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Darko Dawson #4
Gold of Our Fathers
Darko Dawon, Chief Inspector in the Ghana police service, returns in this atmosphereic crime series often compared to Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels
Darko Dawson has just been promoted to Chief Inspector in the Ghana Police Service—the promotion even comes with a (rather modest) salary bump. But he doesn’t have long to celebrate, because his new boss is transferring him from Accra, Ghana’s capital, out to remote Obusai in the Ashanti region, an area now notorious for the illegal exploitation of its gold mines.
Worst of all, when Dawson arrives at the Obusai headquarters, he finds it in complete disarray. The office is a mess of uncatalogued evidence and cold case files, morale is low, and discipline among officers is lax. On only his second day on the job, the body of a Chinese mine owner is unearthed in his own gold quarry. As Dawson investigates the case, he quickly learns how dangerous it is to pursue justice in this kingdom of illegal gold mines, where the worst offenders have so much money they have no fear of the law.
From the Hardcover edition.
Darko Dawson has just been promoted to Chief Inspector in the Ghana Police Service—the promotion even comes with a (rather modest) salary bump. But he doesn’t have long to celebrate, because his new boss is transferring him from Accra, Ghana’s capital, out to remote Obusai in the Ashanti region, an area now notorious for the illegal exploitation of its gold mines.
Worst of all, when Dawson arrives at the Obusai headquarters, he finds it in complete disarray. The office is a mess of uncatalogued evidence and cold case files, morale is low, and discipline among officers is lax. On only his second day on the job, the body of a Chinese mine owner is unearthed in his own gold quarry. As Dawson investigates the case, he quickly learns how dangerous it is to pursue justice in this kingdom of illegal gold mines, where the worst offenders have so much money they have no fear of the law.
From the Hardcover edition.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2016
94 people are currently reading
554 people want to read
About the author
Kwei Quartey
17 books762 followersKWEI QUARTEY
Biography
Kwei Quartey is a crime fiction writer and physician based in Pasadena, California. In 2018, having practiced medicine for more than 15 years while simultaneously working as a writer, Quartey finally retired from medical practice to become a full-time novelist. Prior to that, though, he had balanced the two professions by dedicating the early morning hours to writing before beginning each day in his clinic.
Quartey was born in Ghana, West Africa, to a Ghanaian father and Black American mother, both of whom were lecturers at the University of Ghana. Quartey describes how his family’s home was full of hundreds of books, both fiction and nonfiction, which inspired him to write novellas as early as the age of eight or nine. By then, Quartey was certain he wanted to be an author.
But his interests shifted by the time he was a teenager, when he decided he wanted to be a doctor. Quartey began on a science-to-medicine track in secondary school. After the death of his father, Quartey’s mother returned to the United States. By then, Quartey had already begun medical school in Ghana. Transferring to a medical school in the United States wasn’t easy, but he successfully gained admission to Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC.
After graduation from his residency training in Internal Medicine, Kwei Quartey returned to his love of writing. He went to a UCLA extension course in creative writing, and wrote two novels while in a writing group that met every Wednesday evening. But it would be a few years yet before Quartey would create the Inspector Darko Dawson series.
As a crime fiction writer, Kwei made the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List in 2009. The following year, the GOG National Book Club voted him Best Male Author. The five Inspector Darko Dawson novels, set in Ghana, are WIFE OF THE GODS, CHILDREN OF THE STREET, MURDER AT CAPE THREE POINTS, GOLD OF OUR FATHERS, and DEATH BY HIS GRACE.
Two novels, KAMILA and DEATH AT THE VOYAGER HOTEL (e-book) are non-Darko books.
In January 2020, Quartey’s new detective series launched to critical acclaim with THE MISSING AMERICAN, the debut of the Emma Djan Investigations and the introduction of the first West African female private eye in fiction. The second in the series, SLEEP WELL, MY LADY, was released January 12, 2021, immediately garnering attention for its unusual style of time shifts in relation to the crime.
THE MISSING AMERICAN was nominated for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best novel, and won the 2021 Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel.
LAST SEEN IN LAPAZ, the third Emma Djan novel, was released February 2023, and the fourth, THE WHITEWASHED TOMBS, is expected 2024.
