Why am I passionate about this?

When I was participating on a crime fiction panel in 2022, we were all asked to recommend books, and I was struck that none of us mentioned a book by a writer of color. Since I knew there were many excellent books by writers of color, I felt this was something I needed to fix. This past summer I decided to make a concerted effort to read more books by writers of color/#OwnVoices, and looked to members of Crime Writers of Color as a starting point. Encouraged by that very exciting read, I went to Bouchercon in Minneapolis where the association Crime Writers of Color was actively promoting the works of their members.


I wrote

A Short Time To Die

By Susan Bickford ,

Book cover of A Short Time To Die

What is my book about?

Walking home on a foggy night in rural New York, Marly Shaw stops in the glare of approaching headlights. Two…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of A Killing Fire

Susan Bickford Why I love this book

This book is so much more than a police procedural set in the South with a Black female detective as its protagonist. Snowden writes Southern Gothic stories with all the wonderful emotional obsessions and foreboding suspense that anchor that genre. As the child of a serial killer, Detective Raven Burns witnessed many of her father’s deadly attacks, including the murder of Raven’s mother. Haunted by her past, Raven struggles with both real life and personal demons to secure justice for victims in the present.

By Faye Snowden ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Killing Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Full-bodied and dynamic characters carry this one along a mystery, tying a brutal past with a bloody present that will keep you guessing right up to the finale." - Unnerving Magazine

As a child forced to witness her father's crimes, homicide Detective Raven Burns dedicates every waking moment to proving that she is not her father's child. But when she shoots a suspect who has what turns out to be an unloaded weapon, Raven finds that she must confront both the demons of her past and the stains on her soul in order to stop a killer.

FLAME TREE PRESS…


Book cover of Razorblade Tears

Susan Bickford Why I love this book

I love that S.A. Cosby weaves sly, ironic humor into his protagonist’s observations, often about race and living in Southern Virginia. Even better, the wives and girlfriends are much smarter and more competent than the men. It has been years since Ike Randolph did time. He is determined to be a dedicated family man, but he can’t help himself when his son is murdered along with his white husband. Partly driven by vengeance and partly by guilt for how he treated his gay son, Ike teams up with Buddy Lee, the other father. Buddy is as flawed and guilty as Ike, but together they set out to put things right

By S.A. Cosby ,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Razorblade Tears as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer • New York Times Notable Book • NPR’s Best Books of 2021 • Washington Post’s Best Thriller and Mystery Books of the Year • TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 • New York Public Library’s Best Books of the Year • Goodreads Choice Award Nominee • Book of the Month’s Book of the Year Finalist
“Provocative, violent — beautiful and moving, too.” —Washington Post
“Superb...Cuts right to the heart of the most important questions of our times.” —Michael Connelly
“A tour de force – poignant, action-packed,…


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Book cover of TimeBlink

TimeBlink by MJ Mumford,

When Syd Brixton was eleven years old, her identical twin vanished from a park and was never found. 

Now twenty years later, Syd’s favorite customer, Morley, is killed in a horrific accident outside the pub where Syd works. Moments before Morley dies, he gives Syd an extraordinary gift: the power…

Book cover of Like a Sister

Susan Bickford Why I love this book

Kellye Garrett is a master of snappy dialog and takes on human behavior. No one is spared, least of all the protagonist herself. However, Lena Pierce’s situation is not funny. After her family was ripped apart by her highly successful but difficult father, a music mogul, Lena has lived life on her own independent terms. Now Lena’s estranged half-sister, Desiree—a reality TV staris dead of an overdose in the Bronx, blocks from Lena’s house. Convinced that Desiree was murdered, Lena tracks down what happened to her sister’s life. Pulled into the spotlight of media attention on Desiree and their father, Lena has her work cut out for her.

By Kellye Garrett ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Like a Sister as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this "crackling domestic suspense" filled with "wry humor and deft pacing" (Alyssa Cole), no one bats an eye when a Black reality TV star is found dead—except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on a dangerous search for the truth.

“A mystery that has everything I love most: an intriguing set up; an absorbing storyline that kept me guessing; a satisfying ending; and, most of all, incredibly well-developed characters I kept thinking about long after I finished the book.” ―Jasmine Guillory, Today Show

“I found out my sister was back in New York…


Book cover of They All Fall Down

Susan Bickford Why I love this book

When I heard an interview on NPR with Rachel Howzell Hall, I knew she needed to be on my list. Rachel is very prolific, so the book was a tough choice. Since I tend to prefer standalones over series, I picked They All Fall Down, a novel of suspense and a delicious take on the locked room mystery—in this case a luxurious remote private island in Mexico. Each of the seven guests has a dark past they would like to hide, including the narrator, Miriam Macy. Soon, the stranded guests are being outed and dispatched. Who will be next? We’re rooting for Miriam as her tale gradually unrolls. 

By Rachel Howzell Hall ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked They All Fall Down as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Seven strangers, each harboring a secret.

Odd accidents stir suspicion.

As one by one . . . . . They all fall down


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Book cover of Lethal Legacy

Lethal Legacy by H.R. Kemp,

Buried Secrets. A web of deceit, betrayal, and danger. Can she survive her fight for justice and truth? Laura thought she knew everything about her late husband before he died. Now, her life and the lives of those she loves are in danger. As Laura delves into his previous role…

Book cover of Bluebird, Bluebird

Susan Bickford Why I love this book

Edgar Award-winner Bluebird, Bluebird, is the first in the Jay Porter Series. Black Texas Ranger, Jay Porter, tried to escape East Texas and become a lawyer, but his home and people clawed him back. Jay is on the verge of losing his prestigious job, his reputation in tatters, when he heads to a tiny rural town to investigate the death of a visiting Black lawyer from Chicago and the seemingly separate death of a local white woman. Locke deftly reveals how the persistent stain of racism continues to poison many facets of life, while the law enforcement hierarchies and jurisdictional infighting threaten to undo Jay’s best efforts.

By Attica Locke ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Bluebird, Bluebird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award 2018
2018 Edgar Award Winner for best novel

When it comes to law and order, East Texas plays by its own rules - a fact that Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger working the backwoods towns of Highway 59, knows all too well. Deeply conflicted about his home state, he was the first in his family to get as far away from Texas as he could. Until duty called him back.

So when allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy, he travels up Highway 59 to the small town…


Explore my book 😀

A Short Time To Die

By Susan Bickford ,

Book cover of A Short Time To Die

What is my book about?

Walking home on a foggy night in rural New York, Marly Shaw stops in the glare of approaching headlights. Two men step out of a pickup truck. A sudden, desperate chase erupts in gunshots. And a terrified girl is on the run—for the rest of her life…

Thirteen years later, human bones discovered in California are linked to two missing people from Central New York. Sheriff’s Detective Vanessa Alba and her partner dive into an investigation that lures them deep into the Finger Lakes region. There they find a community in the brutal grip of a powerful family—and a trail of dark secrets leading to the one family member who thought she got away…

Book cover of A Killing Fire
Book cover of Razorblade Tears
Book cover of Like a Sister

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