survives and succeeds as a poet in a new life she carves out for herself.

An even more extreme example of the psychic damage caused by inner-city poverty is illustrated by Sapphire in Push (Knopf, 1996). Precious Jones had a tough upbringing: a mother who sexually abused her, impregnated twice by her own father, fat, dark-skinned, HIV positive, and mother herself to Little Mongo, a Downs Syndrome child. She needs rescuing and begins a journey she narrates in her diary and her poetry, under the care of a lesbian mentor who helps Precious find emotional support and a creative outlet.

In a completely different vein the author Zane, sometimes called the "queen of erotica," introduces a woman with a split personality in Nervous (Atria, 2003), graphically highlighting the issue of sexual identity. Sexually repressed Jonquinette Pierce seeks professional help in dealing with her problems with men, but is embroiled in a nightmare caused by her alter ego, Jude, whose weekend sexual exploits are ruining her "real" life.

Poverty, Prostitution, Family Violence and Substance Abuse

Most current authors touch on these issues in their fiction, but some African American writers detail poverty, prostitution, violence and substance abuse to reveal a need for social change, echoing early abolitionists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance and of the Civil Rights Era. The difference here is the writing style, which in modern popular fiction means the message is submerged in the plot.

J. California Cooper uses a neighborly and sympathetic voice in Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime (Doubleday, 1995) to narrate the lives of black women, touching on their money woes, their misuse by men, and their endless search for love and acceptance. The comfortable engaging style makes it seem like you just dropped by for a visit.

A first novel by Zelda Lockhart, Fifth Born (Atria, 2002) tells the story of Odessa Blackburn, the fifth of eight children in a joyless dysfunctional family living in St. Louis, where a "better life" didn't pan out. Their father's brutal treatment of his wife and children has its roots in a dark secret from the past. With Odessa, the reader gradually learns the truth as she fights to find love and freedom from brutality.

Bernice L. McFadden creates a frightening world of poverty and hard luck, characterized by damaged people attempting to carve out a normal life despite past mistakes and a racist society in Sugar (Dutton, 2000) and the sequel, This Bitter Earth (Dutton, 2002). Sugar is an abandoned child raised by prostitutes in an Arkansas bordello and nearly dies when an angry man attacks her. The past comes back to haunt her when she returns to her hometown years later and tries to lead a more normal life. In McFadden's Loving Donovan: A Novel in Three Stories (Dutton, 2003), a similar exhausted striving fills the lives of two people destined for each other: Donovan, the victim of childhood rape, and Campbell, unable to trust men. The future bodes ill with their legacy of failed love. McFadden's newest book, Camilla's Roses (EP Dutton), was released in May 2004.

Religion and Spirituality

Black folklore, voodoo and the influence of Christianity weave their way through African American fiction, especially since the 1990's. Popular authors often portray church-going characters who "talk the talk" of Christian beliefs, with grace at the table and references to prayer, but they rarely think about religious or philosophical matters. The characters' religion is simply part of their upbringing. Other writers, such as those listed below, zero in on religion or spirituality to make a moral point. Religious traditions are a large part of ethnic identity and some modern writers are exploring this arena.

The inner secrets of Greater Hope Gospel United Church burst into full hilarious notoriety in Michele Andrea Bowen's Church Folk (Walk Worthy/Warner, 2001). Good-looking pastor Theophilus Simmons renounces his illicit love and opts for marriage to Essie Lee Lane. But just when they settle into pastoral life, Pastor Simmons discovers his elders are involved in a call girl business venture. The sequel, Second Sunday (Walk Worthy/Warner, 2003), spotlights another congregation in trouble when their pastor dies unexpectedly just before the church centennial celebration. With a light tone, Bowen exposes the conniving church members as they jockey their favorite pastoral candidates into position.

In contrast, Tananarive Due brings back some old-world voodoo traditions in her new book, The Good House (Atria Books, 2003), an atmospheric horror novel that leaves readers shivering in delight. With all the trappings of a haunted house, spirit possession and magic spells gone awry, Due nevertheless makes a serious point about ancient traditions and beliefs. Sometimes, the author points out, "superstition" is actually a spiritual reality we know nothing about, and we need to take care not to "dabble."