Biography
Kwei Quartey is a crime fiction writer and physician based in Pasadena, California. In 2018, having practiced medicine for more than 15 years while simultaneously working as a writer, Quartey finally retired from medical practice to become a full-time novelist. Prior to that, though, he had balanced the two professions by dedicating the early morning hours to writing before beginning each day in his clinic.
Quartey was born in Ghana, West Africa, to a Ghanaian father and Black American mother, both of whom were lecturers at the University of Ghana. Quartey describes how his family’s home was full of hundreds of books, both fiction and nonfiction, which inspired him to write novellas as early as the age of eight or nine. By then, Quartey was certain he wanted to be an author.
But his interests shifted by the time he was a teenager, when he decided he wanted to be a doctor. Quartey began on a science-to-medicine track in secondary school. After the death of his father, Quartey’s mother returned to the United States. By then, Quartey had already begun medical school in Ghana. Transferring to a medical school in the United States wasn’t easy, but he successfully gained admission to Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC.
After graduation from his residency training in Internal Medicine, Kwei Quartey returned to his love of writing. He went to a UCLA extension course in creative writing, and wrote two novels while in a writing group that met every Wednesday evening. But it would be a few years yet before Quartey would create the Inspector Darko Dawson series.
As a crime fiction writer, Kwei made the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List in 2009. The following year, the GOG National Book Club voted him Best Male Author. The five Inspector Darko Dawson novels, set in Ghana, are WIFE OF THE GODS, CHILDREN OF THE STREET, MURDER AT CAPE THREE POINTS, GOLD OF OUR FATHERS, and DEATH BY HIS GRACE.
Two novels, KAMILA and DEATH AT THE VOYAGER HOTEL (e-book) are non-Darko books.
In January 2020, Quartey’s new detective series launched to critical acclaim with THE MISSING AMERICAN, the debut of the Emma Djan Investigations and the introduction of the first West African female private eye in fiction. The second in the series, SLEEP WELL, MY LADY, was released January 12, 2021, immediately garnering attention for its unusual style of time shifts in relation to the crime.
THE MISSING AMERICAN was nominated for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best novel, and won the 2021 Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel.
LAST SEEN IN LAPAZ, the third Emma Djan novel, was released February 2023, and the fourth, THE WHITEWASHED TOMBS, is expected 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
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February 24, 2016 One of the reasons I read a book is to learn about places and culture that are different than mine. Mystery series seem to provide these wonderfully. I had never thought about Botswana until I read Alexander McCall Smith's wonderful series "The Ladies Number 1 Detective Agency". C.J. Sansom has taken me through a lawyer's eyes the times of Henry VIII. And now Quartey has taken me to Ghana, a place I couldn't find on a map. All I knew is that it's in Africa.
I loved this book. Dorko Dawson is a Chief Inspector in the Ghana Police Service abbreviated in the book as GPS. It took me a while to catch on that it wasn't a GPS in a car. Dawson has just been promoted and assigned to a new house. He has to move with his wife and two sons who seem to have special needs. Chinese immigrants, both legal and non-legal, have flooded Ghana mining the land for gold. This is destroying the land. Although illegal through a series of bribes the mining operations thrive. On his first day of work at the new station, Dawson is called to the murder scene of a Chinese mining owner.
The plot is interesting but somewhat predictable. There are some great twists though. What really comes alive is Ghana. This is a country where the police often take taxis to investigate crimes as there is not enough police cars. The roads are terrible, many only navigable in a 4 wheel drive, and yet everyone has a cell phone. Mining is destroying the land and yet it provides needed jobs. Many of the government officials and police take bribes. It seems to be a nation with some growing pains. I found it fascinating.
I really enjoyed this book and will read the others in the series. After all, I've never been to Ghana before this.
I loved this book. Dorko Dawson is a Chief Inspector in the Ghana Police Service abbreviated in the book as GPS. It took me a while to catch on that it wasn't a GPS in a car. Dawson has just been promoted and assigned to a new house. He has to move with his wife and two sons who seem to have special needs. Chinese immigrants, both legal and non-legal, have flooded Ghana mining the land for gold. This is destroying the land. Although illegal through a series of bribes the mining operations thrive. On his first day of work at the new station, Dawson is called to the murder scene of a Chinese mining owner.
