Wife of the Gods is the debut novel in what I hope will be a long successful detective series featuring Inspector Darko Dawson. The story takes place in Ghana, which makes it quite interesting and different as the legal customs and laws are sometimes different to the ones we know.
A bright and promising medical student, Gladys, has been found murdered in the forest near her home. Everyone is shocked and no one is sure why. When the authorities request assistance from Accra, Inspector Dawson is sent to investigate. Inspector Dawson has a history of his own with the town of Ketanu. It's the last place his mother was seen alive and he still has relatives there. His trip there leads him to a confrontation with his own history as he investigates the troubling murder of Gladys.
I completely enjoyed this novel. I found Inspector Darko Dawson to be a deliciously complex character, given to bouts of anger and weakness as well as moments of fierce loyalty and sharp insight into the characters around him. I loved the setting...it was the first crime novel I've ever read set in Ghana and I greatly enjoyed reading about the conflict between the traditional ways and beliefs and the intrusion of modern police procedure. I felt that the novel had a good balance of revealing Darko the man to us as well as Darko the inspector. The mystery kept me guessing as well!
For me this was a fresh and interesting read. I recommend it if you enjoy good crime fiction and especially if you are keen to read smart books set in other countries.
You can read an excerpt of the Wife of the Gods, and I should tell you that I did get the chance to meet Kwei Quartey at a book signing! Unfortunately, I think I was an hour late due to traffic so I missed the reading, but I can tell you that he is a very nice man. He is also a doctor and so it amazes me that he has time to write!
Rating: 4.5/5
Source of Book: Received from publisher for blog tour
Monday, August 10, 2009
Review: Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey
Posted by Amy at 3:00 AM
Labels: Book Reviews, Crime Fiction
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16 comments:
I'm glad that you enjoyed this one!! I have it waiting in my TBR pile!
sounds like a good mystery book. I have this on the TBR list.
I've been following this tour, and the book sounds fascinating for me. I love a good crime novel, even better if it takes place somewhere unique, where you get a local flavor!
Pak Karamu reading your blog
I'm still only partway through. I keep getting side-tracked. But I am LOVING it.
"Deliciously complex"...great, now I want to lick him. :) LOL. Great review, Amy! I know I'm going to have to pick this up at some point.
Sounds like a good book!
I'm glad you enjoyed this one! I think it sounds like fun and would like to read it at some point.
Sounds very interesting! I wanted to review this one for TLC Book Tours, but they were all filled up on blog stops. There have been quite a few books lately set in Africa, seems to be the trend! This will be going on my TBR list.
My review for the tour is going up on Wednesday, but I won't spoil anything by saying now that I really liked this book too :-). The mystery was interesting, but it was really the characters and setting that pulled me in. I don't read many series, or much crime fiction, but I think I will be making an exception for more books featuring Darko Dawson.
I like it when stories include information about other cultures and societies. Plus a good mystery? Awesome!
I'm dying to get my hands on this book! It sounds wonderful!
I'm always up for a smart book! I'm excited to get to this one soon.
Ooooh...This sounds good! Thanks for the thorough review!
Not sure how I missed this one; it does sound good. Thanks Amy
I love reading mysteries like this and am glad I got the opportunity to be a part of the tour. It's such a good book. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Amy.
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