It’s time to talk about one of the top-selling subgenres of lesbian fiction: f/f romantic suspense and mystery novels.
In a mystery novel, the main character is investigating a crime—often a murder—or trying to solve a mystery. She can be a detective, a law enforcement officer, a private investigator, or a sleuthing amateur.
A romantic suspense novel weaves together a romance and suspense, mystery, or thriller elements. The potential lovers have to face danger together before they can live happily ever after.
15 GREAT LESBIAN MYSTERY & ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVELS
I’ve put together a list of 15 lesbian mystery novels & romantic suspense books with lesbian or bi main characters. I hope you’ll enjoy them.
Next of Kin (Portland Police Bureau series, book 2) by Jae
Detective Aiden Carlisle’s private and professional lives collide when her lover’s newest patient gets in trouble with the law. Will she be able to solve the case without pushing Dawn away?
For years, Deputy District Attorney Kade Matheson has been focused on her career, but when she finds herself with two secret admirers, she is finally forced to face her attraction to women.
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Collide-O-Scope (Norfolk Coast Investigation, book 1) by Andrea Bramhall
One unidentified dead body. One tiny fishing village. Forty residents and everyone’s a suspect. Where do you start? Newly promoted Detective Sergeant Kate Brannon and Kings Lynn’s CID have to answer that question and more as they untangle the web of lies wrapped around the tiny village of Brandale Stiathe Harbour to capture the killer of Connie Wells.
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Blood Money Murder by Jessie Chandler
Secrets. It all begins with secrets. A long-held secret is about to implode with potentially catastrophic results. Will Shay and her sister Lisa pay the ultimate price for Eddy’s sins, or will Eddy confront her twenty-five year secret head-on before time runs out?
Available at:
Bella Books
Amazon
A Dark Horse by Blayne Cooper
Best-selling, award-winning author Blayne Cooper exposes the intrigue of the Big Easy in this epic story of dedication, risk and passion.
Available at:
Bella Books
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Forsaken Trust (A Luce Hansen Thriller) by Meredith Doench
Unwelcoming of outsiders, the community of Wallace Lake, Ohio, closes ranks when four women are found murdered. Agent Luce Hansen must find a way in before another woman loses her life to the ruthless serial killer. With the help of her new team—a hot rookie and a smart, beautiful medical examiner—Luce works to unearth the dark secrets of this close-knit town. And when Luce feels forsaken, both professionally and personally, she must regain trust in her most valuable investigative tool: herself.
Available at:
Bold Strokes Books
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Love’s Redemption by Donna K. Ford
For ex-convict Rhea Daniels and ex-priest Morgan Scott, redemption lies in the thin line between right and wrong.
Available at:
Bold Strokes Books
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Audible (audio book)
Amateur City (Kate Delafield series, book 1) by Katherine V. Forrest
Tough LAPD Detective Kate Delafield leads an investigation into a highrise office building murder. The case is intriguing but routine—until Kate interviews the only witness, Ellen O’Neil. During the investigation, Kate finds her path increasingly intersecting with that of Ellen, who is proving unpredictable and dangerous in a far more personal way.
Available at:
Bella Books
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Tangled Mark by Becky Harmon
Flagler Security Agent, Nikki Mitchell, is completely immersed in the secrecy of her job. Mel Carter has a secret mission of her own. Completely dedicated to their individual missions, the lives of both women become tangled as personal and professional lines begin to blur.
Available at:
Bella Books
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Facing Evil by CL Hart
Detective Abby Stanfield has worked tirelessly to bring serial killer Billy Ward to justice, but when his case is thrown out of court, Abby loses control and threatens publicly to kill him. Forced to take a leave of absence, Abby heads to a mountain resort where she meets Sarah. The two women discover love but are soon torn apart. Through twist and turns of the novel, Abby and Sarah experience for themselves the brutality of a serial killer before he ends up dead, and Abby is his accused killer.
Available at:
Amazon
Devil’s Rock by Gerri Hill
Bestselling, award-winning Gerri Hill presents the turmoil of unbidden passion combined with heart-pounding suspense in a compelling story inspired by her own Hunter’s Way.
