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Summary
Summary
Katherine Yeboah's marriage to Solomon Vanderpuye is all the talk of Accra high society. But when it becomes apparent that Katherine is infertile, Solomon's extended family accuses her of being a witch until the relationship is so soured Solomon orders her out of the house. Alone on her last night there, Katherine is brutally murdered by an intruder wielding a machete. Chief Inspector Darko Dawson of the Ghanaian federal police is assigned to the case, learning many people close to Katherine had powerful motives to kill her.
Author Notes
Kwei Quartey is a crime fiction writer and physician. He practiced medicine for more than 20 years while working as a writer. Dr. Quartey balances the two professions by dedicating the early morning hours to writing before beginning a day in his clinic.
Dr. Quartey attended medical school at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1990, he began practicing medicine in California with HealthCare Partners. Dr. Quartey later founded the facility's wound care center while working as an urgent care physician.
As a crime fiction writer, Kwei Quartey made the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List in 2009. Having published 2 books in An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery Series, Wife of the Gods and Children of the Street, the release of a third novel in the series, Murder at Cape Three Points, is scheduled in March 2014. Death at the Voyager Hotel, a mystery e-novella not belonging to the series, was published July 2013.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Murder strikes close to home in Quartey's disappointing fifth mystery featuring Ghanaian Chief Insp. Darko Dawson (after 2016's Gold of Our Fathers). When Darko arrives at the scene of a double homicide, he's shaken to discover that one of the victims is Katherine Vanderpuye, his wife Christine's beloved cousin. Katherine was butchered with a machete, her head practically severed; her watchman, Gabriel, was also almost decapitated. Katherine was experiencing difficulty in her marriage. Her inability to conceive alienated her attorney husband, Solomon, and turned his family against her. Solomon's relatives accused her of being a witch, and Solomon claimed that she was deliberately remaining barren and was trying to poison him. Despite Darko's familial connection with the crime, he's kept on the case. He diligently considers suspects besides Solomon, including the flamboyant Bishop Clem Howard-Mills, who had been counseling the unhappy couple. The solution to the whodunit is not as clever as in Quartey's previous, more memorable books. Agent: Marly Rusoff, Marly Rusoff Literary Agency. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* When fertility problems strain newlywed Katherine and Solomon Vanderpuye's marriage, Katherine begins counseling with her celebrity evangelist minister. While she works on reconciliation, her in-laws are poisoning Solomon's mind with accusations that she's a witch intent on killing him and their unborn children. Their tactics succeed, and Kate is soon packing her things. But the night before her move, she is murdered at her home in Accra, Ghana. Accra's CID Director Darko Dawson is called to the scene by his distraught wife, who found Kate's house crawling with police when she arrived to help her cousin move. The last thing Darko wants is a case certain to strain family relations, but his commanding officer sees things differently. Darko and a trainee detective, one of Accra's few female officers, must sort through a host of potential suspects the charismatic evangelist, Kate's prominent in-laws, and a disturbed stalker to find the machete-wielding killer. In the series' fifth installment (following Gold of Our Fathers, 2016), Darko is tested by his duty to his in-laws and increasingly challenging roles as son and father, complications that add layers to a skillfully developed character and build suspense toward a jaw-dropping cliff-hanger. Quartey's Ghanaian mysteries, driven by tension between traditional culture and modernity, share top-notch writing and full-sensory settings with those of Michael Stanley, Deon Meyer, and Parker Bilal.--Tran, Christine Copyright 2017 Booklist
Kirkus Review
If his fourth case (Gold of Our Fathers, 2016) took him far from his base in Accra, Chief Inspector Darko Dawson's fifth strikes entirely too close to home.A year after accountant Katherine Yeboah's storybook marriage to rising attorney Solomon Vanderpuye, the magic is gone with a vengeance. Katherine's inability to get pregnant despite her bridegroom's undisputed virility has turned her husband's class-conscious mother, Maude, and his equally sniffy sister, Georgina, against her. Months of counseling sessions with Clem Howard-Mills, the millionaire bishop who married the unhappy couple, have gone nowhere, and Solomon, echoing his mother's accusations that Kate is a witch, demands that she leave the house he's surreptitiously retitled in his name alone. James Bentsi-Enchill, the divorce lawyer Kate's mother urges her to consult, is an old flame of Kate's who's divorced himself. Can things get any worse? Absolutely. The night before Kate's due to move