The plot is interesting but somewhat predictable. There are some great twists though. What really comes alive is Ghana. This is a country where the police often take taxis to investigate crimes as there is not enough police cars. The roads are terrible, many only navigable in a 4 wheel drive, and yet everyone has a cell phone. Mining is destroying the land and yet it provides needed jobs. Many of the government officials and police take bribes. It seems to be a nation with some growing pains. I found it fascinating.
I really enjoyed this book and will read the others in the series. After all, I've never been to Ghana before this.
May 5, 2016
Darko Dawson has been promoted to Chief Inspector, but is reassigned from urban Accra in Ghana to a rural Obusai in the Ashanti region. He finds a backward police department, but is immediately dispatched to investigate the murder of a Chinese national running one of the many illegal gold mines there. Suspects are numerous, and once again Darko finds himself at odds with his bosses, the press, gold mining competitors, and even the Ministry charged with overseeing mining. Meanwhile, his family life is turned topsy-turvy as his wife needs to quit her teaching job and his sons have to change schools. To make matters worse, they decide to live in a guest house belonging to Darko's mother-in-law, which is in bad shape. Quartey does a nice job of balancing Africa's economic problems with its diverse cultures.
June 12, 2023
I think this is my favourite book by this author (of the three I have read). While I do enjoy plot twists in a murder mystery, this one has a bit too many dead ends, where the story seems to be resolved only to turn out to be anything but. Still it was quite entertaining and the solution itself was quite good as well, even though without the false leads and "side quests" it would be a very short mystery indeed. In fact we get a couple of mostly unconnected crimes here that muddle the waters.
I really liked learning about yet another issue specific to Ghana - the illegal gold mining done by the Chinese with the silent approval of the government and police. This created an interesting background for the mystery, making it definitely more enjoyable.
I really liked learning about yet another issue specific to Ghana - the illegal gold mining done by the Chinese with the silent approval of the government and police. This created an interesting background for the mystery, making it definitely more enjoyable.
March 6, 2020
I keep telling you about Kwei Quartey's books. They have a special place in my heart
August 13, 2016
This is a book in which I found the setting more interesting than the plot. The picture of Ghana and the relationship between the Chinese gold miners, the local mine workers and the farmers dispossessed by the mines is fascinating and laden with racist and cultural conflicts. The challenges of policing in a poverty stricken country whose institutions lack basic resources (not enough police cars or personnel, intermittent phone and electrical service for starters), and are rife with corruption are laid out in vivid detail.
Darko Dawson is an honest cop, a good husband and father, and a bit too inclined to be headstrong for his supervisors' tastes. He has been moved to a new position, has to relocate his wife and sons, and take on a new murder case in a station where discipline and morale are virtually nonexistent, the sergeant is a drunk, and the boss is a hostile petty tyrant. The murder of one of a pair of Chinese brothers who own an illegal mine has possible suspects and motives - the family of a young local worker who was killed in what may or may not have been an accident - but it is not as simple as it looks. An ambitious young journalist is doing a story about illegal mining and related corruption which casts some light on events but also make them more complicated.
It is quite an interesting read, but not exactly gripping.
Darko Dawson is an honest cop, a good husband and father, and a bit too inclined to be headstrong for his supervisors' tastes. He has been moved to a new position, has to relocate his wife and sons, and take on a new murder case in a station where discipline and morale are virtually nonexistent, the sergeant is a drunk, and the boss is a hostile petty tyrant. The murder of one of a pair of Chinese brothers who own an illegal mine has possible suspects and motives - the family of a young local worker who was killed in what may or may not have been an accident - but it is not as simple as it looks. An ambitious young journalist is doing a story about illegal mining and related corruption which casts some light on events but also make them more complicated.
It is quite an interesting read, but not exactly gripping.
May 21, 2016
3.5 stars. Didn't like it as well as the previous Darko Dawson books. A little too much wandering around without any real vision of the crime and the connections between the myriad of suspects.
October 4, 2020
3.5
2020 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-a book with gold, silver, or bronze in the title
Started out slow, but finished strong. Great descriptions of Ghana and sad info about what gold greed does to that, or any other, country.
