The Missing American

This series has potential.

The Missing American is a captivating peek into the underbelly of Ghanaian sakawas, scams and political corruption. Bumpy, yes, but with a compelling setting at the wheel, readers will be captivated by this first installment in Emma Djan's Investigative series.

The Wins:
* Anomoly: With Ghana as the backdrop, The Missing American naturally presents itself refreshing in the thriller genre. Initially, it appealed to me for the same reason What's Left of Me is Yours did — Both centered on a breed of crime specific to a culture. As a series I'll be interested to see how/if Quartey keeps up this unique brand of “sunshine noir”.
* Structure: Though Quartey's time hops show no clear pattern, they intrinsically make sense to the reader. He has a keen sense to snatch and transport at the height of intrigue.
* Twists: A true, unguessable ending. I'll be the first to note Quartey's problematic tendency to toss attention-competing Catch-22s, but the fridge-benefit — we never see the twist coming.

The Opps:
* Dialogue: Most conversations in Missing American seem painfully piped through Google Translator. Instead of revving the plot forward, stilted exchanges and overdone prose stunted the story's pace.
* Cast: Stories set on unfamiliar soil deserve coherency. To add to the Ghanaian lingo, Quartey's laundry list of characters make it impossible to keep up with who's who, who's where, who's good and who's bad.
* Fluff: Internet scams, fetish priests, police corruption, affairs and autism — Missing sends readers' attention in a LOT of directions. While some of these tropes act as clever red herrings, the sum of them feel like wasted threads.

A good mystery that nearly escapes the genre to be a good novel. I like the rise in international mysteries and the light exposure to other countries and cultures, and look forward to the next in the series.