Available at:
Bella Books
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Audible (audio book)
Four Steps by Wendy Hudson
Seclusion suits Alex Ryan. Haunted by a crime from her past, she struggles to find peace and calm. Lori Hunter dreams of escaping the monotony of her life. When the suffocation sets in, she runs for the hills. A chance encounter in the Scottish Highlands leads Alex and Lori into a whirlwind of heartache and a fight for survival, as they build a formidable bond that will be tested to its limits.
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple iBooks
No Good Reason (The Dark Peak series, book 1) by Cari Hunter
Detective Sanne Jensen and Dr. Meg Fielding are lifelong best friends, sharing the same deprived background and occasionally the same bed. When a violent kidnapping stuns the Peak District village of Rowlee, Sanne and her colleagues in East Derbyshire Special Ops search for the culprit, while Meg fights to keep his victim alive. With the clock ticking, Sanne and Meg find themselves pushed closer by a crime that threatens to tear everything apart.
Available at:
Bold Strokes Books
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Audible (audio book)
Death by the Riverside (Micky Knight Mysteries series, book 1) by JM Redmann
Among the moss-covered trees and wrought-iron balustrades of southern Louisiana, Detective Michele Knight (Micky to her friends) takes on the seemingly simple job of shooting a few photos for a client, but the going gets rough as Micky finds herself slugging through thugs and slogging through swamps in an attempt to expose a dangerous drug ring.
Available at:
Bold Strokes Books
Amazon
Apple iBooks
Holy Hell (Lillian Byrd Crime series, book 1) by Elizabeth Sims
Lillian Byrd is a small-time reporter with a flair for making big-time mistakes, so her investigation into the disappearances of women in the Detroit area might not be the best idea. But when one of the missing women turns up dead and Lillian recognizes the bizarrely mutilated corpse, she’s in too deep to get out. After simultaneously blowing the case for the police and revealing herself to the off-kilter killers, she’s completely on her own. Can she catch the murderers before they catch up with her?
Available at:
Amazon
Requiem for Immortals by Lee Winter
Requiem is a brilliant cellist with a secret. The dispassionate assassin has made an art form out of killing Australia’s underworld figures without a thought. One day she‘s hired to kill a sweet and unassuming innocent. Requiem can’t work out why anyone would want her dead—and why she should even care.
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple iBooks
If you haven’t done so already, download your bingo card, pick the book you want to read for the lesbian mystery & romantic suspense square, and start reading! Remember that you can either read one of the 15 books listed above or pick another f/f mystery or romantic suspense novel.
Lesbian Book bingo giveaway: Win a book by leaving a comment
For the romantic suspense & mystery square, I’m giving away an e-book copy of:
- Four Steps by Wendy Hudson
- Holy Hell by Elizabeth Sims
- Blood Money Murder by Jessie Chandler
Anyone can enter. To be entered into the drawing, leave a comment on this blog and let us know which book you’re going to read for the “romantic suspense & mystery” square or if you can think of other lesbian books that fit this category.
Entries close on Thursday, December 13, 2018, 10 a.m. CET, when I’ll draw the winners using a random numbers generator. I’ll notify winners via email. Your email address won’t be used for any other purpose.
Subscribe to this blog so you won’t miss the next book bingo post
The reading list for the next bingo square—second chance romance novels—will be posted on December 20. Subscribe to my blog so you won’t miss it. There’ll be another giveaway too!
Happy reading!
Jae
31 Responses
Hi all !!
For this topic : F/F Romantic Suspense & Mystery Novels (Lesbian Book Bingo #24) I’ve read “Too Strong to Die” by Erin Wade (and loved it …)
I’d love to won neither of the following novels :
° “Four Steps” by Wendy Hudson
° “Holy Hell” by Elizabeth Sims
° “Blood Money Murder” by Jessie Chandler
Good luck everyone !!! :-)
Finally a category I’ve read most of but still some I’ve not! Blood money murder now on my TBR pile.
Wow, I read only 5 from those! I have 1 pending to almost 6 😁 of course I haven’t read Jae’s!🤔
Amateur City by Katherine V. Forrest because why not kkkk
Facing Evil was so good! I think it will go on my reread list!
Wow! I’ve only read one of these, Requiem for Immortals. I’m ready to win!
