AustLit

'Lagos has a reputation for being a tough city. Marius, ex-intelligence officer and amateur philosopher, isn't happy about travelling there with Ash, a man he barely knows, the head of an IB school in Lomé. But when things go badly wrong, Marius finds himself drawn into a search for answers. The Lagos police blame the 'Area Boys', but Marius isn't so sure. He knows Ash was worried about a phone call; a call that made him question if he could trust the men who run the school: Dave Gordon, friend and business partner, and George Barnes, registrar. Back in Lomé, it doesn't take Marius long to realize that charismatic, handsome Dave Gordon is not who he pretends to be, and definitely not someone who should be running a school. The problem is, how can Marius unmask a man so careful, so organized and so unscrupulous? And where does justice lie?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'West Africa, 2004. In Togo, Africa's longest serving dictator is determined to hang on to power. Marius, amateur philosopher and jazz enthusiast, has almost forgotten his former life as an intelligence officer. He would much prefer to stay out of politics and drink a few beers at Le Jazz Spot, especially when his friend Louis plays trumpet.

'But late one night Louis is found hacked to death on a lonely beach near Lomé. Is it really a drug deal gone wrong as the gendarmerie claim?

'Finding Louis' killer becomes a race against time as Marius has to draw on all his cunning and experience to stay one step ahead.' (Publication summary)