The Missing American by Kwei Quartey

The Missing American is the start of a new female detective series, so yup, I’m in! Emma Djan wants to follow in her father’s footsteps as a homicide detective in the police department in Accra. She finishes her training, but ends up pushing papers on a beaurocratic treadmill, never getting the chance to get into the field. She applies for an opening in homicide, refusing to believe that being a woman will preclude her from the position. Her interviewer tries to rape her. She defends herself, escapes, and is fired, so, with the help of a friend, she applies to work for a private detective agency run by a former cop.

Meanwhile, Gorden, a middle aged widower from Washington DC, mourns the loss of his Ghanian wife through an online support group, and falls in love with another woman in the group. When she asks him for money, you might smell an internet scam. He goes to Ghana to meet her and diappears. Frustrated with the police in Ghana, his son hires the detective agency, and Emma ends up on her first case.

While the age old conflicts for women detectives are a big part of the story, there is a fresh and modern scenario at play. I found The Missing American to be a page turner I stayed up too late finishing. Join me in reading what I hope will be a several-novel-series at Book #1.