A cleverly crafted mystery that blends razor sharp wit with a satisfying dose of suspense. I loved the setting of Meridian, and the characters, particularly the quirky. An enjoyable read.
Many thanks to William Morrow and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Set in the still racially charged 1980s Mississippi, this book follows a Black private investigator and her white partner as they get embroiled in a tricky case involving murder, potential suicide, and the shadowy Dixie Mafia. It's an excellent Southern crime novel.

Great read! First read from this author. This book makes me want to read more from this author. Kept my attention and interest until the end.

The Queen City Detective Agency: A Novel by Snowden Wright is set in early 1985 in Meridian, Mississippi. Like an onion, this book is complicated with many layers. Racism, classicism, the Dixie Mafia, and more play major roles in this novel.

Turnip Coogan had been facing twenty to life for capital murder when he decided to flee the jail. One of the trustees had left a window open, due to the brutal heat, and Turnip decided to head on out that window. He forgot that the jail was on the roof of the courthouse. Going out that window put him outside on the roof of the building on this blistering hot January day.

Trapped on the roof with nowhere to run, his plight becomes a spectacle to all, and a crowd gathers below in downtown Meridian, Mississippi. Known to all as the “Queen’s City” things are on an economic downhill slide no matter where you stand in the city. Being on the roof of the courthouse makes it just a little more apparent.

Turnip is also on a downhill slide and he knows it. He knows he has been put in this trap as he, and his well-known connections to the Dixie Mafia, have been used against him. He is a desperate man, powerless against what is happening, and pushed to the edge, literally and figuratively. It is no surprise when he goes off the roof and dies seconds later as gravity finishes the job started long ago.

It is just a few hours later when Leonora Coogan, mother of Lewis “Turnip” Coogan, reaches out to Clemetine Baldwin, bi-racial owner of the Queen City Detective Agency to get the people who killed her son.

The next day, she and her white partner, Dixon Hicks, drive to Lenora Coogan’s trailer to discuss the situation. By now, everybody for 100 miles around has seen the video of her son crashing to the sidewalk from the roof of the courthouse. She strongly believes that he did not jump to his death.

She is sure he was killed because the Dixie Mafia wanted to silence him for what he knew and might say as he faced a possible murder conviction. While she doesn’t know specifics about what her son did for them, she is sure he did some stuff and was important to them, and that they did not want him talking about any of it.

While Clem knows that the Dixie Mafia is blamed for anything and everything, she also knows that they sort of exist and are ruthless at times. Mom had no idea what her son did for them and, honestly, did not want to know as she got some good stuff out of his work. That pipeline is cutoff with her son’s death so that factors in, without a doubt, on her request for help now. But she is grieving and needs help, can pay, and despite her subtle and not so subtle racism, Clem agrees to take the case. Afterall, the racism is nothing new and Clem as decades of dealing with it as she was born and raised here and what Lenora is saying is the usual stuff.

What follows is a complicated novel where some things, like allegiance to the Confederacy, are proudly displayed, and other things, such as drug use and sexual favors in the jail, are hidden from prying eyes. A complicated crime fiction read, the case and those involved, go through a lot of twists and turns in a book that is well worth your time.

One hopes that another book in this series is coming as this one was very good and sets a strong foundation for a possible series.



My ARC reading copy came from the publisher, Harper Collins, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

I really wanted to like this book. But I just could not get into it and I ended up not finishing it. I didn't like the characters, and I just didn't get pulled into the story at all.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize going into this book that it featured a Black, female main character written by a white male, and decided that I would not be continuing to read this one. The premise and topic are interesting.

Okay, I wanted this book to be more. I wanted to like it. But I felt like the author kept hitting me over the head about race, and it became too much. Distracting really. I'm
I'm not sure what happened or who killed who (I know what happened), but that's an example of how bad it got. I finished it hoping for more but was disappointed. The characters were thinner than thin. The dialogue was good, though. But this felt like a literary writer writing a crime.

I really enjoyed this books! As a person of color myself who lives in the South, it was really refreshing to read a book that encapsulated what it feels like and means to be black in the South. I felt that the characters were complex in an engaging way, and the atmosphere was charged. 4/5 stars!

This is an enjoyable southern noir mystery set in the 1980s. At times it was a bit difficult to follow as it jumped to different portions of the story, but if you can move past that it was a great crime mystery.

The Queen City Detective Agency by Snowden Wright is a thrilling Southern noir that deftly explores the underbelly of 1980s Mississippi through the eyes of a jaded, determined private investigator. Set in Meridian, a city once known as the "Queen City" but now marred by economic decline and corruption, this riveting novel uncovers the deep-seated greed, racism, and power struggles that define the American South.

The story follows Clementine "Clem" Baldwin, an ex-cop turned private investigator, as she is hired to solve the mysterious death of Lewis "Turnip" Coogan, a Dixie Mafia affiliate who claims to have been hired to kill a real-estate mogul, Randall Hubbard. As Clem delves deeper into the case, she navigates a maze of lies, dangerous alliances, and secrets that threaten to unravel her own understanding of her past—and put her life at risk.

Wright’s writing is razor-sharp and evocative, capturing the complex, fractured nature of Southern life in the 1980s. The novel’s setting is a character in itself, as Meridian’s faded grandeur and the lingering shadow of the Dixie Mafia provide the perfect backdrop for a story about corruption, privilege, and the lengths people will go to protect their power. Clem, as a strong yet vulnerable protagonist, is incredibly compelling—her personal struggles and moral dilemmas add depth to the narrative, making her journey both poignant and thrilling.

The novel’s intricate plot, combined with a memorable cast of characters, keeps readers hooked from start to finish. Wright expertly weaves in themes of race, class, and justice, painting a vivid picture of the South during a time of shifting social dynamics. As Clem digs deeper into the case, the stakes rise, and the tension escalates into a gripping, high-stakes confrontation that will leave readers on the edge of their seats.

