Author: Samm Saxby

In a world where magic is real, Hetty and her husband are conductors for the Underground Railroad, using their abilities to help enslaved people to freedom. After the Civil War, they wind up in Philadelphia, working as detectives to help solve cases for Black people that the white police ignore. When an old friend is found dead, the unusual case will uncover old secrets and new dangers that could cost them their lives.

Heng has taken a period of history and added a dash of magic in this sad, lovely story of family, war, and love. Ah Boon has grown up in Singapore in the time of British rule, and has been in love with his neighbor Siok Mei for years. He is not interested in being a fisherman like the other men in his village, but he does have a unique gift for finding and moving islands. (What, you can’t do that?) When the Japanese army invades and occupies their village, Ah Boon and Siok Mei will have to make hard choices about their future and their family, before all is lost.

Two women are on a collision course with magic and danger in this exciting debut fantasy inspired by the history and stories of colonial South America! Eva wants nothing more than to be accepted by her family, but, being an “illegitimate” child, she is an outcast. Her secret doesn’t help matters: Eva has magic in her — magic she can’t use, under punishment of death. Reina is a young woman who is almost killed in an attack until she is saved by her grandmother, a dark sorceress. But to keep her life, Reina must do her grandmother’s bidding, no matter the cost. Even if it involves ancient gods.

Not only is this book set during the Great Depression, but it was also written in the 1930s by a Harlem Renaissance legend, and it’s the first published murder mystery by an African American author. It tells the story of Frimbo, an African immigrant who becomes a mystic and fortune teller in 1930s Harlem. When Frimbo dies during a reading, a doctor and a police detective are tasked with solving the case. But is Frimbo truly dead, or are rumors of Frimbo’s ability to cheat death credible? Fisher intended to write two more mysteries in this series but tragically passed away before they could be completed.

In this historical mystery set around the true story of a doomed 1934 roundtrip cruise from New York City to Havana, a wide variety of characters are looking to escape the reality of the Great Depression with a glamorous voyage. An heiress is hiding the fact that her family’s fortune has dwindled. A jewel thief is believed dead but is on a secret mission for revenge. Both of their secrets are at risk of being revealed. It’s a transportive, juicy mystery about wealth lost and gained during a time of economic upheaval.

As the Great Depression caused hunger and fear across the country, the Golden Age of Hollywood offered a sparkling distraction. But when Chinese American star Lulu Wong is found dead, it’s clear there’s something sinister going on in 1932 L.A. The police seem to go out of their way to avoid investigating, instead using Lulu’s murder as evidence that Chinatown is a dangerous place that should be knocked down and replaced with a new train station. But Lulu’s childhood friends refuse to let her death go unnoticed.

In Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, high priestess Neferura, the daughter of female pharaoh Hatshepsut, lives a life ruled by duty. When her (awful) half-brother Thutmose arrives at court, she overhears his plot to end her mother’s rule: he will plant seeds of betrayal by starting a rumor that Hatshepsut poisoned her husband in his sleep. If he goes public with this accusation, it could plunge the kingdom into chaos. Neferura sets out to stop him, partnering with a mysterious tattooed woman and her network of spies to do it. Does she trust this lady all the way? Not really. And did her mother, in fact, poison her father? She’s…not sure, actually, but she is beginning to see that her mother is a lot more ruthless than she realized. High stakes + intrigue + an Egyptian setting = just my cup of tea.

I read a lot of Greek mythology. And I mean A LOT. I could have included Circe, or Song of Achilles, or A Thousand Ships, all beloved reads, but I chose this one by Pat Barker because I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the cost of war. The Silence of the Girls is a powerful retelling of the Iliad as told by Briseis, Trojan queen and captive of Achilles. It is a raw and unflinching examination of the cost of war to women specifically that has stayed with me for years. It’s not an easy read, but it’s fantastic.

You may think of the Broken Earth trilogy when you think of N.K. Jemisin, but don’t sleep on the Dreamblood duology, an epic fantasy series inspired by Egyptian mythology. In a city where the only law is peace and two moons rise in the sky every night, a priesthood of the dream goddess is tasked with walking the dreams of its citizens, harvesting them to ensure that peace is preserved. We get assassin priests, mad kings, and the goddess of death in one helluva fantasy ride.

Inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas, Black Sun opens in the city of Tova during Winter Solstice in what should be a time for celebration and renewal. But this year the solstice coincides with the solar eclipse that is portended by the Sun Priest to signal the unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, an outcast sailor has been hired to sail a ship into Tova containing a single passenger, a mysterious cloaked man with a thing for crows (#relatable) and a bone to pick with the Sun Priest. Sounds suspish.