The story and dialogue are good, the details are interesting, though sometimes the descriptions can be a bit too wordy and bog down the flow. I like the main character, Clementine kept me reading to see how her black woman owned detective agency would fare. The Meridian, Mississippi setting and people are well drawn. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity read this advanced reader copy.

One of the best detective books I have read in a long time! Funny at times but serious when needed, well written, perfectly developed characters.

In the deep south, in the 1980s, a black female detective and her white male employee are paid to investigate the death of an inmate who appeared to have taken his own life. His momma is sure it was murder. Then more people end up dead and the Queen City detective agency believes that the DM (Dixie Mafia) is behind them all.

I appreciated the author’s ability to put me into Meridian Mississippi at that time. A small, relatively poor city with a deep sense of community. The racism, the treatment of women and the GOB (good ol boy) network were plainly laid out as being part of the town, while being tempered by the protagonist’s viewpoint as an educated black woman living and working there. I was rooting for her from the start, and knew she would solve the case while not taking any bull from the men (and women) she had to deal with.

I loved the setting of this book—1980’s Mississippi— both because I was a child in the 80’s and because I particularly enjoy books where the setting is novel or distinct and adds to the story and atmosphere. I am also a sucker for books with strong female protagonists and Clementine does not disappoint. Her character and background is nuanced and complex. I liked her partnership with Dixon and the vehicle that provided for commentary on race, misogyny, and social economic status in the U.S. and the south in particular. Their banter and interactions were amusing and endearing. The other characters in the book are also entertaining and their circumstances were portrayed realistically.

Mystery novels typically follow one of several tropes, and this one is no exception, but it’s fresh and entertaining.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. I appreciate the introduction to this author.

On New Year’s Day 1985, as the countdown to Ronald Reagan’s second presidential inauguration begins, Turnip Coogan, in custody for the murder of real estate developer Randall Hubbard, falls from the roof of the courthouse in downtown Meridian, Mississippi. It may be morning in the rest of America, but that Reaganite optimism has bypassed the state’s “Queen City,” where strip malls developed by the late Hubbard have “sucked the life out of the city’s downtown” and its convenient location between New Orleans and Atlanta has made Meridian “a vital pit stop in the loosely affiliated crime belt of the Deep South.” Knowing of her son’s connection to the notorious Dixie Mafia, Lenora Coogan is convinced that his death was neither an accident nor a suicide and hires Black cop-turned-private investigator Clementine Baldwin and her white partner, Dixon Hicks, to find the “sons of bitches who killed him.” Complicating the investigation is the still-jailed Odette Hubbard, who had recruited Turnip to kill her husband and then canceled the hit job. She wants Clem and Dixon to identify the real killer, a request that puts a target on Clem’s back. Jim Crow laws may be a thing of the past, but Clem still must battle old-fashioned racism as she goes after the city’s powerbrokers. Wright’s (American Pop) Southern noir introduces a compelling, complex, bourbon-loving sleuth who both loathes and loves her hometown. Her budding friendship with Dixon will have readers anticipating their next crime-solving adventure.

I am sorry but I couldn’t not finish this book. I read like a stage play rather than a novel, like it had been adapted.

The dialogue had me wondering if a white man had tried to write black voices because of how it came off like someone’s reading of how they think they’d act rather than writing them truthfully.

I won’t publish my review elsewhere but wanted the publishers to know how sincerely off putting this felt to me. I can’t review the plot because I didn’t make it far enough. The writing style was visual and helped me piece together the action but in the end the dialogue had me shaking my head.

I’m one of those readers who thinks fiction authors should be free to create characters and plots, and they don’t have to be the same gender or race as the protagonist. It will be interesting to see what the crime fiction community says about Snowden Wright’s The Queen City Detective Agency, a novel that features a bi-racial female ex-cop turned PI in Meridian, Mississippi in the 1980s. While the story dragged at times, the tone seemed right for 1985 in Reagan’s south, where it’s “Morning in America”.

It’s not easy to be a woman, an ex-cop turned PI, and bi-racial, presenting Black in 1985 in the South. Clementine Baldwin is a hard-drinking PI whose white father is in prison, and her rage is directed at him and herself as much as it is directed at every white prejudiced person in Meridian. Two years earlier, she was forced to hire a white Vietnam vet, still remembered as a star quarterback. Dixon Hicks became a friend, and even read books Clem recommended so he could try to understand her anger and viewpoint. Hicks is the good guy in their partnership, and clients will talk with him while ignoring Clem.

Turnip Coogan flew off the jail while in custody for killing a local powerbroker. Turnip said it was murder for hire, and the man’s widow is the one who hired him. Now, while Turnip’s death is ruled suicide, his mother is convinced otherwise. She hires the Queen City Detective Agency to prove her son was murdered.

Clem and Dixon have a complex case on their hands, an investigation that goes from the jail to trailer parks to country clubs and a cockfight. Their investigation is overshadowed by rumors of the Dixie Mafia, a powerful group that may have hired a hit man to kill the developer who was making money building shopping centers and stores in the Black community. A few people hint the Dixie Mafia may be the offspring of the Ku Klux Klan, while most say there’s no such thing. But, someone is trying to kill Clem and Dixon to stop their investigation.

