The Whitewashed Tombs by Kwei Quartey

 

First Line: Diana Cortland, in all her luminous blondness, burst onstage in a sparkling scarlet gown.

 

Marcelo Tetteh's wealthy father does not trust the Ghana Police Service to find his son's killer. There is rampant homophobia in Ghana, and Marcelo was a well-known LGBTQ+ activist. Instead, Mr. Tetteh goes to the Sowah Private Investigations Agency for help.

PI Emma Djan is assigned the case, but she can't team up with her trusted colleague, Jojo. Emma is the only one at work who knows that Jojo is gay, and he tells her something else: he had been dating the victim for some time.

Emma goes undercover in the International Congress of Families, a powerful organization seeking to criminalize homosexuality in African countries. Emma quickly finds herself navigating the dangerous waters of politics, power, and personal secrets while she tries to unmask the killer, bring justice to the victims, and protect the vulnerable LGBTQ+ community.

~

Once again, author Kwei Quartey has given readers a tense, compelling mystery that takes them right into the heart of politics, power, and the LGBTQ+ community. I found The Whitewashed Tombs (a very apt title) to be chilling in the scope of what homophobic organizations are trying to do to force everyone to kowtow to their vision of what the world should be. There's no doubt that, if successful in this quest, they would turn their gimlet eye on heterosexuals. But I digress.

The Sowah Private Investigations Agency is a strong cast of characters: Sowah himself, Jojo, the less likable Manu, and Emma herself. They all work together well with Dr. Rosa Jauregui, the Cuban forensic pathologist, and DCI Boateng of the Ghana Police Service. In The Whitewashed Tombs, Emma's mother proves to be not just annoying but helpful as well, and Emma has troubles with her boyfriend, Courage to deal with. If there's any one thing that bothers me, it's Emma's lack of undercover skills. She can be so heavy-handed and obvious at times that it's a miracle her body hasn't already been hidden in a landfill somewhere.

However, she does have time to learn, and for that I'm grateful. I enjoy her investigations, and I look forward to another visit to Ghana with Kwei Quartey and his characters.

The Whitewashed Tombs by Kwei Quartey

eISBN: 9781641295895

Soho Press © 2024

eBook, 336 pages

 

Private Investigator, #4 Emma Djan

Rating: A-

Source: Net Galley

Last Seen in Lapaz by Kwei Quartey

 

First Line: Awake now, Emma listened to Courage's slow, rhythmic breathing beside her.

 

When an old friend of Emma Djan's boss comes to the agency for help, Emma finds herself trying to locate the man's missing daughter.

 

Ngozi was set to attend law school and had a bright future ahead of her when she became infatuated with her handsome new boyfriend, Femi. Disappearing from her parents' home in Nigeria in the middle of the night, Ngozi's father believes she's now in Ghana.

 

Emma and her partner have barely begun their investigation when Femi is found murdered in his home in Accra. With no signs of Ngozi in the place, Emma continues to dig for information and learns that Femi was part of a network of sex traffickers that spanned West Africa. 

 

Although it's important to find out which of Femi's enemies murdered him, it's even more urgent for Emma to find Ngozi before she, too, is killed in cold blood.

 

~

 

Last Seen in Lapaz is a hard-hitting story that unfolds slowly and dispassionately, almost as though author Kwei Quartey had to keep a distance between himself and the brutality that can threaten to overwhelm these pages. 

When her dreams of a career in the police force were dashed, twenty-six-year-old Emma Djan found that she has a knack for being a private investigator, and she needs all of her skills to find missing eighteen-year-old Ngozi as well as the killer of Ngozi's boyfriend, Femi.

