Wife of the gods [eBook - NC Digital Library] : A Novel

“Fans of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency may have a new hero: Detective Inspector Darko Dawson.”— The Wall Street Journal Introducing Detective Inspector Darko Dawson: dedicated family man, rebel in the office, ace in the field—and one of the most appealing sleuths to come along in years. When we first meet Dawson, he’s been ordered by his cantankerous boss to leave behind his loving wife and young son in Ghana’s capital city to lead a murder investigation: In a shady grove outside the small town of Ketanu, a young woman—a promising medical student—has been found dead under suspicious circumstances. Dawson is fluent in Ketanu’s indigenous language, so he’s the right man for the job, but the local police are less than thrilled with an outsider’s interference. For Dawson, this sleepy corner of Ghana is rife with emotional land mines: an estranged relationship with the family he left behind twenty-five years earlier and the painful memory of his own mother’s inexplicable disappearance. Armed with remarkable insight and a healthy dose of skepticism, Dawson soon finds his cosmopolitan sensibilities clashing with age-old customs, including a disturbing practice in which teenage girls are offered to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods. Delving deeper into the student’s haunting death, Dawson will uncover long-buried secrets that, to his surprise, hit much too close to home. Praise for Wife of the Gods “An absolute gem . . . mystery fans have an important new voice to savor.” — Los Angeles Times “Full of suspense, humor and plot twists . . . Quartey’s remarkable characters give the reader a worthy whodunit.” — Ebony “[A] winning debut . . . Dawson is a wonderful creation, a man as rich with contradictions as the Ghana Quartey so delightfully evokes.” — Publishers Weekly “Engrossing . . . [Quartey] renders a compelling cast of characters. . . . Fans of McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency will relish the opportunity to discover yet another intriguing area of Africa.” — Booklist (starred review) Fans of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency may have a new hero: Detective Inspector Darko Dawson. The Wall Street Journal Introducing Detective Inspector Darko Dawson: dedicated family man, rebel in the office, ace in the fieldand one of the most appealing sleuths to come along in years. When we first meet Dawson, hes been ordered by his cantankerous boss to leave behind his loving wife and young son in Ghanas capital city to lead a murder investigation: In a shady grove outside the small town of Ketanu, a young womana promising medical studenthas been found dead under suspicious circumstances. Dawson is fluent in Ketanus indigenous language, so hes the right man for the job, but the local police are less than thrilled with an outsiders interference. For Dawson, this sleepy corner of Ghana is rife with emotional land mines: an estranged relationship with the family he left behind twenty-five years earlier and the painful memory of his own mothers inexplicable disappearance. Armed with remarkable insight and a healthy dose of skepticism, Dawson soon finds his cosmopolitan sensibilities clashing with age-old customs, including a disturbing practice in which teenage girls are offered to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods. Delving deeper into the students haunting death, Dawson will uncover long-buried secrets that, to his surprise, hit much too close to home. Praise for Wife of the Gods An absolute gem . . . mystery fans have an important new voice to savor. Los Angeles Times Full of suspense, humor and plot twists . . . Quarteys remarkable characters give the reader a worthy whodunit. Ebony [A] winning debut . . . Dawson is a wonderful creation, a man as rich with contradictions as the Ghana Quartey so delightfully evokes. Publishers Weekly Engrossing . . . [Quartey] renders a compelling cast of characters. . . . Fans of McCall Smiths No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency will relish the opportunity to discover yet another intriguing area of Africa. Booklist (starred review)#160 Lyrical and captivating, Kwei Quartey's debut novel brings to life the majesty and charm of Ghana--from the capital city of Accra to a small community where long-buried secrets are about to rise to the surface.In a shady grove outside the small town of Ketanu, a young woman--a promising med student--has been found dead under suspicious circumstances. Eager to close the case, the local police have arrested a poor, enamored teenage boy and charged him with murder. Needless to say, they are less than thrilled when an outside force arrives from the big city to lead an inquiry into the baffling case.Detective Inspector Darko Dawson, fluent in Ketanu's indigenous language, is the right man for the job, but he hates the idea of leaving his loving wife and young son, a plucky kid with a defective heart. Pressured by his cantankerous boss, Dawson agrees to travel to Ketanu, sort through the evidence, and tie up the loose ends as quickly and as efficiently as possible. But for Dawson, this sleepy corner of Ghana is rife with emotional land mines: an estranged relationship with the family he left behind twenty-five years earlier and the painful memory of his own mother's sudden, inexplicable disappearance. Dawson is armed with remarkable insight and a healthy dose of skepticism, but these gifts, sometimes overshadowed by his mercurial temper, may not be enough to solve this haunting mystery. In Ketanu, he finds that his cosmopolitan sensibilities clash with age-old customs, including a disturbing practice in which teenage girls are offered by their families to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods.This is a compelling and unique mystery, enriched by an exotic setting and a vivid cast. And Inspector Darko Dawson--dedicated family man, rebel in the office, and ace in the field--is one of the most appealing sleuths to come along in years.From the Hardcover edition. An original debut novel set in Ghana, is the story of Detective Inspector Darko Dawson, who is sent from the big city to the village of Ketanu to solve the murder of an accomplished young AIDS worker. Darko's own mother disappeared from this same village many years ago, and as the mystery unfolds, the reader meets a rich cast of characters, and learns about Trokosi, a system where young teenage girls are sent to live with fetish priests to bring good fortune to their families. Darko explores the motivations and secrets of the residents of Ketanu, and in addition to solving a recent murder, discovers the shocking truth about his own mother's disappearance