Signed Mystery and Suspense

This timely debut by Ghana native Dr. Kwei Quartey introduces us to Detective Inspector Darko Dawson from the Ghanaian capital Accra. Dawson is a smart, versatile character with an interesting back story and family life. He also has a temper he cannot control and smokes weed he buys from one of his informants to help him relax. A current murder takes him back to a remote village called Ketanu, the home of his Aunt and Uncle, and the last place his mother was seen before her disappearance many years prior to the opening of this book. He is called upon to solve the case but finds himself mired with clues that take him in the wrong direction, and involved in the complexities of village life and their customs, including a practice where teenage girls are offered to the local priests as Wives of the Gods to atone for a crime or wrongdoing. With President Obama�s recent trip to Ghana and the conversations he started there, this is a great way to become acquainted with a country you may not know much about. Then please welcome Kwei to Mysterious Galaxy on July 19 to discuss this interesting book and find out what is in store for Dawson in his second outing. Just out from Random House, $24.00 -- tlg

Signed and Chopped!