The Missing American When American Gordon Tilson joined the Peace Corps in the 1980s, he went to the country of Ghana for his service. There, he met and fell in love with Regina, a Ghanaian woman who became his wife. Regina gave birth to their only child, Derek, after the couple returned together to Washington, DC. Gordon and Regina truly loved each other. Regina established herself within a circle of influential Ghanaians in the DC area, particularly the diplomatic set. Gord

AFRICA’S GREATEST UNSOLVED MURDERS The US has its share of cold cases, unsolved murders, and murder mysteries that have never been cracked, but there’s murder in Africa too. In the last blog, we saw a case from Kenya, East Africa, and before that, South Africa. Now we move to Ghana, West Africa, where the mystery of “The Accra Strangler” went unsolved for years. It might well have permanently become one of Africa’s greatest unsolved murders were it not for a combination of fo

We all know about Nordic Noir, right? It’s a tradition of realistic crime fiction written in a cold, often gray, snowy setting. A group of writers including me has come up with Sunshine Noir, the principle being quality noir crime can take place in the hot countries as well. The brighter the sun, the darker the shadows. As Timothy Hallinan, acclaimed author of King Maybe, says, “Move over, mysteries set in Nordic places. The bright, warm, lush world is a greenhouse for evil.”

Ghana is located on the coast of West Africa. Its southernmost tip, Cape Three Points, is closest to zero than any other world land mass in three aspects: zero latitude (Equator), zero longitude (Greenwich Meridian), and zero sea level. (From gowestafrica.org) In 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan country to gain its independence, from Britain. After topsy-turvy years of one ruinous, incompetent military regime after the next, Ghana transitioned to democratic rule in 19

Looks like it’s hip to be an African writer in 2014, particularly in the diaspora. Publishers are snapping up their books like hotcakes. The Africa Report has an article called Words to live by in 2014 pointing us to how many books are expected in 2014 from the likes of Zakes Mda (Rachel’s Blue); Sarah Lotz (The Three); Teju Cole (Every Day is For the Thief). MUKOMA WA NGUGI (Photo africulture.com) Poet and novelist Mukoma wa Ngugi  (Black Star Nairobi, Nairobi Heat)–who by t