Kwei Jones Quartey, a Ghanaian-American detective fiction novelist and retired physician, will be at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on Tuesday, Feb. 7, to discuss his book, “Last Seen in Lapaz,” starting at 7 p.m.
When a whirlwind romance leads to a brutal murder and the disappearance of a young Nigerian woman, PI Emma Djan resorts to dangerous undercover work to track her down in Accra. Just as things at work are slowing down for PI Emma Djan, an old friend of her boss’s asks for help locating his missing daughter. According to her father, Ngozi had a bright future ahead of her when she became secretive and withdrawn. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was be with her handsome new beau, Femi, instead of attending law school in the fall. So when she disappears from her parents’ house in Nigeria the middle of a summer night, they immediately suspect Femi was behind it and have reason to believe the pair has fled to Accra. During Emma’s first week on the case, Femi is found murdered at his opulent residence in Accra. There are no signs of Ngozi at the scene, and fearing the worst, Emma digs further, discovering that Femi was part of a network of sex traffickers across West Africa. Emma must figure out which of Femi’s many enemies killed him, but more urgently, she must find Ngozi before she, too, is murdered in cold blood.
Born in Ghana to a Ghanaian father and American mother, both of whom were lecturers at the University of Ghana, Quartey studied to become a physician but has always loved writing. Quartey’s family’s home was full of hundreds of books including crime novels. Inspired by Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Quartey wrote crime novellas as early as the age of eight or nine, typing them out or writing them longhand and designing his own book covers.
In high school, Quartey decided he wanted to be a physician and started a science track to medical school. After the death of his father, Quartey’s mother returned to the United States with her sons and Quartey transferred to Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC.
After graduation from residency training, Quartey returned to his love of writing and wrote novels while practicing medicine. He dedicated the early morning hours to writing before beginning each day in his clinic. Still true to his childhood love of crime fiction, Quartey made the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List in 2009 with his debut murder mystery novel, “Wife of the Gods,” introducing Ghanaian homicide detective Inspector Darko Dawson. The following year, the GOG National Book Club voted him Best Male Author.
In 2018, having practiced medicine for about 20 years while simultaneously working as a writer, Quartey retired from medical practice to become a full-time novelist.
The event on Tuesday is free to attend.
For more information, call (626) 449-5320 or visit www.vromansbookstore.com/event/kwei-quartey-discusses-last-seen-lapaz.