Ngozi's story often takes a backseat to Femi's, who is a handsome young man to whom money means everything. Femi's attempts to get rich don't come to much until he is released from prison and joins forces with an old friend who's into human trafficking. Femi learns the ins and outs of the new business quickly and soon branches out to the more lucrative sex trafficking and prostitution. The evil that Femi does is shown when Emma finds one of his trafficked clients who managed to escape a Libyan detention center. Last Seen in Lapaz does have scenes of torture and rape, but they are not gratuitous and they are not drawn out; they tell of the incredible brutality desperate immigrants often face when all they want-- all they've paid for-- is the way to a better life for themselves and their loved ones. 

 

The only tiny quibbles I had with the book are its slow pace, its dispassionate tone that kept me from being completely drawn into the story, and the occasional scenes where the characters spoke in pidgin, which tried to tie my brain up in knots. Thankfully, a glossary is provided.

I can see readers passing this book by because of the subject matter and because they don't read to be upset. I can understand that. But sometimes greater understanding comes from reading outside your comfort zone and being upset. Author Kwei Quartey opens the door to a part of the world that few Americans know anything about. His previous series featuring police detective Darko Dawson and this series featuring young Emma Djan have not only entertained me, but they've also taught me a great deal about West Africa, and I appreciate that so very much.

 

Last Seen in Lapaz by Kwei Quartey

eISBN: 9781641293402

Soho Press © 2023

eBook, 360 pages

 

Private Investigator, #3 Emma Djan mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Sleep Well My Lady by Kwei Quartey

First Line: In the lavish Trosacco Valley, the Beverly Hills of Accra, no one would have anticipated a murder.

 

When the creator of a fashion empire is found dead in her home in an exclusive section of Accra, Ghana, there seems to be only one suspect: popular talk show host Augustus Seeza, who had a tempestuous relationship with the murdered Lady Araba. However, a quick investigation by the police leads to her chauffeur being convicted of the crime.

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the police investigation, Lady Araba's aunt, Dele, turns to the Sowah Agency where Emma Djan works as a private investigator. Emma soon finds herself working in various undercover roles, learning that there certainly is no shortage of suspects who have strong motives for wanting Lady Araba dead. Everyone at the agency is going to have to work hard to find the proof that will catch a remorseless killer.

~

The opening chapters of Sleep Well My Lady jump back and forth between various time frames so often that this caused me some minor annoyance, but once the backstory was established, I became immersed in the story-- something that is very easy for me to do each time I pick up a book written by Kwei Quartey.

The murder of Lady Araba is an intricately layered puzzle, and even though this is the second book in the Emma Djan mystery series, it takes the hard work of the entire detective agency to solve the crime. The work of a talented ensemble cast slowly peels back layer after layer of the truth. So many people have strong motives to want this talented woman dead that the reader will probably have trouble deducing which person had not only the desire but the will, to carry out the murder.

One of the things that Quartey illustrates so ably in Sleep Well My Lady is that the problems with the Ghana police force are not just limited to bribery or "looking the other way," and it's in showing readers this that he created two striking minor characters whom I hope to see in future books. One is the forthright Dr. Jauregui from Cuba, and the other is a member of the police force who is told: "...it's tough to be an island of integrity when sneaky crocodiles are all around, circling you." With the world events of the past four years, I think we all know how rare these "islands of integrity" are.

If you enjoy well-written mysteries with standout characters and a strong sense of place, you can't go wrong with anything written by Kwei Quartey. Once you've read the Emma Djan series (the first book is The Missing American), try his Darko Dawson series beginning with Wife of the Gods. You've got some excellent reading ahead of you.

 

Sleep Well My Lady by Kwei Quartey

eISBN: 9781641292085

Soho Press © 2021

eBook, 336 pages

 

Private Investigator, #2 Emma Djan mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

The Missing American by Kwei Quartey

First Line: Lying flat with the stock of the long-range rifle pressed against his shoulder, the assassin positioned himself on the gable roof of the UT Bank building off Shippers Council Road.

Working in an Apple store is not what Emma Djan had in mind, but when her dreams of becoming a homicide detective on the Accra police force in Ghana come crashing down around her, she knows her bills won't pay themselves. Fortunately, Emma soon finds herself working for a well-respected private detective agency that takes on cases of missing persons.

