Synopses & Reviews
Accra private investigator Emma Djan's first missing persons case will lead her to the darkest depths of the email scams and fetish priests in Ghana, the world's Internet capital.
When her dreams of rising through the police ranks like her late father crash around her, 26-year-old Emma Djan is unsure what will become of her life in Accra. Through a sympathetic former colleague, Emma gets an interview with a private detective agency tracking down missing persons, thefts, and marital infidelities. It's not the future she imagined, but it's her best option.
Meanwhile, Gordon Tilson, a middle-aged widower in Washington, DC, has found solace in an online community after his wife's passing. Through the support group, he's even met a young Ghanaian widow he cares about, and when her sister gets into a car accident, he sends her thousands of dollars to cover the hospital bill--to the horror of his only son, Derek. When Gordon runs off to Ghana to surprise his new love and disappears, Derek chases after him, fearing for his father's life.
The case of the missing American man will drag both Emma and Derek into a world of sakawa scams, fetish priests, and those willing to keep things secret through death.
Review
"Remarkably rare...a gem of a debut." The Washington Post
Review
"The adventures of a tenacious African female sleuth will likely ring bells for fans of Alexander McCall Smith's best-selling Mma. Precious Ramotswe mysteries. The Missing American's unflinching portrayal of Ghanaian criminals, their fetish priest handlers and corruption at the highest levels makes this intriguing debut a more bracing antidote to its cozier cousin." Los Angeles Times
Review
"The Missing American is diabolically plotted and elegantly written. An atmospheric, heart-pounding mystery that just may be Quartey's best — and that's saying a lot." Stephen Mack Jones, Nero Prize and Hammett Award-winning author of the August Snow thrillers
About the Author
Kwei Quartey is a crime fiction writer and retired physician based in Pasadena, California. Quartey was born in Ghana, West Africa, to a Ghanaian father and a black American mother, both of whom were lecturers at the University of Ghana. His novel Wife of the Gods made the Los Angeles Times bestseller list in 2009. The following year, the National Book Club voted him Best Male Author. He has two mystery series set in Ghana: the Detective Inspector Darko Dawson investigations and the Emma Djan investigations.