Cassava: starchy tuberous root that can be roasted, boiled, or fried. Tapioca comes from cassava.
Cedi: Ghanaian monetary unit, abbreviated GHS.
Cembonit: Fiber cement material used in building and roofing.
Chaley: familiar and friendly term similar to buddy, pal, bro’, dude, etc.
Chop: eat.
Fante: language and people mainly in the southwestern regions of Ghana.
FPSO: Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading. A floating vessel used by the offshore industry for the processing of hydrocarbons and storage of oil.
Fufu: starchy food such as plantain or cassava pounded and moistened into a soft, glutinous mass.
Ga: Language and people of southeastern Ghana in and around the capital, Accra.
Juju: used loosely to refer to magical beliefs, witchcraft, spells, supernatural powers and the ascribing of such powers to objects (fetishes).
Kelewele: spicy cubes of ripe plantain deep-fried till crispy.
Kenkey: fermented corn meal.
Mbira: a musical instrument in the lamellophone family with staggered lengths of narrow pieces of metal mounted on a wooden soundboard.
Mepaakyew (may-pah-CHEW): please.
Oburoni: White person or more broadly, a Westerner.
Ofaine: Please (Ga).
Paa: very much, too much.
Palava: An argument, or trouble arising from an argument (corruption of palaver, from Portuguese palavra, talk)
Pesewa: 100 pesewas = 1 cedi.
Sakawa: Internet fraud.
Tadi/Taadi: Abbreviated form of Takoradi, third largest city in Ghana (informal).
Tea bread: white bread with a hint of sugar.
Tom Brown: a porridge made from roasted corn flour.
Tro-tro: Van or minivan used for public transportation.
Wee: Marijuana.
Acknowledgments
WHILE WRITING A NOVEL is ultimately a solitary endeavor, an author must often reach out to others for help. In writing this work, I first owe a large debt of gratitude to Well Engineering Supervisor Fraser Lawson of Tullow Oil, Ghana. Without his tireless assistance, I would not have been able to describe the oil rig scenes and related technical details in the novel. Thanks to George Cazenove and Gayheart Mensah of Tullow for giving me the go-ahead to get in touch with Mr. Lawson. It should be noted, however, that the entirely fictional oil company Magnum Oil, its activities, and the fictional operations with government officials in this novel are no reflection whatsoever on Tullow Oil.
I’m grateful to Chief Superintendent James Kofi Abraham of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) in Sekondi-Takoradi for taking time out of his work to explain how police procedures and investigations are organized in his city.
As always, many thanks to my friend Detective Lance Corporal Antwi Boasiako of the Criminal Investigations Department, Accra. He has consistently assisted me in navigating the GPS and making the right contacts.
Rear Admiral Sampa Nuno, Chief of Ghana Naval Staff, helped me with technical aspects of sailing in and navigation of the Gulf of Guinea.
I thank Peter Baah, my driver while in Takoradi, for giving me the benefit of his thorough knowledge of his hometown.
Thanks also to L. Renée Dankerlink for providing me with information on the Roko Frimpong murder case in Ghana, on which some details of this novel were based.
To editor Judy Sternlight, heartfelt thanks are rendered for her perceptiveness and insight. To my Soho Crime editor, Juliet Grames, a big thank you for warmly welcoming Darko Dawson and me to the Soho family.
KWEI QUARTEY
KWEI QUARTEY was raised in Ghana by an African American mother and a Ghanaian father, both of whom were university lecturers. Dr. Quartey practices medicine in Southern California, rising early in the morning to write before going to work. His highly praised first novel, Wife of the Gods, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller.