The Queen City Detective Agency is a masterful blend of mystery, crime, and social commentary, and will appeal to fans of gritty, character-driven thrillers. With its haunting atmosphere and sharp critique of the systems that perpetuate inequality, Snowden Wright’s debut is a standout in Southern noir fiction—perfect for readers who enjoy complex plots, morally gray characters, and an unflinching look at the darker side of the American Dream.

The Queen City Detective Agency by Snowden Wright is a gripping Southern noir that expertly weaves together a strong female protagonist, a richly atmospheric setting, and a tightly crafted plot full of intrigue and danger. Set in 1980s Meridian, Mississippi—once the state’s "Queen City" but now a faded, corrupt town—the novel follows ex-cop turned private investigator Clementine Baldwin as she is hired to investigate the suspicious death of a Dixie Mafia affiliate, Lewis “Turnip” Coogan. Wright does an excellent job of capturing the decay of a once-prominent town while exploring the powerful forces that cling to the old Southern order. Clementine is a tough, nuanced character, grappling with her own personal demons and the weight of growing up in a place where change is resisted at every turn. The setting of 1980s Mississippi adds a rich layer of authenticity, and Wright’s sharp prose perfectly complements the tension and noir sensibility of the plot. Though the story moves through some dark, morally murky waters, Clementine’s resolve and resourcefulness make for an engaging read. Overall, The Queen City Detective Agency is a compelling, fast-paced mystery with a strong sense of place, a memorable cast of characters, and a protagonist you’ll root for from start to finish.

<img height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/P/0062963589.01._SY400_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg">

<i>Molly imagined her mother-in-law over the years, living with a brutal husband, raising a son without help, her tools the same ones Molly herself had acquired in her journey through the world of men: a cunning charade of ignorance, a guileful pretense of naiveté. Some doormats lay on top of trapdoors.</i>

Clem is the owner of the Queen City Detective Agency and she has one employee, a cheerful Vietnam vet who takes her seriously when she points out the casual racism around them. As a Black woman in 1985 in Mississippi working primarily for white people, she finds plenty of examples. But as she takes the job of finding out who poisoned a prison inmate, she spends her time trying to stay alive as she and Dixon find that Turnip Coogan's death has ties to local real estate moguls and to the shadowy Dixie Mafia, a criminal gang whose tentacles reach out in every direction.

The plot is elaborate, the criminals plentiful, and the detective hard-nosed and determined. It's a fun ride, sometimes held back by Snowden Wright's tendency to over-write and over-explain. The plot rushes along and the story, with its many characters and digressions, nonetheless is tight and well thought out. I had to skim a bit of the cock-fighting scenes, they are so vividly rendered, but all of that is part of painting an unapologetic portrait of this forgotten corner of the Deep South.

This atmospheric 'who-dun-it' follows female detective Clementine and her partner Dixon. They are investigating the death of 'Turnip". Clementine is a strong character. The plot is complex, well written, but does not have much of a 'wow factor'. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mystery novel with an uneven plot line. It is set in the 1980's, but has some details that seem more current. I liked the author's previous book American Pop a lot better.

"*The Queen City Detective Agency* has all the makings of a quirky, fun mystery, but it left me feeling a bit dizzy! The writing is witty, and the characters are colorful, but the plot jumps around so much that it was hard to keep up with what was going on. Just when I started to get into one storyline, we’d jump to another, and it became a bit of a guessing game to figure out how it all tied together.

That said, there are definitely moments that sparkle, with clever dialogue and amusing twists. If you're a fan of chaotic, off-the-wall mysteries, this might just be your jam! But for me, the constant hopping around made it harder to enjoy the full experience. Fun, but a bit too frenetic!"

Solid Southern Noir PI story set in the 1980s.
A Black female PI is hired to look into the death of a "suicide" victim. Snappy narration and plenty of twists and turns! A great pick for those who love procedurals, historical mysteries and strong female characters!

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.

I love a tightly-knit, fast-paced mystery, and Snowden Wright has done an excellent job creating one with "The Queen City Detective Agency." Clem and Dixon are a thoroughly-likeable pair of sleuths, their banter is delightful and the affection between them palpable, and both stand in square defiance of the stereotypes that the rest of their 1980s Meridian, Mississippi contemporaries want to be able to force them into. The sense of time and place is so well-written, and yet, it is - regrettably - also so reflective of the world we live in here in 2024. This was a great, quick read, and I'll be looking both into Wright's back catalogue and also forward to more adventures with Clem and Dixon.

Thank you, NetGalley and HTP, for allowing me to read this eARC. The book is excellent, and I enjoyed it. It's a good who-dun-it, and the characters are outstanding. The pacing was a little slow, but the story was really good. This book would be a good read for the fall or book club. I recommend for lovers of crime and mystery books.

Clem is a PI, hired by a criminal’s mother to prove he was murdered. Set in 1980s Mississippi against the backdrop of Reagan’s inauguration, the author uses Clem’s investigation to directly address racism, sexism, and classism. Gritty and dark, the story exposes how deeply the KKK/Dixie Mafia have permeated and corrupted local government.

I enjoyed the cadence and wit in the writing, but it was at times a smidge pretentious in terms of the vocabulary words. The author gives a good amount of background on several characters, even some of the more minor ones, which helped to humanize them, even when they were on the side of the villains. I loved that Clem had a true partner, friend and ally in Dixon. I had a little bit of a hard time keeping track of who was connected to who, but this gets mostly summed up towards the end.

There was one loose end that I was waiting for a resolution to, regarding Clem’s friend Sam. In the absence of an explanation, I’ll chalk it up to a coincidence.