out, she's savagely attacked by a killer who also murders houseman Gabriel Saleh for good measure. The events leading up to the massacre are described with such harrowing precision that Darko's investigation would be utterly overshadowed if he weren't Kate's brother-in-law, a sorely vexed cop whose every question seems to invite another prevarication or false alibi and whose every move threatens to antagonize another member of his extended familyexcept of course for his father, Jacob, who's too sadly demented to notice or care what's going on. The only bright spot, it seems, is Lance Cpl. Mabel Kusi, the new transfer Darko's breaking in, who'll take center stage at the finale. The most conventional of the Ghanaian Chief Inspector's five mysteries but the most personally shocking in every imaginable way for the hard-pressed hero. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Katherine and Solomon's extravagant high society wedding in Accra, Ghana, was a triumph. But when she is unable to conceive, her new husband and his family turn against her and accuse her of witchcraft. Katherine desperately seeks help from her family, friends, and pastor to resolve her marital issues. Her brutal murder draws CI Darko Dawson of the Ghanaian federal police into the case since Katherine was a cousin to his wife, Christine. As he investigates, Dawson also wrestles with how best to care for his aging and ailing father. He successfully lays a trap to catch the killer, but that comes with potentially fatal consequences. The fifth Darko Dawson book (after Gold of Our Fathers) explores the role of religion, both traditional Ghanian and evangelical Christian, in a vividly depicted African setting. Series fans may be stunned by the suddenness of the unexpected cliff-hanger ending, but it mirrors the rapidity of real life. VERDICT A good choice for readers who enjoy Michael Stanley's "Detective Kubu" series.-ACT © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Chapter 1 Katherine would never forget the day she married Solomon. The wedding was immense, glorious, and the talk of Accra. Solomon's father, Ezekiel Vanderpuye, a wealthy ex-member of parliament, spared no expense. Clem Howard-Mills, one of Ghana's most prominent bishops, officiated the service at the Power of God Ministry Church in La Paz on the outskirts of Accra. Four hundred guests flocked to Unique Floral Palace for the reception. The enormous space dazzled in white and gold, with Queen Anne's lace, white calla lilies, and pink gardenias decorating the guests' tables. Lights cascaded from ceiling to floor, sparkling like a South African diamond. Caterers in crisp white uniforms served up a large spread of food, from palm nut soup to kung-pao chicken. Champagne, wine, beer, and hard liquor flowed while the DJ played loud hip-life. Weddings and funerals--no difference: eat till stuffed; imbibe till drunk. And the first commandment: thou shalt not run out of food or drink, or you will tarnish your name forever. Solomon and Katherine observed traditional Ghanaian nuptial customs the day after. With gifts of alcohol and yards of cloth, Solomon's family paid an official visit to Katherine's. The elders on both sides poured libation and performed the necessary rites. Katherine felt joy and pride whenever she looked at Solomon, so slim and tall in a dark, embroidered smock. Already, she could picture her future life with her husband and two or three kids in a happy home. Katherine wanted a little girl first. After that, she would be perfectly happy with either gender. For a moment, Katherine watched her parents, Nana and Ransford. She could tell how elated they were. Both of them liked Solomon and admired his intelligence and educational accomplishments. He was a young, up-and-coming lawyer. Ezekiel, Solomon's father, was also pleased. Every so often, he beamed at Katherine and his eyes moistened behind his spectacles. Solomon's mother, Maude, was a different matter. She had welcomed Katherine into her family with reluctance. Status was critical to Maude. Vanderpuye, her husband's name, had been tied to the Ghanaian upper class for generations, since the seventeenth century when Dutch colonists and indigenous people produced mixed offspring. Katherine's Yeboah family, on the other hand, was of working class stock, and in Maude's view, fell below a certain "essential" threshold. But to Katherine, her mother-in-law's preoccupation with caste was a pointless contrivance. Always at Maude's right hand was her daughter, Georgina. She looked and behaved like her mother--down almost to the gesture--and sided with Maude over everything. The two women felt Solomon had rushed into marriage. He had met Katherine a few months before he went off to the University of Virginia to study Business Administration. While away from Ghana, Solomon kept in touch with Katherine by phone, WhatsApp, and Skype. They were in love. Some nights Katherine would stay up until three or four in the morning talking to Solomon. Not long after his return to Ghana, he proposed to Katherine. Thrilled, she accepted. Maude and Georgina had been dead set against Solomon's engagement to Katherine, but Ezekiel had prevailed over his wife and daughter. He told them Solomon had every right