Emma begins work on the case of Gordon Tilson, a middle-aged widower from Washington, DC, who disappeared after coming to Ghana to meet the woman he'd fallen in love with online. When the police seem unconcerned about his father's disappearance, Derek Tilson contacts the agency, and Emma soon finds herself in the middle of a case filled with online scams, fetish priests, corruption, and people willing to kill to keep their secrets.

I have been a fan of Kwei Quartey's Darko Dawson series since the first book, Wife of the Gods. I was thrilled to discover that The Missing American has the same superb sense of place as Quartey's previous series. Readers can feel as though they're actually in Ghana while they read; the landscape, weather, people, food, and culture give the story a richness that I find irresistible.

Although I loved reading this book, I did find it a bit bloated with a lot of "irons in the fire." Internet scams, sexual harassment, an assassin on the loose, corrupt police and government officials, a center for autistic children, murder, and missing persons just to mention a few. It's a lot to keep track of, and some of that action undoubtedly could have waited for upcoming books in the series.

The characters in The Missing American are an interesting mix. I couldn't really drum up a lot of sympathy for the missing American, which probably sounds a bit harsh, but I certainly do like Emma Djan, whose character is a good blend of intelligence, frailty, and strength. I also want to know more about her boss in the agency, Yemo Sowah. He's a fascinating man surrounded by a bit of mystery-- just the sort of character to pique my curiosity.

Now that Kwei Quartey's new Emma Djan series has well and truly begun, I find myself looking forward with a great deal of anticipation to my next visit to Ghana.

The Missing American by Kwei Quartey

ISBN: 9781641290708

Soho Crime © 2020

Hardcover, 432 pages

Private Investigator, #1 Emma Djan mystery

Rating: A-

Source: the publisher


 

Death by His Grace by Kwei Quartey

First Line: Katherine would never forget the day she married Solomon.

The marriage of Katherine Yeboah to wealthy Solomon Vanderpuye is the talk of Accra society. Unfortunately, the couple's happiness evaporates when it becomes apparent that Katherine cannot have children. Solomon's family accuses Katherine of being a witch, and they're so cruel that they actually persuade Solomon to force Katherine out of their home. Alone on her last night in the house, Katherine is brutally murdered.

Chief Inspector Darko Dawson of the Ghanian federal police has more than professional reasons to find Katherine's killer: Katherine is his wife's first cousin. While his wife grieves, Dawson begins to investigate-- and he learns that several people close to Katherine had powerful motives to kill her, among them her husband, her lawyer, and her pastor. In order to unmask Katherine's killer, Dawson is going to have to confront the pivotal role religion plays in Ghana.

If you are an armchair traveling sleuth who loves to solve mysteries set in other countries, I recommend Kwei Quartey's Darko Dawson series. Quartey sets you down firmly on Ghanian soil and lets you immerse yourself in the land, the culture, and the food of this amazing country. The author also gives you characters with very real lives. Dawson's father has Alzheimer's and must be cared for. Dawson and his wife Christine are also dealing with a son who likes to hang out with gang members. Add a wheelchair-bound brother, a busybody mother-in-law, and the fact that Christine is a woman who speaks her mind, and it's easy to see that family life can be a bit challenging for a man who throws himself into each of his investigations.

Quartey has created a strong mystery with excellent misdirection, but he does leave some loose ends, like Dawson's new (female) partner whom I'd certainly love to know more about or the things his father began to tell him about his mother which Darko had never heard before. Is the author planting seeds for his next book? I hope so-- especially because Death by His Grace has an abrupt jaw-dropper of a cliffhanger that many readers probably aren't going to like. What did I think? I was shocked but liked the author's bravery in doing what he did. After all, this is a police procedural, not a cozy mystery. Readers should expect to be rattled from time to time. Now that I have been well and truly rattled, I can't wait to get my hands on the next Darko Dawson mystery! 
  

