African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study (Paperback)
The book describes the movement by African American authors from slave narratives and antebellum newspapers into fiction writing, and the subsequent developments of black genre fiction through the present. It analyzes works by modern African American mystery writers, focusing on sleuths, the social locations of crime, victims and offenders, the notion of "doing justice," and the role of African American cultural vernacular in mystery fiction. A final section focuses on readers and reading, examining African American mystery writers' access to the marketplace and the issue of the "double audience" raised by earlier writers. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Frankie Y. Bailey is an associate professor in the University at Albany's School of Criminal Justice. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and currently serves as the secretary and a director-at-large of the Board of Directors. She is also a member of Sisters in Crime and of Romance Writers of America.