The Queen City Detective Agency

A biracial PI unearths political corruption in this witty and insightful mystery from Wright (American Pop). In 1985 Meridian, Miss., Clementine “Clem” Baldwin and her associate, Dixon Hicks, are approached by Lenora Coogan, whose son, Turnip, has died trying to escape from the county jail where he was being held for the murder of real estate developer Randall Hubbard. Though witnesses saw Turnip fall off the jail’s roof, Lenora is convinced he was murdered; she also believes he was wrongly imprisoned, despite strong evidence that he carried out the hit on behalf of Hubbard’s wife. Lenora’s case is thin, but Clem and Dixon take it anyway, heading to the mansions of Hubbard’s associates and the trailer parks of Turnip’s peers as they slowly unravel a deadly conspiracy being perpetrated by the Dixie Mafia, whose members sit in the highest ranks of local government. Wright elevates his premise with wry humor (“Meridian, Mississippi... billed itself as the state’s ‘Queen City,’ but had, in recent decades, become more of a countess or a baronet”) and a keen awareness of the South’s racial dynamics. This has series potential. Agent: Eve Atterman, WME. (Aug.)

Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly identified the author as a journalist.