Christian author Sharon Ewell Foster's Passing Into Light (Multnomah, 2003) (sequel to Riding Through Shadows, Multnomah, 2001) offers hope for Shirley Ferris-Mills and her two children, now on the road to California after leaving Alabama. Detouring to Texas, they visit Shirley's old caregiver, Mother Johnson, whose wise loving advice is one of the high points of the book. Romance is in the air for Shirley after she finishes her quest to make peace with her past. Foster's excellent writing and insight inhabit this uplifting story of hope and healing.

Mary Monroe again makes the point that the consequences of bad choices and evil deeds visit good people as often as bad in God Still Don't Like Ugly (Kensington, 2003), the sequel to God Don't Like Ugly (Kensington, 2000). Annette Goode's uncle reveals her secret acts of prostitution at a family gathering to celebrate her upcoming nuptials. Her hopes for marital bliss dashed by a shocked groom, she seeks comfort from her childhood friend, the delightful Pee Wee Davis. But since God inevitably punishes sin, what about the murder Annette and her friend Rhoda have kept secret for years?

Ghetto Lit

A resurgent interest in older authors such as Donald Goines, Chester Himes and Iceberg Slim gave rise to a new strain of reality novels aimed at a different audience. Called "blaxploitation novels" by some who decry the "explicit violence and extreme misogyny," these new authors use this style to express their disgust and frustration with what continues to be a harsh life for many African Americans in urban areas. (Anthony C. Davis, "The New Sons of Iceburg [sic] Slim", Black Issues Book Review, Sept 2001, v3, i5, p56.) Supporters of "ghetto pulp" claim these short explosive stories are a good vehicle to introduce young black men to reading and can be a useful tool to send a "turn your life around" message. Prisons often use these books in their literacy programs and public libraries are hard-pressed to keep them on their shelves. Newer authors use rap and hip-hop music as part of their story's appeal to younger constituents.

Nelson George's fifth novel, Night Work (Touchstone, 2003) features a fed-up male gigolo named Night whose numerous rich clients fill his pockets with cash, but his heart with dread. His dream is to shake the stereotypical image of the black stud and make it big as an R&B singer, but old ties and memories hold him back. When a client is murdered, the police suspect Night and his chances of escaping his life seem nil.

Inner City Hoodlum (Holloway House, 1975) by Donald Goines (1937 - 1974) is an example of some of the first novels of this type still relevant today, featuring a young black man named Johnny who realizes that school isn't teaching him anything to help him survive the ghetto jungle. Instead, Johnny seeks out the urban underground hustlers who deal in reality. Goines himself was part of this culture, produced sixteen novels in the space of five years, and died in his mid-thirties after being shot at his typewriter.

Kat, a veteran stripper, teaches Tender and Goldie the tricks that give women the upper hand in a lowlife world of exploitation, thievery and murder, where too often good girls turn bad in Shannon Holmes's Bad Girlz (Atria, 2003).

In the 1960's and 70's, Iceberg Slim (a.k.a. Robert Beck, 1918-1992) shocked readers with a series of urban novels featuring violence-ridden lives of pimps, prostitutes, drug addicts and abusive angry men and women who hyperbolically exposed the reality of ghetto life. His autobiography, Pimp: The Story of My Life (Holloway House, 1967), begun during his time in jail, reveals his own participation in the world he wrote about. Despite continued criticism of his caricatured dialect and bad writing style, Iceberg Slim remains popular. His novels include Mama Black Widow (Holloway House, 1969), Airtight Willie and Me (Holloway House, 1979), and Doom Fox, published posthumously in 1998 (Grove), about a dimwitted but well-intentioned prizefighter in L.A.

Kenji Jasper plays out his moral tale in the life of a rap and hip-hop music writer named Dakota Grand (Harlem Moon, 2002). Pursuing a big story on an impending split between his two favorite rappers, Grand's plan for instant fame is foiled when one of those rappers, Mirage, assaults him. Grand involves himself in a tangled revenge plot and ends up putting his life on the line in a violent and bloody showdown.

In Road Dawzg by K'Wan (Triple Crown, 2003) a rotten childhood and a stint in jail for manslaughter seasons Keshawn "K-Dawg" Wilson into a power-hungry monster who will stop at nothing to get to the top of the pile.

