Gay mystery romane
9 of the Finest LGBTQ+ Mystery Books You Won't Be Able to Set Down
Before The Bell in the Fog, Lev Ac Rosen’s Lavender House was Andy Mills’ first mystery to solve as a private investigator, a case rife with old-money secrets, queer soap-making heiresses, and murder.
It’s the 1950s, and there are not many places in the queer community where one can depart and be unapologetically themselves. Lavender Dwelling and its matriarch are the exception.
The estate’s staff and residents are free to live their truth within the elegant walls, but when a mysterious death occurs on the property, and there are no outsiders to criticize, suspicions arise about a murderer in their midst.
With historically accurate depictions of queer culture in the 1950s, Rosen dives into a world of cash, love, and force hidden within the walls of Lavender House, and the ugly fates that await its residents outside the gates.
In the past few years, books written by and about queer characters hold become more visible to the general reading general. Gradually, straight, cisgender readers are discovering the pleasure of reading books by authors whose identities are different from their have. This is true in the mystery and thriller reading world as well.
In my new novel, Hall of Mirrors, a mystery set in 1954 Washington, D.C., about two same-sex attracted writers who co-author hard-boiled detective fiction under the macho moniker Ray Kane, I explore writing from the closet, the complexity of inventing a fake persona to sell books, which in the 1950s was often necessary to find broad appeal to consumers, not to state to avoid being discriminated against and persecuted. Thankfully, today, things have changed (for the most part), and readers of all types are reaching for queer books precisely because they want to peruse LGBTQIA+ characters (assuming a book ban doesn’t block their ability to access these books).
Of course, prejudice still exists, and the grooves of unconscious bias take time to change; the specious idea that queer books are inferior is lodged deep in some. Book lists, however, should be made from
The slogan “Be gay, complete crimes” might have its origins in tongue-in-cheek tweets and memes, but I think one of the reasons why it struck such a nerve with audiences is because anyone who’s queer knows that sometimes just being yourself is a radical operate in our society. For too many years, gender non-conforming people have lived under the heavy expectation of being perceived as respectable, likable, and normal to gain the acceptance of cisgender and heterosexual people in power, and it can be exhausting. So what does this include to go with YA books? Well, I ponder it’s pretty amazing that these days we’re seeing more and more books that capture the packed range of queer lives and experiences, beyond that model gay person archetype that is, quite frankly, boring. We now own books where queer people are allowed to be a bit messy, interval the rules, even partake in crime, and we get to see their full humanity as successfully. Plus, you gotta admit: The phrase is catchy!
From heroes and heroines to villains and everything in the murky in-between, here are eight great YA mystery and thriller books starring LGBTQ+ teens!
Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig
By day, Margo is a
Tag Archives: mm gay mystery romance
The Road to Hell: Maverick Insurance Mysteries Manual III Available for Pre-order
Good morning! I’m happy to record that the third installment in the Maverick Insurance Mysteries series is now available for pre-order and will be released Pride 1st. Whew . . . I feel fond of this one has been a long time coming. I really enjoy writing Nate and Perry’s characters. The third book moves theContinue reading “The Route to Hell: Maverick Insurance Mysteries Book III Accessible for Pre-order”