Death by His Grace by Kwei Quartey

ISBN: 9781616957087

Soho Crime © 2017

Hardcover, 272 pages

Police Procedural, #5 Darko Dawson mystery

Rating: A-

Source: the publisher

Gold of Our Fathers by Kwei Quartey

First Line: Dark gravel, the gray-and-black color of an aging man's beard, renders the most gold.

The Ghana Police Service has a brand-new Chief Inspector: Darko Dawson, but Dawson doesn't even have time to celebrate his modest increase in salary before he's transferred from the capital to Obuasi, a  remote town in the Ashanti region which is known for the illegal exploitation of its gold mines.

Obuasi police headquarters is a complete mess, morale is low, and discipline is practically non-existent. Before Dawson can even begin to formulate a battle plan to get the station and its officers in shape, he's called out to a murder. The body of a Chinese mine owner has been uncovered in his own gold quarry.


As far as Dawson knows, he's going to be in this remote region of Ghana for an entire year. This means uprooting his entire family, finding a decent place to live, a new job for his wife, and a school for his two sons. The logistics were daunting and just the thought of that wore me out, but as soon as Darko's wife appeared on the scene, all that was left to her-- including the nightmarish renovation of their new home. Dawson had a murder to solve and couldn't waste time on any of this. (Typical man, eh?)  

I have enjoyed this series since the very first book, Wife of the Gods. Not only do I enjoy Quartey's strong mysteries and well-delineated characters, the vivid setting of Ghana, its culture, and its people are not to be missed. In Gold of Our Fathers, Quartey brings readers right into the middle of the problem of illegal Chinese immigrants coming to Ghana to mine gold, all aided and abetted by paid-off corrupt government officials. As Dawson wonders why the government is allowing outsiders to rape his beloved country of its natural resources, readers are shown how difficult policing is in a country where bribery and corruption are rife. 

Although Dawson has a recurrence of PFS (Pretty Face Syndrome) and there was a bit "too much middle" that made the pace drag a little, I still enjoyed this book a great deal. Fiction in general-- and crime fiction in particular-- does have the power to both enlighten and entertain, and Kwei Quartey is very adept at both.

I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series because Quartey surprised me. Out on his investigation, Dawson swore there was no way in the world he would step foot on something. I call that the Bank Line because you can take it to the bank that, sooner or later, Dawson is going to have to do what he swore he wouldn't. Well... he didn't, and the only thing I can think of is that the author is going to deposit that Bank Line in the next book. Bring it on!
  

Gold of Our Fathers by Kwei Quartey

ISBN: 9781616956301

Soho Crime © 2016

Hardcover, 368 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Darko Dawson mystery

Rating: A-

Source: The publisher  


 

Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey

First Line: Cape Three Points, the southernmost tip of Ghana, is beautiful and wild.

When a canoe drifts into an oil rig site, the bodies of a prominent local couple are discovered inside. The gruesome manner of Mr. Smith-Aidoo's death seems to be a message of some sort, but no one knows whom the message is for or what exactly the message is. The deceased couple's niece Sapphire, a successful pediatric surgeon in Accra, Ghana, contacts the federal police when three months have gone by with no closure.

When the federal police agree to get involved, they send Detective Inspector Darko Dawson to the Cape Three Points area to investigate. Since his youngest son is still recuperating from surgery, Darko is not happy to leave his family, and he vows to solve the case as quickly as possible.

Once again author Kwei Quartey takes readers right into the heart of Ghana. As Dawson investigates, we see Ghanian home life, we sample the country's food, and we are shown the gaping divide between those who have money and power and those who do not. Darko Dawson is a complex character who grows with each book. He has a wife and children whom he loves dearly, but life can still throw temptation his way. Marijuana used to be his stress reliever, but he knows he must stay away from it. He's learning how to work well with his politically connected partner, and his partner is learning how to be a better detective by working with Darko. Dawson is walking a path we all must walk: he knows the life he wants to have, and he realizes that he's going to have to work to reach that goal.