In Y. Blak Moore's Triple Take (Villard, 2003), JC Cole is out of prison and on a mission for revenge, willing to use violence if necessary to bring down his former partners, the pimp "Richkid," drug dealer "Zo" Johnson and criminal mastermind "Lil G." Chicago's seamy underbelly is bared in this no-holds-barred bloody adventure.

Mysteries and Suspense

Marti MacAlister, Eleanor Taylor Bland's Chicago detective, investigates gritty urban crime in the ten books of the series that began in 1992 with Dead Time (St. Martin's Press). In her tenth and latest adventure, Windy City Dying (St Martin's Minotaur, 2002), Marti has moved to the suburbs with her husband Ben, looking for a more settled life as a "peace officer." An old enemy stalks Marti, whose investigation into the death of sixteen-year-old Graciela Lara uncovers connections to kids she counseled in the city, and she wonders why she thought the suburbs would be any different.

Christopher Darden and Dick Lochte's Lawless (New American Library, 2002) is the second book starring attorney Mercer Early (The Last Defense, 2002) who here defends a gay cop accused of killing his lover in a case that could blow up into ugly publicity for the LAPD. Fast-paced action and plenty of psychological tension keep you turning pages to the cinematic conclusion.

In Nora Deloach's Mama Cracks a Mask of Innocence (Bantam, 2001), Simone hurries back to Otis, South Carolina from Atlanta when her mother asks for help with a clothing drive, but the two women are set on a killer's trail by the discovery of the much-disliked Brenda Long's murdered body. Even with a mile-long list of suspects, the determined Mama flushes out the guilty killer in a surprising denouement. This is the latest in the Candi and Simone Covington series that began with Mama Solves a Murder (Holloway House, 1994).

Grace Edwards leaves her Mali Anderson cop series in The Viaduct: A Harlem Thriller (Doubleday, 2003), a non-stop action thriller about a Vietnam vet whose future is still in limbo. Marin Taylor gets laid off from his job, and ends up killing a would-be mugger on his way home when he throws one of the bad guys over the viaduct railing. Unfortunately, the others get away and are bent on vengeance. Then Marin's baby daughter disappears. Marin and his war buddy, Chance, set out to settle the score.

Earl Emerson abandons his Thomas Black detective series with Vertical Burn (Ballantine, 2002), introducing ex-firefighter John Finney in a twisted tale of intrigue and arson set in Seattle. Emerson's newest offering, Into the Inferno (Ballantine, 2003) also features a firefighter. After Jim Swope and his team of rescue workers from North Bend Fire and Rescue leave the scene of a bizarre truck accident, a mysterious disease kills them one by one. When his symptoms begin, Swope has only one week to find a cure.

The conjure-man in Rudolph Fisher's The Conjure-Man Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem (Covice-Friede, 1932) dies during a meeting with Jinx Jenkins, who seeks his advice. When the body disappears, a perceptive doctor named John Archer and a police detective called Perry Dart help Jinx's detecting friend Bubber keep Jinx off the hot seat when he's framed for the murder. Colorfully imagined characters and Fisher's flair for dialogue keep this first black detective story among top mystery puzzlers.

Barbara Hambly writes a suspenseful and intriguing series about Benjamin January, a freed slave in New Orleans who makes his living in the 1830's playing the piano, and works as a detective on the side. In the seventh and most recent story, Days of the Dead (Bantam Books, 2003), January and his wife Rose travel south to Mexico to rescue a friend held captive by a crazed rich man. A pro at creating historical atmosphere, Hambly offers a densely plotted crime series featuring an unusual sleuth. The series begins with A Free Man of Color (Bantam, 1997).

