Gold of Our Fathers by Kwei Quartey

About Kwei Quartey

Gold of Our Fathers by Kwei Quartey

Darko Dawson has just been promoted to Chief Inspector in the Ghana Police Service. The promotion even comes with a modest salary bump. But he doesn't have long to celebrate. His new boss is transferring him from Accra, Ghana's capital, out to remote Obuasi in the Ashanti region; an area now notorious for the illegal exploitation of its gold mines. The assignment will last at least a year, meaning Dawson has the unpleasant choice of uprooting his entire family or making do without them. Worse still, when Dawson arrives at the Obuasi headquarters, he finds it in complete disarray. The office is a mess of uncatalogued evidence and cold case files. Morale is low. Discipline among officers is lax. His new sergeant is corrupt and cannot be trusted. On only his second day on the job, a body is unearthed in one of the gold quarries. The victim is Bao Liu, a Chinese immigrant who owned the mine. One of many who have flocked to the Ashanti region to work the alluvial gold mines. The list of potential suspects is long: disgruntled workers, a local man who blames Bao for his son's death, and a rival whose romantic obsession turned deadly. As Dawson investigates, he learns very quickly how dangerous it is to pursue justice in this kingdom of illegal gold mines. The worst offenders have so much money they have no fear of the law.