Task #3 of the 2025 Read Harder Challenge is “read a queer mystery” and I am happy to report that I had to work to narrow this list down. Finding LGBTQ rep in mystery—or any other genre—shouldn’t require intense sleuthing, but it wasn’t that long ago that the mystery genre lacked diversity on every level. While we still have a long way to go towards parity in queer representation, it is really nice to have several titles to recommend in a list like this and not have it be the same handful of titles recommended over and over again.
I have several series starters and a few standalones to recommend for this Read Harder task, all by and about queer people. Most of the titles are from the last few years, and a couple are 2025 releases. In historical mysteries, we’ll travel to Georgian London,1920s Harlem, and 19th Century Chicago. In contemporary mysteries, we’ll head to Salt Lake City game shop, an exclusive boarding school, the London drag scene, and more. Get ready to chase down clues, map out theories, and figure out whodunit. That’s right, folks: be gay, solve crimes.
 Board to Death by CJ ConnorBen is a queer thirtysomething divorcée who’s come back home to Salt Lake City to run his family’s board game shop. Once a married English professor in Seattle, he now spends his days caring for his ailing father and a Chihuahua named Beans while trying to make ends meet as his father’s medical bills pile up. Then a local toy and game collector approaches Ben with a rare opportunity: to buy a turn-of-the-century edition of the game that inspired Monopoly at a fraction of what it’s worth. Ben turns the offer down because there’s no way the deal is legit; but when the collector is found dead at Ben’s front door with a backpack full of $100 bills, Ben is the #1 suspect. This cute quozy mystery is by Book Riot contributor CJ Connor! |
 Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-ÍyímídéDevon and Chiamaka are two queer Black students—and the only Black students—at the exclusive Niveus Private Academy. They’ve just been named prefects of their senior class, giving them each something shiny to add to their college applications and putting them in the running for valedictorian. But shortly after the announcement goes live, some mysterious figure who goes by Aces begins using anonymous texts to reveal secrets about Devon and Chiamaka, the kind of secrets that could ruin everything they’ve worked so hard to achieve. As the texts keep coming, the stakes keep climbing, escalating from a cruel prank to a deadly game involving a secret society. |
 Dead Dead Girls (Harlem Renaissance Mysteries #1) by Nekesa AfiaLouise Lloyd is just trying to live a normal life with her friends and girlfriend in 1920s Harlem, working days at a café and nights at Harlem’s hottest speakeasy. But when an altercation with a police officer leads to her arrest, the police see an opportunity to use Louise, who not only survived a kidnapping ordeal in her teens but helped other girls escape. They issue her an ultimatum: she can help them look into the unsolved murders of several young Black women or else be thrown in jail. Seeing no other choice, she agrees to join the investigation, putting her in the path of a murderer. |
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But wait! There’s more! Once you’re done adding my picks to your TBR, fill up on even more queer whodunitry with these queer cozy mysteries, LGBTQ YA mysteries and thrillers, and even more LGBTQ mysteries and thrillers.
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What book do you recommend for this task? Let’s chat in the comments!
Check out all the previous 2025 Read Harder posts here.