The Queen City Detective Agency is a well written gritty American PI noir novel by Snowden Wright. Released 13th Aug 2024 by HarperCollins on their William Morrow imprint, it's 272 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is an atmospheric and solid read featuring a black female protagonist who is flawed, loyal, tough as nails, and dogged. It's set in the 1980s in Mississippi and the prose is evocative and rich. The author is adept at characterization and even the more minor secondary characters are three dimensional (often unlikable and quirky, but very well rendered).
There's a surprising amount of sarcastic cynical humor around a novel populated by villains, cheats, and thieves; where even the "good guys" are exhausted and wryly misanthropic. Although it's not as over the top or as full of no-holds-barred violence, it will appeal to fans of Joe R. Lansdale and James Lee Burke; not derivative at all, but definitely in the same headspace.
Four and a half stars. Atmospheric, enjoyable, *very* well written (even though it's usually more difficult to recommend a book with a protagonist written by an author who is nowhere near the same demographic (she's black and female, the author is white and male) he really nailed Clem's internal drive and motivations). It would be a great choice for public library acquisition, home use, or a good mystery book club reading selection or buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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