2020 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-a book with gold, silver, or bronze in the title
Started out slow, but finished strong. Great descriptions of Ghana and sad info about what gold greed does to that, or any other, country.
August 18, 2019
This was 3.5 read for me.
Thoughts coming shortly
Thoughts coming shortly
December 3, 2017
I’m not sure how to rate this. I loved the mystery. Learning about the gold mines was really fascinating. The characters were interesting however the story was a bit all over the place. I don’t know if it was the time skipping ahead or the “b” plot.
October 29, 2018
Inspector Darko Dawson has synesthesia which makes for an interesting note in the story. Synesthesia is when words are felt as a sensation and he feels lies as a tingling sensation, especially in his left hand.
June 7, 2016
Kwei Quartey’s murder mystery, Gold of our Fathers, leaves the reader with a possible question—“can an actual murder be divorced from its environment?” The answer is a resounding no, although in some examples of the genre, the actual deed seems to exist as a discrete event. The solution thereof then seems to take on a life of its own seemingly in a bubble marked “crime solution events”. In contrast, this novel establishes at the outset, an illegal milieu—the pit mining (for gold) of farm land annexed forcibly or through bribes. Inextricably intertwined, the murder and the enterprise feed each other as if there is an unstoppable catalyst present which catapults forward, event after event. The geographical placement of the novel is the Ashanti region of the West African country, Ghana. Situated relatively close to Ghana’s second main city, Kumasi, the town of Obuasi and its surrounding region provide the nexus for the events. Bear in mind that Mr. Quartey requires a bit of your patience as he intricately constructs a web of interrelated events, much as the evidence of a crime mounts up. Once all the filaments of the web are in place, he then unleashes an invisible hand that seems to pull the web tighter and tighter. But although at one point it seems as if the solution is at hand, a monkey wrench is thrown into the proceedings and, in a sense, we must start from scratch. There are many elements at play in this novel: political corruption; bureaucratic incompetence; sharp cultural observations; personality clashes; international influences on what on the surface seems to be a local affair; and just good, old-fashioned thrilling action. It is all impeccably put together, and the real shame is that Ghanaian nationals will not have access to this novel—apparently Kwei Quartey has been unable to put together publishing and distribution in Ghana. The shame of it relates to the timeliness of the novel and the way it highlights the utter brazenness of illegality and corruption of all involved in what amounts to a pillage of Ghana’s rich environment. The novel may have as its subject a murder mystery, but on a higher level it is a brilliant encapsulation of the negative forces at work in a situation in which the principals, with impunity, attempt to strip one region of a country of its remaining riches.
March 2, 2021
I wanted "Gold of our Fathers" to be an even better book. The storyline was promising and present were the familiar characters of Darko Dawson, his sidekick Chikata, Christine and the children.
All of Quartey's characters are believable. In "Gold of Our Fathers" he did a good job illustrating the interactions between the foreign Chinese miners and the local Ghanaian miners and farmers, as well as the interactions between the lesser police officers and those at the top. As an American reader, it's important that the author included details to let the reader know that even a regional police HQ would not be flush with squad cars and that the speed of investigations and assistance might be considerably slower.
Quartey described the issues of illegal mining and its effects on the landscape and the local environment and the local economy and indicated the government's lack of any strong enforcement against illegal mining. I always learn about modern-day Ghana from Quartey's mystery books and this is most enjoyable. Thank you, Mr. Quartey.
The book needed editing. It was obvious that the author had researched illegal gold mining in Ghana. However, many loose ends appear and it didn't flow well. The denouement only showed resolution in one area and off-handedly indicated that a larger problem had been resolved (somehow?) by a character other than the protagonist. So, only minor satisfaction at the "untying" of the plot! Perhaps because Darko's character isn't designed to take on government corruption at high levels? This reader felt she had bumped up against a wall of corruption at the end and there wasn't anything left to be done.
All of Quartey's characters are believable. In "Gold of Our Fathers" he did a good job illustrating the interactions between the foreign Chinese miners and the local Ghanaian miners and farmers, as well as the interactions between the lesser police officers and those at the top. As an American reader, it's important that the author included details to let the reader know that even a regional police HQ would not be flush with squad cars and that the speed of investigations and assistance might be considerably slower.
