WAVE YOUR RAINBOW FLAGS… IT’S PRIDE MONTH!
Let’s celebrate all things queer in the crime fiction world.
Why representation of LQBTQIA+ is so important in fiction
When I was a kid, all my storybooks featured families with mums and dads. All the Disney films I watched had mums and dads. Me and my friends had mums and dads, too.
And, as a very-much-in-the-closet teen, I had no queer role models whatsoever.
No wonder it took me 25 years to battle my way out of that closet. Because if we don’t see people like us in the world around us, it makes us feel like there’s something strange, or ‘other’ about us. And, apart from when we’re parading around covered in rainbow body paint and glitter during Pride Month, there really isn’t.
How it affects the queer community when we see ourselves represented
When we see LGBTQIA+ characters in the media we consume, it makes us feel accepted. Normal. Just like everyone else.
And I think it helps the rest of the world be more accepting of us, too. Especially when the books aren’t labelled ‘LGBTQIA+ fiction’ that, let’s face it, mostly queer people will pick up. And what’s even better than that? When it’s not full of stereotypes.
I hope that by the time my daughter starts school, no one will bat an eyelid when she says she has two mummies.
How things are changing for the better
I’m so excited to see things changing (and not just in my toddler’s favourite TV shows – even Hey Duggee and Bluey are featuring queer characters). As a lesbian crime fiction writer, I want to write books that represent real life, real people. That is to say, books that aren’t full of straight, white people with boring names.
I’m finding that in recent years, queer characters are popping up in fiction more and more, and not as you might expect.
I’m not just talking about books where the main character has a big coming out moment and deals with the resulting fallout (although there is definitely a place for those stories – I’m looking at you, Ryan Love!).
No, I’m talking about the detective who just happens to be gay. The best friend who just happens to be transgender. The cousin who just happens to be gender fluid. Queer characters who simply exist happily within the pages of our favourite novels.
Things are moving in the right direction; both queer and straight authors alike are writing the books, and giving queer characters the starring roles we just weren’t seeing years ago.
Who’s already doing a great job at it
I’ve done the hard work for you, and pulled some of my favourites into the spotlight. Interested? Read on…
Russ Thomas, author of the DS Adam Tyler series, has created a simply brilliant gay protagonist in Adam, who I’m a huge fan of.
Like your crime fiction more sapphic? You need to get your hands on Mari Hannah’s DCI Kate Daniels series (9 books and counting!). Featuring a lesbian protagonist who is as real as you and me, it’s a great series that’s standing the test of time.
Want to try a fresh new voice in crime fiction? Christie J Newport’s DCI Beth Fellows series is another one to watch. Two books in, and they’re as dark as they are addictive. I was delighted to stumble upon the sidekick character of Liv in Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series, another long-standing series that’s not showing any signs of letting up.
But if you prefer thrillers to police procedural, Ellie Keel’s The Four, set in a prestigious boarding school, features several queer threads to the deliciously dark story.
Want more? I recently read Five By Five, a thriller set in prison by Claire Wilson (which we’ve been in desperate need of since Orange is the New Black). It features a lesbian protagonist, Kennedy Allardyce, who is, quite frankly, awesome and deserves to be portrayed on screen (by someone incredibly hot).
Brace yourself for a shameless plug, because I can’t write an article on queer crime fiction without mentioning my own debut, The Deadly Spark which is a blend of the two subgenres mentioned above.
Introducing Eve Starling, a feisty female detective who is bisexual (more on that in the sequel) and starring lesbian couple Anya Fernsby and Lisette Dupont. It’s set in Brighton, the queer capital of the UK so it’s perfect, don’t you think?
I primarily read crime fiction, but I must mention rom com writer Laura Kay, author of The Split, Wild Things and Tell Me Everything – I cannot read her books fast enough. Think Beth O’Leary, but hella gay (and hella awesome).
And if you’re after a classic coming out story with a twist, get your hands on Arthur & Teddy are Coming Out by Ryan Love, about embracing your sexuality in your 20s… and also your 80s. So fresh!
And on top of these absolute gems, I have even more on my ever-growing (and dangerously teetering) queer crime TBR: T M Payne’s debut Long Time Dead, the first in the Detective Sheridan Holler series, Nicky Downe’s Detective Jack Kent series and Rose Wilding’s Speak of The Devil. I can’t wait to get stuck in.
Reader, we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re so excited to finally see ourselves reflected back in the books we’re so hungrily devouring. Of course, there’s more work to be done in terms of representation, but for now, let’s celebrate how far we’ve come. Have you read any unputdownable queer crime fiction lately? I want alllll your suggestions (it is Pride Month, after all).
Roxie Key lives in Northampton, UK, with her wife and daughter. Currently working as a creative copywriter for a global brand, Roxie has a degree in creative writing and an unhealthy obsession with crime thrillers. Roxie’s debut thriller, The Deadly Spark, is a dark, compelling crime novel about the fallout after a deadly house fire, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Jane Casey and Clare Mackintosh. Published by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, it’s available in paperback, ebook and audiobook.
