Darko Dawson

At Cape Three Points on the beautiful Ghanaian coast, a canoe washes up at an oil rig site. The two bodies in the canoe-who turn out to be a prominent, wealthy middle-aged couple-have obviously been murdered; the way Mr. Smith-Aidoo has been gruesomely decapitated suggests the killer was trying to send a specific message-but what and to whom? The Smith-Aidoos, pillars in their community, are mourned by everyone, but especially by their niece Sapphire, a successful pediatric surgeon in Ghana's capital, Accra. She is not happy that months have passed since the murder and the rural police have made no headway.When the federal police finally agree to get involved, Detective Inspector Darko Dawson of the Accra police force is sent out to investigate. Pretty as the coast is, he is not happy to be sent away from his wife and two sons, the younger of whom is recovering from a heart operation. And the more he learns about the case, the more convoluted and dangerous it becomes. Three Points has long been inhabited by tribal villages of subsistence fishers, but real estate entrepreneurs and wealthy oil companies have been trying to bribe the tribes to move out. Dawson unearths a host of motives for murder, from personal vendettas to corporate conspiracies.

Darko Dawson has just been promoted to Chief Inspector in the Ghana Police Service, but he doesn't have long to celebrate, because he's being transferred for at least a year to remote Obuasi, an area notorious for the illegal exploitation of its gold mines. When the murder of a Chinese immigrant miner crosses his desk on only his second day, Dawson learns how dangerous it is to pursue justice in a town where the worst offenders have so much money they have no fear of the law.

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, hounding her until the relationship is so soured Solomon feels compelled to order Katherine out of the house they shared. 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 has personal as well as professional reasons to find the killer fast: Katherine was the first cousin of his wife, Christine, who is devastated by the tragedy. As Darko investigates, he discovers that many people close to Katherine had powerful motives to kill her, including: Solomon, her husband; James Bentsi-Enchill, her lawyer and ex-lover; and her filthy rich pastor, Bishop Clem Howard-Mills. In order to expose the truth, Darko must confront the pivotal role religion plays in Ghana-and wrestle with his old demons the investigation stirs up.