Quartey described the issues of illegal mining and its effects on the landscape and the local environment and the local economy and indicated the government's lack of any strong enforcement against illegal mining. I always learn about modern-day Ghana from Quartey's mystery books and this is most enjoyable. Thank you, Mr. Quartey.
The book needed editing. It was obvious that the author had researched illegal gold mining in Ghana. However, many loose ends appear and it didn't flow well. The denouement only showed resolution in one area and off-handedly indicated that a larger problem had been resolved (somehow?) by a character other than the protagonist. So, only minor satisfaction at the "untying" of the plot! Perhaps because Darko's character isn't designed to take on government corruption at high levels? This reader felt she had bumped up against a wall of corruption at the end and there wasn't anything left to be done.
February 14, 2017
The story line has a twist as well as an "I saw that coming". The author brings so much of Ghana to life with plenty of detail about every day life, customs, attitudes, and the all important relationships. The protagonist is all too human when compared to the American authors who create "lone ranger" style detectives. This is an ordinary man who does his job well, is self-reflective, deeply cares about his family, and has unwavering integrity. American readers who have not traveled outside the US beyond touristy jaunts, or who have difficulty imagining a civilization that is equal, yet different from our every day life should easily fall under the author's spell. I felt as though I was in Ghana while reading the story.
April 18, 2016
I originally picked up a book in this series because I had a friend from Ghana and wanted to learn a little more about his culture. I did enjoy learning more about Ghana but felt the mystery was a bit thin and predictable. So I was pleasantly surprised with this book because beyond satisfying my itch to learn more about Ghana and African culture I felt the story was stronger and the characters had taken on added depth. If you enjoy a good mystery and prefer to explore the world from the comfort of your favorite chair - it's a couple of hours well spent.
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May 12, 2016While Gold of Our Fathers is best read in succession with the first three Darko Dawson books instead of as a standalone novel, its particular merit lies in the compelling representation of the relationship, at turns symbiotic and antagonistic, between two non-Western countries. By exposing U.S. readers to hitherto marginalized geopolitics, Gold of Our Fathers highlights the complexities of the commodities market and educates the reader through an insightful perspective on both African and Chinese foreign affairs.
See full review at www.sleuthsandspies.wordpress.com!
See full review at www.sleuthsandspies.wordpress.com!
November 6, 2025
6 stars out of 5. Darko's boss, Lartey, is promoted and so is he. The CID sends him to the Ashanti region to investigate a particularly brutal murder of a Chinese man in charge of a possibly illegal gold mining operation. Darko's wife quits her job in Accra so she and his sons, Sly and Hosiah, can join him for the year he is to spend in Obusai helping organize the ineffectual police station. His new boss there, Commander Ata Longdon, needs to replace a detective who died and get the cold cases sorted out from the current investigations. Darko brings on his Accra underling, Chitaka, to help him with investigations. Gold mining is destroying cocoa farms in the region. And there are increasing robberies, bribery cases, police corruption, government official corruption, and a very interesting investigative reporter from the UK paper The Guardian. This particular murder might not involve just the people who knew Bao Liu well, like the men who worked for him. Darko finally finds a Ghanian man who confesses to the murder but he begins suspect the man lied to protect someone else. Very complex case with a lot of driving on impossible dirt roads and pouring tropical rain. - Excellent read to escape from Trump's destruction of the US rule of law. And much easier to read after the massive voter turnout on election day. Maybe we can stop Trump before everything is ruined. Day 37 of the government shutdown.
March 10, 2020
“Gold of Our Fathers”(Darko Dawson #4) by Kwei Quartey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Police procedural. Ghanaian police detective Darko Dawson has been promoted to Chief Inspector. But with that promotion comes a temporary one-year transfer from his home in urban Accra to rural Obusai in the Ashanti region. There he finds a police division mired in unwritten reports, overcrowding, and apathy - and a home for his family that is unliveable.
On his first day, a Chinese National is killed on an illegal goldmining site. When he explores the illegal goldmining that has drawn thousands of Chinese nationals to Ghana, he finds corruption on top of more corruption. How high will it go? Darko struggles to investigate with limited resources while trying to spend quality time with wife Christine and sons Hosiah and Sly in their temporary home.