to marry the woman he loved. In the midst of the laughter, drinking, and dancing of the after-wedding party, Katherine stole a glance at her mother-in-law. Maude's mouth was hard, her jaw set, and her eyes cold. Chapter 2 Late one Wednesday afternoon in February when the rush of the wedding had subsided and the Harmattan weather had become insufferable, Katherine and Nana were preparing a meal in the kitchen. "So will I be a grandmother soon?" Nana asked her daughter with a sidelong glance. "Mama, it's only been a month since the wedding," Katherine said with a short laugh. Nana searched her face. "I hope you're not waiting, are you?" "Waiting? What do you mean?" "Well, you know," Nana said, wrinkling her nose, "your generation sometimes has a notion to wait awhile before having children, for whatever reason." "My generation?" Katherine said with some amusement. She shook her head. "Not us. Solomon and I want kids as soon as possible, and we're not wasting any time getting to it." She hesitated. "In fact, I thought maybe I was pregnant last weekend, but the test was negative." "That sometimes happens at the beginning," Nana reassured her. "Don't worry. As long as you and Solomon continue trying to conceive, I'm sure it won't be long now." "I'm not worried, Mama," Katherine said. She added more salt to the pepper stew that would accompany the rice, which the guests would enjoy later on in the evening after Bible study. Katherine had made it a tradition to provide a meal whenever she and Nana hosted a bussell session. It was Bishop Howard-Mills who had introduced the concept of bussells to his congregants. Held in the homes of church members, these meetings provided an opportunity to worship the Lord if and when one could not make it to church. This was especially helpful to working professionals. Katherine and Solomon had been participating in the bussell program since before their marriage. No more than ten members attended a session, and although the proceedings were less formal than regular church, the Bible discussions still needed some direction. That duty usually fell to one of the junior ministers. Young Reverend Atiemo had customarily officiated at the bussells Katherine and Solomon hosted, and Bishop Howard-Mills's assistant, John Papafio, often accompanied the reverend to notify members about upcoming community events. Around eight, the first of the church members began to file in. Katherine greeted them with hugs and kisses. She was profoundly happy, with enough love and warmth to fill an ocean as far as the horizon. After thirty minutes or so, Reverend Atiemo led the group of seven in prayer, following it with a discussion of Psalm 139: "'I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence.'" John arrived late, slipping in as quietly as he could. Solomon pulled up a chair for him. "Welcome, John," Atiemo said. John flashed an easy smile. In his late twenties, he had a boyish face and a relaxed manner. He was tall but rather round and soft. Efficient, he seemed to pull off church events with little effort, and his sense of humor could belie his competence. Once the discussion was over, John made a few announcements, and then it was time for the best part: the meal. After dinner, the church members talked and laughed among themselves as they straggled out to the courtyard. Gabriel, the faithful little watchman who had worked for the Yeboahs for years and who was related to them in some way, was at the front gate ready to bid the guests good night. As Reverend Atiemo was preparing to leave, Katherine pulled him aside and asked if he would stay for a few minutes. He joined Nana, Katherine, and Solomon in the sitting room. Glancing at Solomon every so often, Katherine asked the reverend to pray for them as they sought to conceive a child together. Atiemo listened with patience and understanding, and then the group joined hands and bowed their heads as the reverend led them in a heartfelt prayer. I felt blessed as he prayed for us," Katherine confided to Solomon later as they were getting into bed. "Did you feel it too?" "I did," he said. "He's a caring soul, Reverend Atiemo," she observed. "Everyone in the church is--the bishop, the reverend, even John." "John thinks the world of you," Solomon said, as Katherine snuggled up to him. "You should see the way he stares at you sometimes." "Oh, come on," Katherine said. "I'm not kidding." She lifted her head off his chest to look at Solomon with a smile. "Are you jealous?" He snorted. "Not at all. John has a pure heart." "He does seem to," Katherine agreed. "So, when you become tired of me," Solomon joked, "you'll know where you can turn and to whom." Katherine gave him a mock slap. "Silly boy." He laughed. "Honey?" she said after a moment. "I think we'll be successful tonight. I can feel it." She reached down to touch him. "Seems like you do as well." Afterward, Solomon turned over and went to sleep, never one to cuddle. Katherine always felt lonely after sex when he moved away from her like that. But it mattered less to her tonight because she was confident that this time, a tiny Vanderpuye was about to form within her. Excerpted from Death by His Grace by Kwei Quartey All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.