In this third book, Dawson's investigation takes him out of the city and into the environmental wonderland of the Cape Three Points area. But there is trouble even in this lush paradise. The area has long been inhabited by subsistence fishermen, but oil companies are dictating where they may and may not fish, and real estate entrepreneurs are trying to get the locals moved out as cheaply as possible. It's a situation ripe for a very long list of suspects, and Quartey works it very well. I particularly liked the way he brought locals (like a taxi driver) in as secondary characters to add even more texture to an already spicy tale.

Kwei Quartey writes incredibly well about Ghana, about crime, and about the people he has created. If you're an armchair traveling sleuth like I am, I advise you to add him to your list of must-reads. 

Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey

ISBN: 9781616953898

Soho Crime © 2014

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #3 Darko Dawson mystery

Rating: A-

Source: publicist 

Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey

First Line: A day shy of his seventeenth birthday, Musa was a boy with the survival instincts of a grown man.

If you're a child living on the streets of Accra in Ghana on the west coast of Africa, you have to develop these survival instincts or you will die. There are sixty thousand other homeless street children in Accra. Musa is merely one of many.

When Detective Inspector Darko Dawson is called out to investigate the murder of one such street child in the slum of Agbogbloshie, little does he know how much he's going to learn about what it's like to grow up on the streets.

Dawson is an admirable but flawed character. His one vice has been smoking marijuana, and although he's been weed-free for several months now, he knows that particular illegal vice could come back to bite him at any time. He has a wife he loves deeply and a small son who was born with a heart defect. Darko and his wife are desperately trying to save money for their son's needed surgery, but the boy is running out of time.

Perhaps it's because Dawson is so worried for his son that this case of a serial killer targeting street children becomes all-consuming for him. As he follows leads through organizations that try to help these children, Dawson gets to know a few of the youngsters better-- and he becomes determined to do something for them.

Quartey has created a thrilling police procedural that's also strong social commentary. Moreover, it's not soapbox social commentary; through all of Dawson's relationships with family members, friends, and co-workers, through his investigation into suspects from all walks of life, the reader gets to see the real Ghana. It's a country which has had a lot of help in creating its current problems, and it's clear that all those responsible should have a part in solving them.

Writing a book that's part mystery part social indictment is a delicate task. Quartey has managed to do this very well. He's created a compelling story with memorable characters that's made even stronger by his portrait of the country in which his story is set.

Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey 

ISBN: 9780812981674 
Random House © 2011
Paperback, 335 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Detective Inspector Darko Dawson series
Rating: A
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey

Title: Wife of the Gods
Author: Kwei Quartey
ISBN: 9781400067596, Random House, 2009
Genre: Police Procedural
Rating: B+

First Line: Inspector Max Fiti had great significance in a place that had little.

In a grove of trees outside a small village in Ghana the body of a young woman has been found. Eager to close the case, the local police have charged a hapless teenager with her murder. A person of influence contacts the police in Accra, and thus Inspector Darko Dawson is sent to Ketanu to investigate. Dawson is not all that willing to go. He does not want to leave his beloved wife and son, and he definitely does not want to return to the village where his mother disappeared when he was a small boy.

Dawson is an interesting and flawed character. His Achilles' heel is said to be his love of marijuana, but I think both heels are afflicted. He has a tendency to let his anger take control, and as a result he does things that he knows are wrong-- and some of those things could have an adverse effect on the cases he investigates. His smoking habits and his anger both show him to be a person who is willing to overlook laws that he doesn't like-- not the best of traits for a police officer. His heart is in the right place, so this trait is just enough to give him an edge...just enough for me to keep a suspicious eye on him.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. I loved learning about the country and customs of Ghana, and how people are trying to educate the population about AIDS. Although I found the murderer a bit too easy to identify, there were so many layers to the story that I didn't mind.

Dawson, his family, the country of Ghana, and the endless possibilities of mystery and enlightenment make this series one to watch.