Multicultural Mysteries
Reading multicultural literature is a great way to explore diverse perspectives. It helps one think about life outside of one's own cultural context, which can foster greater empathy for people that are culturally different from oneself. Check out one of these books below, which has the thrill of solving a crime, and the added bonus of immersing oneself in a different community.
Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke (African American)
Forced by duty to return to his racially divided East Texas hometown, an African-American Texas Ranger risks his job and reputation to investigate a highly charged double murder case involving a black Chicago lawyer and a local white woman.
Charcoal Joe, by Walter Mosley (African American)
Easy Rawlins' plans to marry his girlfriend and start a new detective agency are interrupted by the case of a promising Stanford student who has been charged with the race-related murder of a white man.
Luck of the Draw, by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera (Cuban American)
Mandated by her mother to reclaim the family glory by restoring a Havana casino that they lost when Castro took power, Esmerelda sets out to find her journalist sister, a mission that brings her to the seedy bars and back alleys of Las Vegas.
Dying to Live, by Michael Stanley (South African)
A Bushman is discovered dead near the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Africa. Although the man looks old enough to have died of natural causes, the police suspect foul play. Pathologist Ian MacGregor confirms the cause of death as a broken neck, and calls in Assistant Superintendent David “Kubu” Bengu. When the Bushman’s corpse is stolen from the morgue, suddenly the case takes on a new dimension.
City of Jackals, by Parker Bilal (British Sudanese)
Hired to investigate the disappearance of a university student who may have become involved in political activities, Makana Hafiz is drawn by a gruesome murder into an ethnic rivalry and gang war among young men from South Sudan with ties to a charismatic religious couple.
Shanghai Redemption, by Qiu Xiaolong (Chinese American)
Given a bogus promotion and targeted by an assassin after a controversial case, former Shanghai detective and Communist Party secretary Chen Cao risks his life to investigate an increasingly corrupt Party leader.
The Prisoner of Heaven, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Spanish)
In 1957 Barcelona, Daniel Semper and his close friend Fermin Romero de Torres find their lives violently disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger who threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past.
Blackmail, My Love, by Katie Gilmartin (LGBT)
This is an illustrated murder mystery set in 1950s San Francisco and revolving around the investigation of a blackmail ring targeting gay men and lesbians.
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