The Idol of Mombasa

August 22, 2016
Set in 1912, Alfieri’s captivating, complex second mystery set in East Africa (after 2014’s Strange Gods) highlights cultural and social issues. Because the Brits must placate the Arabs if they’re to maintain control within their empire in Africa, Mombasa’s justice system is biased not only in favor of whites but also the city’s large Arab population. Justin Tolliver, an assistant district superintendent with the British East African Police, is forbidden from enforcing Britain’s antislavery laws (with which the Arabs disagree), and is ordered to keep the peace and protect a visiting Egyptian dignitary rather than investigate the murder of an escaped black slave. Justin’s wife, Vera, the outspoken, African-born daughter of a Scottish missionary, refuses to let such discrimination stand and launches her own investigation. The pace is deliberate, but patient readers are rewarded with nuanced subplots and straitlaced Justin’s dawning realization that serving justice isn’t necessarily synonymous with serving “King and Country.” Agent: Adrienne Rosado, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

A white policeman in British East Africa is uneasy with the inequality of the law.Now that Justin Tolliver and his bride, Vera (Strange Gods, 2014, etc.), have returned to Africa from a trip to England, Vera's wild streak continues to strain their marriage. Vera isn't content to stay home and support Justin's profession, and she actually enjoys sex, which both delights and troubles her husband, who still harbors some Victorian attitudes. The couple's arrival in Mombasa, a coastal city where British and Sharia law are in constant conflict, coincides with that of the Grand Mufti of Egypt. Although the British have outlawed slavery, they sometimes turn a blind eye to keep the Muslim rulers happy, and Justin's new boss, District Superintendent of Police Egerton, is desperate to keep anything from marring the occasion. When Majidi, a wealthy Arab slave trader, is murdered, Egerton wants Justin to avoid any possible political problems. But that seems highly unlikely under the circumstances. Vera's missionary father has asked Justin to help the Rev. Robert Morley, who made himself and his sister possible suspects when he quarreled with Majidi over one of his slaves. Justin's sergeant, Kwai Libazo, has fallen in love with a Muslim girl whose sister was forced into prostitution by Majidi; their family wants them dead for the disgrace, so they too have a motive. Justin also has a European suspect: an ivory trader who sold his wares to Majidi and also brought slaves Majidi shipped off to other countries. Egerton would prefer the culprit to be a native African so as not to disturb the white and Arab powers, but Justin is determined to find the killer no matter who it is. The mystery is buried beneath a shoal of red herrings and a colorful but disturbing look at Africa in 1912, home to many problems--slavery, racial inequality, conflicts between Muslim sects--that persist today. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 15, 2016
The Edwardian English, distinctly out of place in East Africa in 1912, with cultural and ideological clashes bristling all around them (along with the Sultan of Zanzibar), are the subject of Alfieri's engrossing history-mystery series starring Vera and Justin Tolliver. This second in the series following Strange Gods (2014) finds the former Vera McIntosh, the daughter of Scottish missionaries, now married to Justin Tolliver, the son of an earl and an assistant superintendent in the British East Africa Police (a hard-hitting sidelight in the story is the way Tolliver is barely tolerated by the British snobs at the Nairobi Club for doing something as low as holding a job). The murder of a runaway slave puts the tensions in the port city of Mombasa into high relief; while the British have officially outlawed slavery, the practice is to look the other way. Alfieri makes the workings of the banned slave trade horrifically clear. She is also especially skilled at bringing readers into the scorching, spice-scented East African landscape.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)