While I really liked Clem, Dixon, and several other characters, the story is a little slow to develop. However, Wright does an excellent job in creating the atmosphere of the 1980s in the South. Clem has to contend with racism and gender bias. Hmm. The Queen City Detective Agency may have as much to say about our present climate as it does about Meridian, Mississippi in Reagan’s America.

I really enjoed this book and actually look forward to a possible series???? The setting is painted perfectly and Clem is a wonderful character.

Sometimes it can be hard for a book to capture my attention when it’s set decades ago, however this was not the case for this book! It was an enjoyable read, there were times it seems kind of slow paced but then it’s pick up.
I would recommend it.

I read an interview with the author in which he said he'd done his homework, reading in the genre, before writing this book, and he read more Elmore Leonard than anyone else. I thought there was a bit of an Elmore Leonard flavor to it, with an emphasis on oddball characters doing often rather stupid things. (He also mentioned Joe Ide, and I think there's a similar willingness to go right over the top.)

In 1980, a black woman PI and her white male sidekick are hired to find out whether the man in the opening scene, who fell off the roof of a Meridian, Mississippi jail was murdered. Come to find out, he was, but it's all pretty complicated and there's some double-crossing going on with their client and the dead man's associates and then there's the Dixie Mafia. None of it's especially realistic, but it's entertaining and occasionally thought-provoking.

I was fairly confused by the plot and relationships much of the time, but on the whole I enjoyed it. The author, who is not Black or a woman, but is from Mississippi had me me fooled.

So, I’ll say upfront that as far as plot, characters, pacing, setting, etc., I absolutely loved Snowden Wright’s The Queen City Detective Agency (William Morrow, 13 August 2014). Set in gritty 1980s Meridian, Mississippi, the novel follows Clementine Baldwin, the city’s only black woman cop-turned-PI, as she tries to unravel an enigmatic murder that has dangerous connections to Mississippi’s most feared organized crime group. It has the feel of a classic hard-boiled detective novel but with a much more diverse cast and a narrator that doesn’t shy away from issues of class, race, and gender issues that Clem routinely faces.

I was really surprised to discover the author is a white man. The book is mainly written from Clem’s perspective, and I made the incorrect assumption that a woman of color must have written it. While I think that says a lot about the care with which Wright put into Clem, I don’t know – I just can’t help but wonder if it was a white man’s story to tell in the first place given the racial- and gender-based discrimination that she deals with. I’d love to know more about how he researched and developed her character. Did he interview black women who worked in law enforcement in the 80s in the deep south? What helped him tap into the emotional consequences Clem faced as a black woman PI? The advanced review copy I have didn’t include any material to that effect, but I think some context is needed.

An excellent addition to the Southern noir genre. Plenty of Civil Rights history, historical figures and good old-fashioned country racists and KKK members along with a hitman or two coupled with a resourceful and cynical and winning black female detective make this a top-notch read,

A super suspenseful book about a female PI in 1980s Mississippi. This was slow-going for me but I enjoyed the premise and it really felt like stepping back in time and place. Definitely got the right feel to the atmosphere, I just personally prefer books with a bit of a quicker pace, especially when the plot is so interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

This was my first time reading this author and this one is a slow burn. It did take a bit to get into the writing and the storylines of the characters bordered on the complex side. The pace did quicken at the end and the reader is in for a treat at the end with a shocking ending. My favorite part about this book is that the author revealed several plot points throughout the book that I did not see coming. I'd be interesting in a sequel because I did not want this book to end once the pace picked up.

Currently, I've decided to set the book aside and not finish it for the time being. I found it difficult to fully engage with the story due to its slow pace, which didn't align with my expectations for a suspenseful book..

Great book. Clem is now one of my favorite characters! Pace was go, could have been faster but I really like fast pace. Lots is threads that intertwined.

Read this book for the atmosphere as much as the case. The author has done a good job of evoking the 80s in the South, as well as how treacherous it was for women of color in that place and time , esp as a former cop, now private detective. The crime/case was a little slow and hard to get into at first. But the second part of the book the author had hit her stride and picked up the pace with the Dixie Mafia hot on Clem's trail as she, and her trusty sidekick, try to understand what happened to the victim, why, and who benefits from his death.. The last part is a race against the clock! A fun, atmospheric read with a satisfying finish. Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC opportunity!

Being along this journey with Clem was really fun, this felt a little too slow paced for a moment but the end wrapped up really good, I really liked these partners and their friendship! Definitely worth the read and will recommend to friends!
Thank you for the arc!

This was just fun to read! Sure, there are murderers, good people who went bad, and bad folks trying to
turn around, but in all of it, there is just a lot of interesting local history in Meridian, Mississippi. If you want
to pretend you are a fancy country clubber for an afternoon, this is the perfect way to do it!
My thanks to William Morrow via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this book.

The title of this book made me want to read it after growing up near a city that has been referred to as Queen City (Springfield, MO). This book takes place in Meridian, Mississippi in the 1980. If you’re looking for a page-turning criminal conspiracy that highlights the despicable parts in the center of the American dream (selfishness, racism, corruption, and malice all included) then this book is right up your alley. The story has wonderful character development and a plot worthy of a movie.

I found it hard to get into, and I can't quite put a finger as to why. It may be a combination of pacing throwing me off--it's quite slow-paced, and while it was great to have those contemplative moments, I found some of it repetitive or redundant.