Chester Himes authored a series of detective novels starring the team of Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones that departed from other more typical crime stories of the times, with their single white male loner detectives. He also wrote in the third person, unlike his white counterparts, in the style of what has been termed "double conscious social satire:" aware of the prejudices society held about blacks, the characters used that knowledge to con their suspects and witnesses. Himes successfully used mystery novel conventions to pinpoint social issues, making his detectives comment on a society they knew they couldn't change. Many people dismiss Himes as a writer of "pulp" fiction. Others, like Stephen Soitos in his article "Black Detective Fiction," (in Winks & Corrigan, eds., Mystery & Suspense Writers, Scribner's Sons, 1998. p. 996) encourage modern readers to take another look at this author. First in his mystery series is For the Love of Imabelle (Fawcett, 1957), later republished by Avon in 1965 as A Rage in Harlem; the last in the series was Blind Man with a Pistol (Morrow, 1969), published also under the title Hot Day Hot Night (Dell, 1969).

Walter Mosley's mystery series about the reluctant private detective Easy Rawlins begins with the series prequel, Gone Fishin' (Black Classic Press, 1997), showing Easy's life in east Texas before he moved to Watts where the remaining stories take place. The first novel set in 1948 Los Angeles is Devil in a Blue Dress (Norton, 1990), detailing the difficulties Rawlins experiences as a returning war veteran, out of a job and willing to take a white man's hundred bucks to search for a beautiful blonde. While not stinting on plot, Mosley's main focus in the series is on racial tensions between blacks and whites, character development, and the changes in economic climate over the years. The eighth installment in the series is a collection of interconnected stories called Six Easy Pieces (Atria, 2003), and in the summer of 2004, Little Brown expects to release a new Easy Rawlins mystery entitled Little Scarlet. Mosley introduced a new series with Fearless Jones (Little Brown, 2001), followed by Fear Itself (Little, Brown, 2003), both set in 1950's LA. Fearless lives up to his name with his nerves of steel as he and his book-selling sidekick, Paris Minton, catapult into an escalating series of disappearances, thefts and murders.

Blanche White is Barbara Neely's amateur detective whose job as a domestic for white families allows her to infiltrate places normally inaccessible to amateur gumshoes. Blanche on the Lam (St. Martin's Press, 1992) introduces Blanche as a reluctant sleuth whose detective work begins when she is accused of murder. In Blanche Passes Go (Viking, 2000), the most recent in the series, Neely takes fifty-year-old Blanche back to her home in Farleigh, N.C. to revisit old relationships and a South still enmeshed in racism. In addition to confronting the man who raped her years ago, Blanche ferrets out dirt on a murder suspect while she's there.

In Gary Phillips's The Perpetrators (Ugly Town, 2002), Marley is indifferent about what he transports as long as he gets paid. He has one day to get a Mexican drug heiress into the US. All bets are off when the road trip turns into a high-speed chase with rotten bad guys, cops and the feds after him. Lots of great hard-boiled dialogue and frenzied violence.

The intrepid and relentless black PI Tamara Hayle refuses to quit when she's dismissed from the case by a missing teenager's family in The Devil Riding by Valerie Wilson Wesley (Putnam's Sons, 2000). Teenage Gabriella may have fallen victim to a devious serial killer in Atlantic City and her dysfunctional family members are hiding something in this suspenseful and captivating sixth addition to the series. The series begins with When Death Comes Stealing (Putnam's, 1994).

Romance

Many of the women's novels listed above include elements of the traditional romance novel, and the differences between them and those listed below are very slight. Readers who enjoy a good romance will want to check out both sections.

In Secrets Never Told by Rochelle Alers (Pocket Books, 2003), Morgana Johnson-Wells's comfortable, seemingly perfect life as the wife of a successful attorney and businesswoman shatters under the weight of her husband's infidelity and her mother's death. Retreating to the family home, she finds solace in her sympathetic uncle and a whole new set of secrets to ponder. She also meets a sexy artist who awakens her to new possibilities, and she is forced to make some tough choices.

Two successful businesswomen struggle to find spiritual truth and to land in the right arms in Colored Sugar Water by Venise Berry (New American Library, 2003). Adel Kelly, oil company VP, suspects her husband of cheating on her, and gains comfort in religion. When she tries to save her best friend Lucy from the clutches of a sexy psychic, Lucy doesn't seem to want rescuing from the snake-handling voodoo practitioner.

