Overlooked Noir Murder Mystery Comes as Stephen King’s Personal Choice: ‘It’s a Hot One’

Stephen King is as much of a writer as he is a passionate consumer. The celebrated author is always in search of new movies, books, and TV shows, and whenever he discovers something, he makes sure to give feedback to his fans. King’s X (formerly Twitter) account is one huge reference board where he gives short and concise recommendations for works of fiction that he enjoyed.

King Recommends the Perfect Noir Mystery

If you expect the King of Horror to stick to his favored genre, you are somewhat correct: for the most part, the author reviews horror movies, but he doesn’t limit himself by these imaginary boundaries. Stephen King is hungry for any genres as long as they’re dark enough, and he ensures his followers get the best tips from him.

Recently, King recommended a vastly overlooked noir murder mystery that immediately found its way to our “to do” list based on the author’s description.

“Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford: Very cool alternate America noir murder story set in the roaring 20s. Jazz babies, bootleg gin, Ku Kluxers, torn-out hearts… It’s a hot one,” Stephen King shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

“It’s a hot one” is great praise coming from the famous writer, so let’s see just what it is about, shall we?

Why Should You Check Out Cahokia Jazz?

Francis Spufford’s Cahokia Jazz is set in an alternate America in the roaring 20s that aren't as recognizable as you’d expect. In this world, the Indigenous people never ceded the West to the US, and the action takes place in Cahokia, Illinois, which houses a vast lost city with massive, thousand-year-old earthworks. Cool, right?

The town’s peace barely holds together: most people in it aren’t who they’re posing as, and the tensions start rising once a detective and his partner find a body at the roof of a skyscraper that “will spark a week of drama in which this altered world will spill its secrets and be brought, against a soundtrack of jazz clarinets and wailing streetcars, either to destruction or rebirth,” according to the official premise.

It’s described as “ultrablack noir” and “a novel of dualities” and comes as Stephen King’s personal recommendation — so definitely grab it when you have a chance.

We know we will.