Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey

Detective Inspector Darko Dawson's newest case takes him from his home in Accra to the small village Ketanu in Ghana's Volta Region. A young medical student, Gladys Mensah, has been found murdered and Dawson's boss thinks he's the perfect person to help with the investigation because he knows the local language. Dawson finds he has no shortage of suspects because Gladys disapproved of the local custom of trokosi, in which young women are given over to a High Priest to soothe the gods after a crime was commited by a family member. She was also involved in AIDS education, which angered some local residents. On a personal front, Ketanu brings out a mix of feelings in Dawson. His aunt lives there, but it was also the last place his mother was seen before she disappeared when he was a child. Will he be able to nativigate the world of long-held customs using contemporary methods to find a killer? Wife of the Gods is a mystery full of descriptions of Ghanian life along with a main character who is, at times, flawed. An enjoyable book that I hope is the start of a new series.