Following is a review
of Hell’s Gate by Richard Compton,
Sarah Crichton Books, NY 2014
This is an intriguing detective story set in the
Naivasha/Hell’s Gate area of Kenya. The
hero is police detective Mollel who has been demoted to the Rift Valley
location - or has he? The plot winds
around a bit and features all sorts of disreputable characters on the make in
one form or another. Ultimately the plot
revolves around the mysterious death of a young worker in the flower
industry. Unraveling the cause of her
demise leads the intrepid Mollel to a range of disturbing activities -
disappearances, poaching, tribal enmity, police corruption, witchcraft, gang intimidation and national politics.
Ever steady, Mollel’s low key approach slowly makes headway and finally,
of course, results in an acceptable outcome.
Along the way the reader gets to appreciate his determination and
insights into the people he interacts with.
A sub theme plays on his Maasai tribal origins, his differences from
other Kenyans, and whether or not, or to what extent, Maasai people ought to be
integrated into modern Kenya.
The Naivasha area setting is accurate and the characters,
even though replete with stereotypical traits given their various stations in
life, i.e. noble game warden, obnoxious expatriate, venal gang chief, etc. are
nonetheless believable. The author’s use
of Swahili and even Sheng (the patois of urban Kenyan youth) give authenticity
to the story. Although the plot does get
a bit wild towards the end, the tale is well told and keeps the reader engaged.
Apparently detective Mollel is featured in at least one
other novel. Certainly, there will be more to come.
2 comments:
Detective Mollel first appears in Richard Crompton's "The Honey Guide", which I greatly enjoyed.
Bob,
I actually enjoyed his first Detective Mollel novel even more than this one. It was published under two different titles: "The Honey Guide" and "Hour of the Red God".
Alan
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