Instruments of Darkness [Paperback]

This series is set in West Africa on the Gulf Of Guinea and in countries stretching from Ivory Coast to New Guinea. Mr. Wilson writes both with authority and with great authenticity as he has traveled and worked in this region just as he has in the countries that populate his newer works. Here there are common characters and while it is not critical I would recommend reading the works in the order they were issued. They all can stand alone but benefit from being read as a cycle.

It took some time for me to get comfortable with the prose and cadence of these books as they are written in a very different style from the others I have read. They may remind you too of those movies where a woman wanders in to the office of a private eye and tells her sad tale while a voice narrates the story you are watching. The prose is saturated with elaborate and lush metaphor that initially seems a bit strident but eventually becomes comfortable to read once a bit of time has been invested.

These are very different from Mr. Wilson's other novels but if you are interested in the early work of this very talented author, I recommend these books without reservation with the exceptions I noted at the beginning of these comments.

Completing a shipping deal at the docks, one that involves transporting rice across state borders illegally, Medway incurs the wrath of the infamous Madame Severnou when he unknowingly conducts the transaction contrary to her wishes. The well-connected woman sends her armed goons on a midnight visit to teach Medway a lesson. Luckily, he is one step ahead of the game and anticipates the attack.

The next morning, Medway is hired to find a missing person, Stephen Kershaw, perhaps to draw his attention from the real implications of the Severnou deal. Kershaw has disappeared, leaving a dead woman behind. In the course of his investigation, and tangentially the murder, Medway meets one of the series' most endearing characters, the noble Inspector Bogado. A wily and subtle police detective, Bogado proves indispensable to Medway, in this novel and future works. His solemn physiognomy a familiar presence, Bogado offers his intelligent perspective and enduring friendship, often appearing just in the nick of time. Medway and Bagado sift through clues and half-truths, searching for answers to complex and intertwining mysteries with improbable solutions.

Medway is involved with some hard-drinking expats who walk the thin edge of the law. In the murky business affairs of West Africa, expediency is the bottom line. From Medway's first deal, moving rice into Nigeria, to the second, searching for a man who turns up dead, the situations become more convoluted and dangerous, involving illegal drug shipments, murder and police corruption. The cast ranges from wealthy entrepreneurs to hustlers, muscle men and beautiful women posing as art exporters, party girls and/or spies. To further complicate things, there is increasing political unrest, as the age of the dictator passes and the people anticipate a democracy, not anticipating the ensuing chaos and violence that comes with the changing of the guards.

In this first endeavor, establishing the Medway series and the characters that will populate the other suspense/mysteries, Wilson carefully lays the groundwork for an interesting character, a man who finds himself embroiled in a variety of schemes with nefarious characters that take all his skills to survive. With the help of the intrepid Inspector Bogado, Medway not only emerges in one piece, but the author paints a fascinating portrait of life in a part of the world filled with violence, imminent danger and political uncertainty. The next Medway adventure, The Big Killing, ratchets up the action even more, offering another series of adventures to test Medway's mettle. Wilson pens a mystery/adventure novel that is virtually impossible to put down, a great read. This is a quality of writing that leaves the reader begging for more. Luan Gaines/2004.