There’s More To Mystery Than Christie: Brilliant Black Detectives In Crime Fiction
Only Murders In The Inbox Focuses On African-American Murder Mystery Protagonists
Rudolph Fisher, photo courtesy of The City of Refuge: The Collected Stories of Rudolph Fisher, available through the University of Missouri Press
Mystery is more than Agatha Christie. It’s more than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s monumentally more than most mainstream characters in mystery that always seem to take center stage, as with the popularity of detectives such as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Sam Spade. The Mystery genre itself is, and should be, reliant on a wide, diverse range of voices within stories to create a complete and varied contribution to literature, not only in various writing styles and narration but also in representation. Many of the most memorable characters in crime fiction and entertainment are African-American; characters impacting modern mysteries the most include a variety of investigators, from an astute metro detective to the first black sheriff in a small town.
Pauline E. Hopkins, Public Domain Image
In the history of crime fiction, there are several significant contributors to these stories, but there are two writers in particular who are the most notable for their influence on the modern murder mystery. Strangely, both of these contributors to crime fiction are more widely known for their contributions to society that have nothing to do with murder mysteries. Pauline E. Hopkins was an influential writer during the turn of the nineteenth century. She’s best known for her nonfiction novels which address racial discrimination, social prejudice and women’s rights. But Hopkins also wrote a short story called “Talma Gordon” that was published in 1900. This has long been recognized as the first murder mystery about an African-American, written by an African-American. During the Harlem Renaissance, a major artistic movement during a pivotal time period in U.S. history, a powerful and talented group of black Americans spearheaded a surge in art, music and literature. Some of the most recognizable names from this time period are artists Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden, musicians Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, and writers Zora Neale Hurston and James Baldwin. But for crime fiction, the Harlem Renaissance’s lesser-known Rudolph Fisher was much more important. Fisher, like Hopkins, is much more widely recognized for his work that has nothing to do with mysteries; he was a physician credited with advances in radiology. But Fisher, also a writer, contributed significantly to the development of the classic murder mystery. Fisher was the first African-American author to create a detective who was molded from the black experience, in his 1932 story, The Conjure Man Dies, the first mystery novel to feature a black detective as the protagonist. To prevent any spoilers, I won’t give away details, but in The Conjure Man Dies, Fisher was the first mystery writer to develop crucial plot points that became immensely popular later on in crime fiction. When you read that novel, just know, he was the first writer to do it.
In honor of Rudolph Fisher and his work, I’ve compiled a list of significant black detectives in literature, film and entertainment. This is by no means a comprehensive list, just a few favorites, and although I know there are numerous detectives I could feature, I lean more toward American ones in lit, film and television in this list because that’s what I love. Let’s start with my favorite.
Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, as portrayed by Denzel Washington and written by Walter Mosley
The incomparable Angeleno crime fiction writer Walter Mosley knows how to spin a good mystery. His character Easy Rawlins is the titular L.A. detective, hailing from Watts, rough around the edges but swift to rebound when he gets kicked down. In the now-classic hard boiled mystery Devil In A Blue Dress, Rawlins finds himself reluctantly investigating a missing woman, Daphne Monet. Mosley expertly transports his readers to 1940s Los Angeles, filling his stories with wild card supporting characters, slippery criminals and his riveting protagonist, who he skillfully develops over the course of the detective’s career. Mosley has written sixteen Easy Rawlins crime thrillers, with his most recent, Farewell, Amethystine, which is a sure fire contender for an Edgar Award in 2025.
Titus Crown as written by S.A. Cosby
Shawn Andre Cosby is a Southern noir mystery writer who penned three novels — My Darkest Prayer, Blacktop Wasteland, and Razorblade Tears — before writing his most recent crime novel, All The Sinners Bleed. In his latest book, his protagonist Titus Crown is the first black sheriff in Charon County, Virginia. He’s investigating a gritty case involving a school teacher murdered by a former student. Brand new to the job, Titus Crown suddenly realizes there’s been a serial killer hiding in plain sight. This novel was a finalist for an Edgar award earlier this year.
Private Investigator John Shaft, as portrayed by Richard Roundtree, as written by Ernest Tidyman
For me, the epitome of the cool detective in film will always be Shaft. He’s the famous and cooler Roundtree that I’ve loved since I first saw the movie. (If you only knew how many times I’ve spelled my last name out for people, and then followed it with, “Like Richard Roundtree, but without the D.”) Samuel L. Jackson is great in the remake, but Richard Roundtree is irreplaceable. In the movie, a Harlem mob boss, Bumpy, hires private eye John Shaft to rescue his kidnapped daughter.
