A young East African student from the university is found murdered in a London apartment. She had been raped and viciously mutilated, her dying words videotaped. Jack Carrigan, Detective-inspector of the Criminal Investigation Division, is assigned the case with an assistant, Detective-constable Geneva Miller. With their team of investigators assembled, Carrigan and Miller trace the girl’s background and studies as far as possible, though records are mysteriously blocked at the university, and there appears to be interference from both the African embassy and British Foreign Affairs. Who was the murdered girl, and why was she killed in such a brutal manner?
There is a back story concerning Jack Carrigan and two close friends who, twenty years previous had graduated from college together, and decided to vacation in East Africa before entering promising careers. Jack Carrigan was a musician on his way to the top already with an album. But something happened during that trip to Uganda that summer, and we get small hints throughout the story, but nothing concrete until the very end. Jack never continued his music career, but became a criminal investigator instead. Did that vacation have something to do with the murder of this girl?
A novel as powerful as this comes along rarely in the mystery field. The plot is gritty, real, and with strong characters moving the story from beginning to end. There is deep emotion driving the murderer, and the reader follows the investigators as they uncover clues and suspects. The story doesn’t bog down with the backstory, as we are only fed small bits occasionally, not all at once. A thrilling mystery you will not want to put down.
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—Tom Johnson