I’ve only read Requiem for Immortals out of these but after reading that for my bingo square I am so ready to dive more into this genre.
I just finished A Matter of Blood by Catherine Maiorisi. It was good, I enjoyed it.
I already read most of the books. Good choices!
Dust by Ann McMan is another good read for this category.
I have read many on this list, but not Four Steps! That will be my choice for this genre.
This being my favorite genre, I’m excited to see so many books I haven’t read! That said, I think *ALL* of Cari Hunter’s books belong here…
“Tangled Mark”, very good. I have a few listed I have not read yet in my library. Dark Peaks series next up!
This is one of my favorite categories and I’ve read several on this list. For my cards I read: Ali Vali – Dragon Tree Legacy; Catherine Maiorisi – A Matter of Blood; Cari Hunter – No Good Reason; C L Hart – From a Distance; A J Quinn – Counting to Zero.
I think Wendy Hudson’s Four Steps (and Mine to Keep) and Lee Winter’s Requiem are excellent. Some other favorites are the Elite Operatives series by Baldwin/Alexiou, Stevie Mikayne’s Uncatholic Conduct, Annette Mori’s Asset Management and The Organization, V K Powell’s Exit Wounds, Melissa Price’s Steel Eyes and Skin in the Game.
But the best, most easily believed and most terrifying is Lynn Ames with her Kate and Jay series along with the Mission Classified series. Shades of Orwell’s 1984 and for anyone who read that before the late 70’s it was scary enough but now it’s almost like an accurate prediction of the future we’re now in. Lynn Ames has created a well thought out, very well written and extremely well backed up series with dastardly and unfortunately almost too easy to believe motives for the totally unacceptable takeover and domination of the world. And even if you don’t find it somewhat possible or believable it’s a hell-uv-a read!
There are many more I’ve really enjoyed but I think this list is too long already.
“Requiem for Immortals” and “A Dark Horse” are two of my favorite books! I just re-read them. And I can’t wait to check out some of the other books on the list!
I will read a dark horse by Blayne Cooper for this square
I’ll likely read the most recent cozy mystery novel by Ellen Hart since she’s a five-time Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery winner and I’m really not one for reading straight up mystery novels. I basically live for Contemporary Romance and SciFi/Fantasy (my favorite SciFi and Fantasy novels have mystery elements but are not straight up mysteries), so I need a nudge to dip my toe, lol, and a cozy mystery seems like a nice stepping stone for that toe, lol.
The Ellen Hart novel I chose is titled “A Whisper of Bones”. It’s the latest in her Jane Lawless series; Jane is a lesbian restaurant owner and part-time investigator.
I’m also going to read Val McDirmid’s mystery novel, “Report For Murder”. Main character Lindsay Gordon is a lesbian freelance Scottish journalist turned private detective.
I’ll be reading Devil’s Rock for this square. Pending to be read are Next of Kin and A Dark Horse
I will read Jessie Chandler’s Blood Money Murder. I really like this series.
I love all the responses! What a great idea, Jae, and thank you for coordinating this challenge. Keep the reading going strong!!!! (I’m not posting to be in the drawing! I just wanted to say hi and job well done!
Collide-O-Scope by Andrea Bramhall. Love this category! Happy reading!
I’m in a Kate Delafield kind of mood. Amateur City is my square. Hope to win a few more so I can make my own bingo in the category!
Looks like I need to read more books in this category. I’ve only read Next of Kin by Jae and Requiem for Immortals by Lee Winter. Love both books.
This is one of my favourite squares. I have read Requiem for Immortals for my first bingo card. My choice fot my second card will be An Outsider Inside by R.J. Samuel.
Romantic suspense and mystery novel? I think then that I’ll (re-) read ‘Captive in Time’ by Sarah Dreher……. 🐺
I love that Mickey Knight made the list!!
My favorite genre.
This is one of my favorite categories & I’ve never read most of these books (altho I’ve read other books by several of these authors). Most of them will be going on my 2019 list for sure!
I really like the way Elizabeth Sims writes so I would choose “Holy Hell.”
I kept to the mystery part of this category and read Paid in Full by Ann Roberts a few months ago. The only book on this list I’ve read is Next of Kin (definitely read Conflict of Interest first!). A lot of these sound just too grim for me.