The author of Balancing Act (Dutton, 1997), Anita Bunkley offers her latest tips on setting one's life straight in Mirrored Life (Kensington, April 2004), the story of Sara Jane Talbot, fresh out of prison and ready to start her career in cosmetology. Thanks to fading R&B star Diana Deveaux, she gets a real chance to make it in a field where white skin is the norm. She meets handsome bodybuilder Craig and life looks fine until her criminal past comes back to haunt her in the form of Joyce Ann Keller.

With a satisfyingly complex cast of damaged and hurting characters, Donna Hill introduces Ryne Holland, who has just lost her husband and child in an auto accident, in In My Bedroom (St. Martin's, 2004). Hospitalized after a suicide attempt, Rayne slowly recovers a perilous equilibrium under the supportive care of her friend Gayle and her psychologist Pauline, both women with problems of their own. Will those problems keep Rayne from the healing she needs?

Edge of Midnight by Beverly Jenkins (Harper Torch, 2004) catches Sarita Grayson making a deal with a devil and nearly losing it all when she agrees to deliver valuable diamonds to a notorious gang lord. Captured red-handed by an equally startled government agent named Mykel Chandler, Sarita hopes he will help her escape.

In She's the One by Sandra Kitt (Signet, 2001), Deanna Lindsay is not interested in settling down and is perfectly content with her life as resource team manager for a television news show. She gets the shock of her life when after the death of a friend, a biracial child named Jade lands in her lap. Added to the burden of instant motherhood are the complications of Jade's ex-convict father (who wants money) and a very attractive young grandson of the child's babysitter.

Diane McKinney-Whetstone invites readers down memory lane in Leaving Cecil Street (William Morrow, April 2004), where a 1969 block party is in progress, complete with neighborhood gossip and innuendo. Joe and Louise have been married a long time, but now as she loses her looks, his eye is drawn to the young beauty across the street. Their teenage daughter Shay tries to help a pregnant friend next door, and a naked woman sneaks into Joe's cellar . . . .

In Francis Ray's Trouble Don't Last Always (St Martin's, 2004; a reprint of The Turning Point), Lilly Crawford flees her abusive husband in Texas, barely stopping to file for divorce first. She finds refuge in Louisiana where she works as a caregiver to Adam, a wealthy handsome neurosurgeon recently blinded in an accident. Lilly is powerfully drawn to Adam, but wonders if his angry frustration will keep them apart.

Would I Lie to You? (Crown, 2004), Trisha Thomas's sequel to Nappily Ever After (Crown, 2000), follows Venus Johnson to L.A. to market the clothing line of ex-rapper Jake Parson. Though her fiancé Airic awaits her in Washington, Venus is magnetically drawn to Jake. Then when her mother is hospitalized, Venus meets an old flame again, further confusing the issue. Finally she calls off the engagement, wondering if Jake will want her when he finds out she's carrying Airic's baby.

In High Stakes by Angela Winters (B E T Books, 2004) Clark Hunter is either a cheating scum or extremely unlucky. His argument that the compromising photos of him are fakes has no sway with his fiancee Sabrina Scott, nor with her father who fires him from his position at the newspaper. Eventually, a brokenhearted Clark gets a job at another paper, and later meets Sabrina on the job while investigating a suspicious boxing match. Her reaction to seeing him again is surprising.

Science Fiction and Fantasy

An epic alternate history, Lion's Blood by Steven Barnes (Warner, 2003) posits an America in which slaves are white Europeans and the landowners are predominantly of African origin. Set in 1850, the story follows a rich aristocratic African family and a family of Irish slaves who together must forge a life in America.

In Octavia E. Butler's Wild Seed (Aspect, 1999), two very powerful alien beings, Doro and Anyanwu, each representing aspects of the human spirit, inhabit host bodies and develop a close bond despite their deep-seated fear of each other. By turns creative and miraculously powerful, these being together form a powerful metaphor for the hope of humanity.

Samuel R. Delany's Tales of Neveryon (Wesleyan University Press, 1993) is a series of loosely structured philosophical tales that together create a rich fantasy world and its sociopolitical system, complete with magic and high adventure. Delaney's talent for metaphor relates his world building to our own society, imparting lasting truth.