This book (and the whole series) gives such a realistically caring view of the struggles Ghanaians go through as their country struggles to move forward. The author intersperses descriptions of Ghanaian food, cultural practices, and language throughout the book. The book also includes a list of characters, and a glossary of local words, phrases, and descriptions of objects and foods. The book can be read alone, or in order in the series. I prefer reading the books in order because one learns so much more about Darko’s family and his past. 🌵📚👩🏼🦳”
On his first day, a Chinese National is killed on an illegal goldmining site. When he explores the illegal goldmining that has drawn thousands of Chinese nationals to Ghana, he finds corruption on top of more corruption. How high will it go? Darko struggles to investigate with limited resources while trying to spend quality time with wife Christine and sons Hosiah and Sly in their temporary home.
This book (and the whole series) gives such a realistically caring view of the struggles Ghanaians go through as their country struggles to move forward. The author intersperses descriptions of Ghanaian food, cultural practices, and language throughout the book. The book also includes a list of characters, and a glossary of local words, phrases, and descriptions of objects and foods. The book can be read alone, or in order in the series. I prefer reading the books in order because one learns so much more about Darko’s family and his past. 🌵📚👩🏼🦳”
August 6, 2017
Darko Dawson has been promoted to Chief Inspector in the Ghana Police Service. He is married with two sons. Almost immediately, his new boss transfers him to another district far enough away that he won't be able to travel home very often. His wife and he decide they must all move together for the one year posting. When Dawson starts work in his new office, he is dismayed to discover the disarray. On his second day at work, he is called to investigate the murder of a Chinese mine owner. Having the Chinese in Ghana has both positive benefits and negative benefits. While working in the mines provides some steady income for the local people, their practices also mean the death of much of the surrounding farm land. It seems the chief is allowing the Chinese to take over some of the farm land because they are providing him a kick back which the local farmers do not see. As Dawson continues to investigate he uncovers a conspiracy much darker than he imagined.
January 17, 2018
I read this to satisfy a 2018 Read Harder requirement - a genre book written by a POC about a POC character. The mystery by a half-Ghanaian author is set in Ghana, and was a competent mystery (4th in a series) with a setting that figured into the crime being investigated - the murder of an illegal Chinese gold mine operator. Learning something about the trouble Ghana has with the illegal mines, which destroy the landscape, kept things interesting. The set up of the small villages, obeisance to chiefs, corruption at many levels, but also the competence of educated Ghanaians, particularly women, and the mixture of cultures in Ghana, made reading this worthwhile because it helps to portray the ways in which the different countries of Africa are diverse - so people can stop thinking of the sub-Saharan parts of the Continent as all the same. One of the reasons why I read is to visit places, and time periods - to have a more complete vision of our world.
January 13, 2025
I read both the eBook and finished with the library copy (hardback). It started off decent, opening with a murder, and obvious whom you would suspect. Either a Ghanian since according to the reading, they did not like Chinese, or who else would have a motive--the brother, Wei killed Bao. I did like how at the end was fast pace, with other murders to throw you elsewhere, and nearly didn't close this case but opened another one against the Commander and other accomplices. Will this be in the next series?
I guess I was not enthused about topic or subject matter either (personal note): gold mining. yet the author writes very well! I will see if this is the end of the series, or complete Emma's (main character) series--working on book 3 as well as reading book 4 of this series.
Leisure.
I hope to get these titles in work library.
I guess I was not enthused about topic or subject matter either (personal note): gold mining. yet the author writes very well! I will see if this is the end of the series, or complete Emma's (main character) series--working on book 3 as well as reading book 4 of this series.
Leisure.
I hope to get these titles in work library.
June 29, 2017
Chief Inspector Darko Dawson is transferred from Accarra, Ghana to the smaller town of Obuashi. He is called on to investigate the murder of a Chinese man who was found buried in the gold mining camp that he and his brother ran There are a lot of issues with illegal immigrants working in the gold mines for very little wages and Darko feels this may be a related crime. Then he finds out that the murdered man had himself killed a Ghanian farmer's son who lived next to his camp. This begins a long and rambling search for answers that result in more deaths, corruption, and black market sales of the "root of evil", gold. A very good book but a little hard to keep track of strange names and places. I would like to read more of these.
