Following an unforgettable cast of characters and a jaded female P.I. enmeshed in a criminal conspiracy in 1980s Mississippi, The Queen City Detective Agency is a riveting, razor-sharp Southern noir that unravels the greed, corruption, and racism at the heart of the American Dream.
“A hilarious and edgy ride into the deepest of the Deep South, The Queen City Detective Agency is an absolute blast. The book is chock full of more crazies than Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. But its hero, P.I. Clem Baldwin, proves to be a perfect guide into the cloistered and complicated world of 1980s Meridian, Mississippi.” — Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let the Devil Ride
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Meridian, Mississippi—once known as the Queen City for its status in the state—has lost much of its royal bearing by 1985. Overshadowed by more prosperous cities such as New Orleans and Atlanta, Meridian attracts less-than-legitimate businesses, including those enforced by the near-mythical Dixie Mafia. The city’s powerbrokers, wealthy white Southerners clinging to their privilege, resent any attempt at change to the old order.
Real-estate developer Randall Hubbard took advantage of Meridian’s economic decline by opening strip malls that catered to low-income families in Black neighborhoods—until he wound up at the business end of a .38 Special. Then a Dixie Mafia affiliate named Lewis “Turnip” Coogan, who claims Hubbard’s wife hired him for the hit, dies under suspicious circumstances while in custody for the murder.
Ex-cop turned private investigator Clementine Baldwin is hired by Coogan’s bereaved mother to find her son’s killer. A woman struggling with her own history growing up in Mississippi, Clem braves the Queen City’s corridors of crime as she digs into the case, opening wounds long forgotten. She soon finds herself in the crosshairs of powerful and dangerous people who manipulate the law for their own ends—and will kill anyone who threatens to reveal their secrets.
“In Snowden Wright’s latest novel, The Queen City Detective Agency, hardboiled ex-cop Clem Baldwin is drawn into a murder mystery that plunges her into the perilous underworld of Meridian, Mississippi, where organized crime and political corruption reign. Wright’s masterful prose and crackling dialogue drive this electrifying and high-octane Southern noir, making it a journey you won’t want to miss.” — Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy
“Snowden Wright knows Meridian, Mississippi like my grandmomma knew her garden plot. The Queen City Detective Agency crackles with Southern-fried banter that’ll make you laugh, gasp, and cry, all on the same page. Here is a novelist at the height of his game.”— Eli Cranor, author of Don’t Know Tough and Ozark Dogs
“[The Queen City Detective Agency] evokes the atmosphere and tension of the 1980s American South, emphasizing the rage and emotions of a woman of color who’s faced with the political clout of ruthless white power brokers.” — Library Journal