Strange and miraculous things happen in Dragon Star season, and for two broken prisoners only a miracle can save them from the power of the Hellspawn. Dragonstar (Del Rey, 2003), Barbara Hambly's fantastical conclusion to her Dragon trilogy, teems with magical beings and a raging battle that erupts when the lines between good and evil blur. Preceding books are Dragonsbane (Del Rey, 1987, reissue ed.) and Dragonshadow (Del Rey, 2000).

Nichelle Nichols, author of Saturn's Child (Putnam, 1995), starred in the original Star Trek television series as Lieutenant Uhuru, which her writing style reflects with its hopeful and confident tone. In this story, DNA manipulation accounts for Saturna's existence: she's the daughter of a human and a highborn alien. When the succession is at stake, Saturna falls under official disapproval for her mixed heritage and the outlook for resolution is bleak. Unless . . . .

In Dark Matter: Reading the Bones (Aspect, 2004), editor Sheree Thomas presents a second anthology of speculative stories, poems and essays by African Americans. Included are the talents of many well-known writers such as W.E.B. DuBois, Samuel Delaney, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson and Walter Mosley.

Westerns

David Anthony Durham posits an alternate western frontier in Gabriel's Story (Doubleday, 2001), one where emancipated slaves are the settlers, driven to the West like refugees from Reconstruction. Fifteen-year-old Gabriel, a city dweller, isn't impressed when his mother takes him to their new one-room sod house in Kansas and his new stepfather. Seeking a more adventurous life, Gabriel runs away and falls in with a gang of mostly white cowboys who help him learn some tough lessons about racism and life in the Wild West.

The works of Charles R. Goodman can be difficult to find, but are worth the effort. Here are some titles to watch for:

Buffalo Soldier (Holloway House, 1996), the story of a black soldier, sickened by the treatment of American Indians by the US government, who joins a Comanche tribe.
Black Cheyenne (Holloway House, 1993), in which former slave Will Wiley joins the Cheyenne after he receives cruel treatment in the US Army.
Bound by Blood (Holloway House, 1995) follows the life of a buffalo soldier who rescues a woman held captive by the Apaches.
Outskirts of Hell (All America Distributors, 1986), where a US Army renegade tries to prove his innocence.

In Jason Grant's colorful western, Coal (All America Distributors, 1985), the ex-slave simply called "Coal" becomes a cowboy and earns the moniker of El Diablo *****, meaning "Black Devil."

Rina Keaton, author of the historical novel Freedom Run (Holloway House, 1994), tells the story of a slave woman named June who escapes the Devonfield plantation with Harlin Mason when the Union army arrives to take over in The Revenge of June Dailey (Holloway House, 1996). When Mason sells her to another master and she has to escape again, June vows revenge.

In Hiram King's Broken Ranks (Leisure Books, 2001), grim-visaged black gun-fighter Ples Butler will get the army's black recruits to the Tenth Cavalry Regiment in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas no matter what it takes. For this scared group of new soldiers, the journey from St. Louis is threatened by angry white Confederates bent on revenge.

Friend of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, the notorious black gunslinger Deadwood Dick stars in a western story about his life named after him: Deadwood Dick (All America distributors, 1985) by Steven Levi.

The not-too-bright white rancher Curt Marder, whose wife is kidnapped by a band of men dressed as Indians in Percival Everett's God's Country (Faber & Faber, 1994), is by turns hilarious and shocking. More upset about the death of his dog than his missing nag of a wife, Marder hires Bubba, a black tracker he has little faith in, to find his wife.

Ishmael Reed's satirical eye fixes on the myth of the great American western hero in Yellow Back Radio Broke-down (Doubleday, 1969), a gut-splitter featuring a bad black cowboy called the Loop Garoo Kid, a slob cattleman named Drag Gibson, and his nymphomaniac mail order bride, Mustache Sal. A no-holds-barred romp from a very creative pen whose metaphoric use of a hoodoo trickster figure as hero tells readers there's more than meets the eye in the racist Wild West.

Hatred and a need for vengeance drive Johnny Buffalo's quest to hunt down the white men who murdered his friend and sidekick in Dan Smith's Johnny Buffalo (Sterling House, 1999). Knowing his anger has little to do with real justice, Johnny is still determined to follow the vigilante path. His 1880's journey through Texas brings him excitement, adventure, violence and ultimately a bitter battle of self-will.