Detective Alex Cross, as written by James Patterson
The most exciting news recently for mystery buffs is Prime Video’s announcement during the Essence Fest in New Orleans earlier this month that the platform decided to bring back James Patterson’s popular detective Alex Cross in a brand new series. The most notable actor to ever play Cross is Morgan Freeman (Kiss The Girls, Along Came A Spider) but most recently, Tyler Perry held the role. However, this time around, casting is decidedly more aligned with the character from the books with Aldis Hodge filling the shoes of the detective. Before even hitting Prime Video this fall, Cross has already been renewed for a second season. Hodge is joined by a talented team of actors including Isaiah Mustafa, Juanita Jennings, Alona Tal, Samantha Walkes, Caleb Elijah, Melody Hurd, Jennifer Wigmore, Eloise Mumford and Ryan Eggold. All eight episodes will premiere on the platform on November 14th.
Detective Danner as portrayed by Tiffany Haddish, written for the screen by Christopher Miller
The best detectives aren’t necessarily men! Back in the ‘70s, Get Christie Love! focused on an undercover cop, busting up criminal rings and high-kicking her way to justice. Fast forward to the year 2022, and comedian Tiffany Haddish redefines the strong female detective in the best, and most humorous, way possible with her Detective Danner in Apple TV’s The Afterparty. For the full review, see below.
True Detective’s Detective Wayne Hays, as portrayed by Mahershala Ali, written by Nic Pizzolatto;
Detective Evangeline Navarro as portrayed by Kali Reis, written by Issa Lopez
Creator and writer Nic Pizzolatto wrote the character of Detective Wayne Hays for the second season of the critically-acclaimed anthology series, and cast the multi-faceted Mahershala Ali in the role. Although the second season of the show wasn’t as popular as the first, Ali captivated audiences with his nuanced performance as the detective, solidifying himself as a lead actor who could easily carry a series.
Most recently, professional boxer Kali Reis stepped into the True Detective role as Detective Evangeline Navarro, opposite Jodie Foster, in Season Four. This year Reis, who is Afro-Indigenous, is nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Supporting Actress In An Anthology Or Limited Series. For the most comprehensive review of True Detective that’s coincidentally the most read article ever of Only Murders In The Inbox, see below.
DCI John Luther, as portrayed by Idris Elba, written by Neil Cross
This is my one pick that isn’t an American detective, but this wouldn’t be an adequate list without mentioning the Idris Elba. The character of DCI John Luther has gone on to become one of the most important murder mystery protagonists in television. The thriller crime series ran from 2010-2019 and focused on the conflicted, troubled DCI Luther obsessed with catching and punishing murderers by getting inside their heads, leading to dire personal consequences. The series also has a follow up movie on Netflix, Luther: The Fallen Sun. The U.K. show is available on Britbox, Pluto and Prime Video.
Honorable Mentions In Popular Fiction
Detective Virgil Tibbs from In The Heat of the Night (Sidney Poitier!); Private Investigator Precious Ramotswe from The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, as portrayed by Jill Scott, as written by Alexander McCall Smith; Detective Frank Pembleton from Homicide: Life On The Street; Private Detective Emma Djan as written by Dr. Kwei Quartey; Papa LaBas, as written by Ishmael Reed; Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, as written by Chester Hines; Private Eye Ashe Cayne by Dr. Ian K. Smith; Ray Carney by Colson Whitehead
Sources
Pauline Hopkins Society, https://www.paulinehopkinssociety.org
“Talma Gordon” by Pauline E. Hopkins, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/196318/summary
Walter Mosley’s official website, https://www.waltermosley.com
S.A. Cosby in The Guardian, https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2021/jul/31/sa-cosby-the-holy-trinity-of-southern-fiction-is-race-class-and-sex
Rudolph Fisher in Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rudolph-Fisher
Lancaster University, https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/153180/
Brown University, https://news.brown.edu/articles/2011/02/fisher
The Key Reporter, https://www.keyreporter.org/articles/2020/remembering-rudolph-fisher-leading-figure-of-the-harlem-renaissance/
Get Christie Love! - MAI Feminism, https://maifeminism.com/shaping-the-black-female-detective-in-get-christie-love/
Ishmael Reed’s Official Website, https://ishmaelreed.org/drupal/
After You Read
Be sure to check out these novels and collected works to learn more about the Harlem Renaissance.
The Novels Of The Harlem Renaissance by Amritjit Singh
The Messenger Reader by Sondra Kathryn Wilson
The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader by David Levering Lewis
Song of the Day: “Guilty” by Billie Holiday
I loved this feature on brilliant Black detectives in crime fiction! Your exploration of characters like Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins and Detective Danner was fantastic. Highlighting Rudolph Fisher's pioneering role in the genre added depth to the piece. You can see the quality of this piece. Brilliant.
Brilliant!
"In honor of Rudolph Fisher and his work, I’ve compiled a list of significant black detectives in literature, film and entertainment. This is by no means a comprehensive list, just a few favorites, and although I know there are numerous detectives I could feature, I lean more toward American ones in lit, film and television in this list because that’s what I love. Let’s start with my favorite."