June 28, 2021
This is the 4th Darko Dawson book I have read, and the one I enjoyed the least.
Very early on, as Dawson readies to leave town, there is a disturbing scene between him and his wife Christine. I suspect it is meant to be comic, but let’s just say I didn’t laugh. At all.
The rest of the book is Quartey’s usual brilliant depiction of life in Ghana, this time in the northern region. It is, as always, brilliantly evocative of the land, people, and culture.
Unfortunately, in my opinion only of course, the denouement of the murder mystery is tediously convoluted. Too many red herrings, not enough logic.
Which is not to say that I won’t keep reading this author’s singularly interesting and well-crafted books.
Very early on, as Dawson readies to leave town, there is a disturbing scene between him and his wife Christine. I suspect it is meant to be comic, but let’s just say I didn’t laugh. At all.
The rest of the book is Quartey’s usual brilliant depiction of life in Ghana, this time in the northern region. It is, as always, brilliantly evocative of the land, people, and culture.
Unfortunately, in my opinion only of course, the denouement of the murder mystery is tediously convoluted. Too many red herrings, not enough logic.
Which is not to say that I won’t keep reading this author’s singularly interesting and well-crafted books.
January 27, 2025
Read this due to an interest in the topic of the Chinese in sub-Saharan Africa that I had never seen captured in fiction before. What I enjoyed most from this book was learning about the implications of Chinese migration in galamsey which remains a politically active issue in Ghana today. That being said, there was a wide cast of characters with 3-4 plotlines that I think either weren't totally fleshed out or didn't tie up well by the end. The abrupt final reveal felt too convenient because relying on extramarital affairs seems to be a common motivator in the two Darko Dawson books I've read (#1 and #4). I also think Dawson could have been a similarly interesting protagonist without multiple comments on his attraction to the various women he meets.
March 11, 2017
I gobbled this book up. I have enjoyed all of the Darko Dawson mystery novels, and this one was no exception. However, it felt like the reading equivalent to eating an entire family size bag of potato chips: delicious and fun, but no nutritional value at all.
[Okay, that last sentence might be unfair. Perhaps a fun read can be nutritional for the sake of making you laugh, relieving stress, etc. Who am I to say what is good for someone? However, the intent of that sentence was to express how the book did not meet my nutritional expectations in the sense of cultural understanding.]
I appreciate the Dawson mysteries because they give me insight into some of the issues in Ghana that I otherwise would have known nothing about - trokosi, childhood poverty, corruption behind the collection of natural resources (eg: oil and gold). However, this time around I did not feel as if I learned as much. It was as if illegal gold mining was just a super duper interesting backdrop to the murder mystery.
However, as always it was a really enjoyable story to read. The characters were fully developed and the plot was realistic. Even if the ending was pretty predictable, there were enough twists and turns that for a few chapters the predictable ending did seem unlikely. Similarly, even when I groaned about how Christine was written as the best, no flaws once so ever, wife in the universe (leaving her job even though she just got a promotion - no muss, no fuss), we briefly saw another side of her that was more realistic and less of a man's fantasy. She patiently endures her husband traveling all the time, but she isn't oblivious.
Either way, I probably will continue to read the Darko Dawson mysteries because they are so enjoyable. I will just have to check my expectation that it's a way of learning more about life in Ghana.
[Okay, that last sentence might be unfair. Perhaps a fun read can be nutritional for the sake of making you laugh, relieving stress, etc. Who am I to say what is good for someone? However, the intent of that sentence was to express how the book did not meet my nutritional expectations in the sense of cultural understanding.]
I appreciate the Dawson mysteries because they give me insight into some of the issues in Ghana that I otherwise would have known nothing about - trokosi, childhood poverty, corruption behind the collection of natural resources (eg: oil and gold). However, this time around I did not feel as if I learned as much. It was as if illegal gold mining was just a super duper interesting backdrop to the murder mystery.
