A list of very queer crime stories
Editor’s Note: Sneha offers a unique list of crime thrillers with queer protagonists–that has wit, valour and, of course, the requisite amount of gore. A vacation interrupted by an Agatha Christie-style murder, murder at a Bangalore travel agency, and a Bay Area estate where everybody can be anybody they want to be.
Written by: Sneha Pathak is a freelance writer and translator. Her works have appeared in The Telegraph, Deccan Herald, Strange Horizons, and The Chakkar. You can follow her on Instagram.
With an increase in literature dwelling upon the experiences of queer protagonists in recent years, crime fiction has also witnessed a welcome growth in the number of works that feature queer characters as their leading figures. Be it historical mysteries, cozies—also known as ‘quozies’ (queer+cozy), courtroom dramas, or thrillers featuring hardboiled PIs, almost every crime fiction sub-genre has novels where queer characters play a central role in solving the crime and engage their readers in a gripping and thrilling ride. Here are eight such novels that must be on your radar.
Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen: Set in 1952, ‘Lavender House’ is the first novel featuring Evander Mills ‘Andy’. Andy is an ex-San Francisco police officer fired from his job after he was discovered in a gay bar during a police raid. Now looking for work as a private eye, he accepts the job of finding the truth about the death of the very wealthy Irene Lamontaine. As he begins his investigation at Lavender House, the dead woman’s estate, he learns its secret: everyone has the freedom to be who they are. And while this might look like a paradise to Andy, he soon realises that there are serpents hidden here, too. A well-written mystery, ‘Lavender House’ also gives the reader a taste of what it meant to be gay in the 1950s.
Chikkamma Tours Pvt Limited by Unmana: Unmana’s cosy mystery is set in contemporary Bangalore and is as much an ode to the city as a crime novel with a budding romance on the side. Nilima, the most recent employee of Chikkamma Tours Pvt Limited, has a crush on her boss, Shwetha, but isn’t sure what to do about it. When the dead body of the owner of the bookshop above their office is discovered, Nilima jumps at the chance to solve the crime and also uses this opportunity to get closer to Shwetha. As the duo, with some assistance and some hindrance from Inspector Sharmila (who is in a relationship with Nilima’s ex), try to solve the mystery, the readers are taken along on a ride through the city’s wonderful weather and meet lots of shady characters.
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy: We have met Father Brown before, we have also seen Sister Boniface at work. Now it’s time to make way for Sister Holiday, a nun like no other. For she is a chain smoker, heavily inked, sports a gold tooth from a bar fight, identifies as a lesbian, and isn’t shy of using curse words. Before she became a nun, she was part of a rock band, and Sister Holiday still carries that persona. After a fire in Saint Sebastian School leads to a death which nobody seems to be taking seriously, she decides to take matters into her hands. Her search for the criminal means she must take a road where she is often without friends and must confront her own past before she can find the identity of the culprit. ‘Scorched Grace’ is a gritty novel that might, at times, make you squirm.
Bath Haus by P J Vernon: P J Vernon’s ‘Bath Haus’ is a thriller which deals with themes like love, transgression, desire and their unforeseen consequences through its main character, Oliver. Oliver has a happy life. He has a steady boyfriend and is on his way to recovery from drug addiction. But one day he decides to give in to his impulses, visits a gay bathhouse, and hooks up with a stranger there. Unfortunately for Oliver, this hook-up doesn’t end at the bath house and soon threatens to swallow the happy existence he has managed to create for himself. A domestic thriller with all the elements of a page-turner, ‘Bath Haus’ is bound to keep you on tenterhooks.
Rehearsed to Death by Frank Anthony Polito: This is the second novel in the Domestic Partners in Crime series, which features Peter and JP, a gay couple who tend to find themselves embroiled in mysteries through no fault of their own. In ‘Rehearsed to Death,’ JP is the lead actor in a play written by his partner Peter. What should have been a fantastical debut for Peter is marred by the shadow cast by the death of Xander, the play’s director. Given that Xander was bossy and had rubbed many people the wrong way, there’s a chance that his death was murder, and Peter and JP decide to take matters into their own hands and find out whether or not the director’s death was accidental. A light-hearted mystery, ‘Rehearsed to Death’ is perfect for those who take their crime fiction light and fluffy.
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths: This is the first book in her series featuring detective Harbinder Kaur. With its heady mix of dark academia with a hint of gothic and a brilliantly plotted mystery, ‘The Stranger Diaries’ introduces readers to DS Harbinder Kaur, a second generation immigrant in her thirties who is gay, lives with her family, doesn’t have much of a love life, and is addicted to playing ‘Panda Pop’ on her mobile. The series gets more and more centred on Harbinder as it progresses. ‘The Stranger Diaries’ is a perfect place to begin and enjoy a mystery novel that offers something new even to a jaded reader of the genre.
Fadeout by Joseph Hanson: This is the first book in Joseph Hanson’s series featuring Dave Brandstetter, a gay insurance investigator. In his first appearance, Brandstetter goes on to solve the mystery of the death of Fox Olson, whose car drove off a bridge but whose body was never found. Given that this book was published in 1970 and featured a protagonist who made no bones about his sexual orientation, ‘Fadeout’ can be seen as one of the precursors to contemporary queer crime fiction. It also stands out because its protagonist is a hardboiled investigator, and Hanson’s style is bound to remind readers of writers like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
Survivor’s Guilt by Robyn Gigl: This is a courtroom drama and a legal thriller featuring Erin McCabe, a transgender lawyer. When Ann, the daughter of a millionaire businessman, confesses to having killed her father, Erin isn’t interested in the straightforward case. However, when the detective in charge, who is not completely satisfied with Ann’s confession, asks Erin to take a look, she finds herself drawn to a case where nothing is as it seems, and things go much deeper than they appear on the surface. Dealing with gritty themes like exploitation and abuse, and featuring some really strong characters, ‘Survivor’s Guilt’ is a heavy read that nonetheless manages to keep the readers hooked and forces them to keep turning its pages.
