“Kwei Quartey's latest novel returns to Ghana, where there is an estimated 60,000 children roaming the streets of Accra and someone is killing them and mutilating their bodies. Detective Darko Dawson is on the case capturing the readers' hearts with his selfless acts of compassion and dedication, caring and sharing when and where many others would not. Children of the Street hones in on an actual, persistent problem of youth from all regions of Ghana converging on its capital in search of jobs and a better life. They are homeless, poor, malnourished, often abused and under-educated -- to many they are a blight, a nuisance, unwelcome and unwanted; to others they are prey waiting to be exploited often falling victim to prostitution, drugs, disease, thievery and ultimately death. As Darko methodically works through the clues, asks favors and uses every resource available to find the serial killer, the reader resonates with the underlying truth that their daily plights and nightly fights for survival as described in the book only scratches the surface of their bleak reality.
As with Wife of the Gods (which I enjoyed), this novel was not only an enjoyable read for the police procedural/suspense genre, but from a cultural one as well. As an American/Western reader, Quartey's rendering of everyday life in Ghana brings forth an acute awareness of the subtle and overt differences in lifestyle, access to information, health care, and resource availability (human, hard/software, etc), public works, public safety, etc., which I found equally (if not more) interesting than the mystery. Recommended to those interested in cross-cultural reads, crime fiction and solid detective-oriented novels.
This book was purchased by the reviewer.
Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO Literary Reviews”
Phyllis wrote this review Monday, August 8, 2011.
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