Kwei Quartey continues his Inspector Darko Dawson mysteries set in Accra, Ghana. Katherine Vanderpuye is childless and her husband has rejected her and fraudulently removed her name from their joint ownership of their house. As she prepares to challenge her husband in court, she is horrifically murdered. Whodunit? Her lawyer and teenage romance? Her bishop and marriage counselor? A stalker who claims she loved him? Her ex husband or his family? Lots of suspects and complications for Inspector Dawson whose wife also is a relative of the deceased. Excellent storytelling.

This was a quick, light fun read that I will recommend to anyone who liked the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith. It really brought the tastes, sights, and culture of everyday Ghana to life through the down-to-earth characters (including Darko Dawson, the detective and family man who has his flaws!). I loved seeing the perspective of how infertility is treated as a "witch" hunt.

This is the fifth book in the Darko Dawson mystery series set in Accra, Ghana. In this book Katherine Yeboah, a relative of Darko's wife, is murdered. Katherine has been estranged from her husband and his family was accusing her of witchcraft because she was unable to conceive. Suspicion naturally falls on the husband and his family but Darko wonders about the relationship between the victim and a charismatic faith healer.

This is an excellent series for fans of the mystery genre. It balances the investigation and details of Darko's family life.

When Christine's cousin is brutally murdered, there are plenty of suspects. The newlywed was unable to conceive and her husband and his family had mounted a campaign to rid the family of her. Darko must balance family ties and work to catch the killer. As always, Quartey includes plenty of wonderful tidbits about Ghana's culture and customs.

Ghanaian-born Kwei Quartey works as a doctor in Pasadena, but begins his days by writing novels, of which there are two stand-alones and a short series with Darko Dawson the detective. There's a lot of competition out there, of course, For example, the stand-alone novel, Kamila, is set in the Algerian War, but it is a tissue of banalities. There are numerous books on the subject but no sign that Quartey knows them. This latest novel is a Darko Dawson investigation, and similarly replete with cliches on familiar themes: corrupt evangelists, corrupt bankers, witchcraft, and a dash of serious mental illness, Alzheimer's, and a nasty mother-in-law.

I love mysteries set in other countries, especially when they are well-written as are Kwei Quartey's Darko Dawson books. As with other in this series, Quartey gives us some nice cultural context, some human interest in members of Dawson's family, and decent mysteries. This fifth entry in the series is no exception. The only surprise was the ending, not the solution to the mystery, which wasn't very hard to unravel, but Dawson's fate. I look forward to seeing what direction Quartey takes next.