However, as always it was a really enjoyable story to read. The characters were fully developed and the plot was realistic. Even if the ending was pretty predictable, there were enough twists and turns that for a few chapters the predictable ending did seem unlikely. Similarly, even when I groaned about how Christine was written as the best, no flaws once so ever, wife in the universe (leaving her job even though she just got a promotion - no muss, no fuss), we briefly saw another side of her that was more realistic and less of a man's fantasy. She patiently endures her husband traveling all the time, but she isn't oblivious.
Either way, I probably will continue to read the Darko Dawson mysteries because they are so enjoyable. I will just have to check my expectation that it's a way of learning more about life in Ghana.
June 22, 2017
I've read the last three books of this series now and look forward to the next one coming out later this summer. Our own library does not get them but I have purchased them from Better World Books. As many others have commented, it is good to read about a different part of the world from someone who knows it well. I wonder if Ghana is really such a place of corruption and poverty and poor infrastructure.
Darko Dawson fights his temptations with women and wee but he is uncorrupted and looks out for justice. He is a family man and it is good to read about his wife and sons and even his mother-in-law.
Darko Dawson fights his temptations with women and wee but he is uncorrupted and looks out for justice. He is a family man and it is good to read about his wife and sons and even his mother-in-law.
September 2, 2023
3.5 stars. Darko Dawson is transferred to a more rural area in Ghana where illegal gold mining is rife. On his first day in his new position, a Chinese national who runs one of the illegal mines is found dead at a site and Darko must solve the murder with little help. Kwei Quartey often introduces complex topics in this series to create awareness of developments in Ghana that seldom make international headlines in a very topical format. Not my favourite in the series, but a solid plot and interesting location.
November 1, 2023
Fascinating as takes place in Ghana, Africa. Yet disturbing as the tale revolves around the destruction of land by illegal Chinese immigrants digging for gold and getting away with it through bribery.
The main protagonist is an honest detective caught in a web of corruption. Who loves his family yet is forced to uproot them for his career.
Interesting to learn what life is like in a different country by an author who came from that nation. Never having visited the country, I have to assume that the author’s details are accurate.
Dawson is a great character. If my TBR pile wasn’t so large, I’d go back and read the first four books in the series.
Great writing. Doesn’t lag.
The main protagonist is an honest detective caught in a web of corruption. Who loves his family yet is forced to uproot them for his career.
Interesting to learn what life is like in a different country by an author who came from that nation. Never having visited the country, I have to assume that the author’s details are accurate.
Dawson is a great character. If my TBR pile wasn’t so large, I’d go back and read the first four books in the series.
Great writing. Doesn’t lag.
April 25, 2018
The news has covered the influx of Chinese into African countries building infrastructures at the same time as they exploit natural resources. This mystery depicts the role of the undocumented Chinese exploring for gold in Ghana. The corruption that results in Ghana as a result of the riches to be made from gold is the driving factor in the murder that Chief Insprector Darko investigates in this mystery.
I enjoy Kwei’s novels because each one highlights a current social issue facing Ghana.
I enjoy Kwei’s novels because each one highlights a current social issue facing Ghana.
February 3, 2019
Another satisfying tale from the Darko Dawson series set in Ghana. Darko is transferred to another region with his family. He is greeted with a murder of a Chinese Gold miner. Illegal Chinese Gold Mining, corruption, and whistleblowing are all part of the tale. Darko’s family adjusts to the new home and details of daily life are interesting. A few temptations from Darko,s past emerge as well. Looking forward to more in the series.
November 30, 2019
Wow!
I love mysteries set in foreign countries, so this Darko Dawson series has been a real treat. The first book was pretty good, but this fourth book is REALLY good. I learned a lot about the illegal gold mining that's taking place in Ghana, as well as the influx of Chinese into the country to work. The murder itself got rather lost for a while in the middle but Mr. Quartey was able to neatly tie it up in the end without making it seem TOO neat.
I love mysteries set in foreign countries, so this Darko Dawson series has been a real treat. The first book was pretty good, but this fourth book is REALLY good. I learned a lot about the illegal gold mining that's taking place in Ghana, as well as the influx of Chinese into the country to work. The murder itself got rather lost for a while in the middle but Mr. Quartey was able to neatly tie it up in the end without making it seem TOO neat.
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