Part of the ‘Into and out of Africa’ reading
journey.
Mollel is a Nairobi policeman, ex CID but
now busted down to Traffic. He’s a Maasai and when a Maasai girl’s mutilated
body is found in Uhuru Park his insider knowledge gets him in on the case.
The trail seems to lead to some high profile
figures, and as this is December 2007 with a presidential election just days
away, politics threatens to interfere with his pursuit of the murderer. And with
politics in Kenya a violent sectarian business, his chief of police wants his
men keeping order at the polls not stirring up more trouble.
Against the background of mounting tribal
tension (mainly Kikuyu against Luo with the Maasai one of several minority
players) Mollel ignores orders to desist and doggedly follows the evidence, on
the way uncovering lies and corruption that seem endemic in the Kenyan capital.
And of course, being a cop, he has his personal problems, struggling to come to
terms with the recent death of his wife and taking on sole responsibility for a
young son he can’t connect with emotionally.
The story is fast paced, action-packed and
full of twists and turns, uncertain to the end. The setting feels authentic and
Crompton slips in some insights into post-colonial East Africa and the Kenyan
national psyche, where harmonious personal relations can all too easily be
swept aside by tribal affiliations and mutual suspicion based on past misdeeds.
An enjoyable read and for crime aficionados a
refreshing change from regional British sleuths or Nordic noir.
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