In a small town out in the countryside of Ghana a young woman medical student is working on educating and helping local people fight to prevent AIDS. She has come to know a lot of the people and is friends with many. She has also become the enemy of a few, especially the local village religious leader who takes many wives and treats them all like slaves, event to the point of beating them. The young doctor is found lying dead under a plantain tree. Someone had strangled her and left her neatly arranged but very dead.
Detective Inspector Darko Dawson is sent from the capitol city of Akara to head up the investigation into the death of the medical student. He must work with the local police chief who does not care for very thorough or detailed investigation methods but wants to arrest the first good suspect he finds and declare the crime solved. Darko quickly determines that this local “bush” cop is totally clueless and proceeds with his own investigations.
Through many twists and turns in a plot that reminds me of a really good Agatha Christie tale Inspector Dawson discovers the guilty murderer. He peels back the clues one layer at a time like an onion until he has exposed the rotten heart and tearfully fingers the murderer. But I am not going to tell you who that person is. You need to read this book for yourself.
This is a “first” novel for Mr. Quartey and it is a fascinating ride through the culture and mores of a very different society than our normal western society. It is refreshing to find a great mystery in a setting so unusual and I rate this one an 8 of 10 on the Weaver meter.
