Dead Dead Girls

by Nekesa Afia

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Harlem Renaissance Mysteries (1)

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"The start of an exciting new historical mystery series set during the Harlem Renaissance from debut author Nekesa Afia. Harlem, 1926. Young black women like Louise Lloyd are ending up dead. Following a harrowing kidnapping ordeal when she was in her teens, Louise is doing everything she can to maintain a normal life. She's succeeding, too. She spends her days working at Maggie's Café and her nights at the Zodiac, Harlem's hottest speakeasy. Louise's friends might say she's running from her past and the notoriety that still stalks her, but don't tell her that. When a girl turns up dead in front of the café, Louise is forced to confront something she's been trying to ignore-two other local black girls have been murdered over the past few weeks. After an altercation with a police officer gets her arrested, Louise is given an ultimatum: She can either help solve the case or wind up in a jail cell. Louise has no choice but to investigate and soon finds herself toe-to-toe with a murderous mastermind hell-bent on taking more lives, maybe even her own"--… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 12 (next | show all)

I think with time and effort Nekesa Afia will be a good writer, but this book was rushed to print I think. A good story line that suffered from jagged and uneven writing, and floundered a few times moving the story forward. I will read her next book, hoping for improvement. However, I was not at all impressed by this in the afterword: "Every notable contribution to 1920's culture......was made by Black people, then stolen and repackaged for white consumption." A bit excessive. (

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tobiejonzarelli | Jul 25, 2023 |

This was a lot of fun. I definitely would not call it a 'cozy' murder mystery in any way, but it was a quick, enjoyable read.

Louise was a great protagonist. Gutsy and brave, but vulnerable and compassionate - perfect for a crime solving heroine. She doesn't freeze in a crisis situation. (

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xaverie | Apr 3, 2023 |

This was a good palette cleanser to read between larger books. There is a small twist at the end that I thought was a good route to go, but i had a hard time being motivated to read. (

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MischiefRed | Mar 22, 2022 |

Set in Harlem in the 1920s. this historicalmystery is the first in a proposed series, and I'm sure it's the author's first published book. Frankly, it needs a good editor. A quick read, it's somewhat entertaining and gives the reader a glimpse into the nightlife of the times,but there are glaring holes in the plot and the author sometimes points the reader, not to a red herring, but to warnings that decrease the suspense. The protagonist, Louise "Lovie" Lloyd is a likeable young woman making her way in a dangerous world.

I bought this book on a Kindle 99 cents deal, and if a sequel appears as a similar bargain book, I'll probably pick it up. (

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janeajones | Mar 3, 2022 |

This has a great hook—a Black lesbian in 1920s Harlem finds herself unwillingly drawn into investigating a serial killer!—but Dead Dead Girls manages to be both bland and incompetent. The pacing/scene transitions are choppy, the characterisation flat, and there's little by way of suspense right the way through to the infuriating anti-climax of an ending. Louise, the protagonist, acts in ways that that are often bewildering and just not how a person acts. It is a first novel so I'm giving Nekesa Afia the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe she can improve on this with some more experience, but this read like a very first draft that somehow made its way into print. (

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siriaeve | Dec 30, 2021 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Nekesa Afia	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Cnockaert, Alison	Designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Fitz Co Photography	Author photographer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Leonard, Emma	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Osborne, Emily	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Small, Shayna	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Harlem Renaissance Mysteries (1)

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Canonical title

Dead Dead Girls

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2021-06-01

People/Characters

Important places

Harlem, New York, New York, USA

Zodiac

Maggie’s Cafe

Important events

Harlem Renaissance

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To Aaron Tveit—I'm free on Thursday night and would like
to hang out. Please respond to this and then hang out
with me on Thursday night when I'm free.

First words

The wind whips against her face.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Vega, Michelle

Blurbers

Dunmore, Evie

Manansala, Mia P.

Flynn, Laurie Elizabeth

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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▾Book descriptions

"The start of an exciting new historical mystery series set during the Harlem Renaissance from debut author Nekesa Afia. Harlem, 1926. Young black women like Louise Lloyd are ending up dead. Following a harrowing kidnapping ordeal when she was in her teens, Louise is doing everything she can to maintain a normal life. She's succeeding, too. She spends her days working at Maggie's Café and her nights at the Zodiac, Harlem's hottest speakeasy. Louise's friends might say she's running from her past and the notoriety that still stalks her, but don't tell her that. When a girl turns up dead in front of the café, Louise is forced to confront something she's been trying to ignore-two other local black girls have been murdered over the past few weeks. After an altercation with a police officer gets her arrested, Louise is given an ultimatum: She can either help solve the case or wind up in a jail cell. Louise has no choice but to investigate and soon finds herself toe-to-toe with a murderous mastermind hell-bent on taking more lives, maybe even her own"--

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