Ghanaian American Writer Explores Black Teenagehood in a Murder-Mystery

Heart-Shaped Lies follows three high school teenagers, Kiara, Nevaeh and Priscilla, who are caught in a love web and the death of the boy (Tommy, a social media prankster) that ties them together. The story, which features Black female leads, takes a subversive approach to the murder mystery trope while highlighting themes of faith amongst younger people and how that shapes teenagehood in the modern day. It’s a compelling story written with a sharp, engaging voice that captures the angst and existential uncertainty of being young.

Agyemang also took inspiration from social media, a cultural tool that features heavily in the book and mirrors its current influence and importance in teenagers’ lives. “All of our lives are so public now, and everyone has a mini virtual brand,” Agyemang says. “And I think for a mystery to happen and even outside of a mystery, growing up without social media being a thing, there are a lot of experiences that you should have to experience without everyone watching and criticizing you and putting you into boxes.”

In this book, social media contextualizes the lives of these characters, playing a role not just in how they are perceived but in how they perceive themselves and estimate their worth.

The process

While working on this book, Agyemang found an anchor in music. Her playlist included Yemi Alade’sJohnny, a song about a scorned woman trying to solve the mystery of her philandering, elusive partner and Chloe x Halle’sForgive Me, which sees both singers apologizing for a grave crime they’ve committed. “I tend to play a soundtrack repeatedly, and then it kind of pours out of me,” she shares. With three distinct characters, Agyemang spent the most time devising word plays specific to each character. This tool was necessary in depicting the varying backgrounds the three main characters come from.

“When thinking specifically about Nevaeh’s character, I wanted to write about a girl who deeply loves her faith but is trying to fit into society with other teenagers around her,” Agyemang says. “And so she finds herself struggling to keep her sense of morality and sense of self. But also understanding that people are different and you can’t impose your beliefs onto others.”

For Agyemang, she isn’t unaware of the alienating sense of being an outsider. As a child who moved with her family to the United States from Ghana, Agyemang and her siblings were only allowed to spend most of their free time at the library. “We would constantly be reading and trying to understand this new culture we found ourselves in,” she says. In seeking a better understanding of her new culture, she sought to learn about the diverse people she encountered and their backgrounds.

“And as I was trying to explore my voice and my own experiences, I started writing stories about myself, my community and the African roots I come from. I also wanted to reflect the African American and Black American culture and community I experienced and love,” Agyemang says.

In writing a mystery novel, a relatively new genre for an author more focused on characters and cultures than on a suspenseful plot, Agyemang found a challenge she happily embraced. To tackle this, she prioritized character development and the unfolding mystery by gradually building suspense and ensuring each character was fully fleshed out. “I had to work a lot to make sure that each scene subtly weaves in pieces of the girls whether or not you believe or understand them,” she says.

It was also crucial to Agyemang that their lives carry that specificity in centering young Black female characters. “There’s one case where a question came up when I was talking to my editor about why the girls didn’t go to the police immediately, but there’s a lot of historical context to why, there’s lack of trust in that space,” Agyemang says. “So, I was bringing a unique take about how this mystery can unfold in a way that speaks specifically to how specific communities might navigate the criminal justice system and how society views them, whether on the internet or within friend groups.”

Ultimately, Agyemang hopes readers will be excited about solving this mystery and experience this genre through the eyes of non-traditional mystery novel characters.