December 20, 2010
Rarely have good intentions wrought more disastrous results than in this captivating Belgian Congo adventure, by turns comic and suspenseful, a worthy sequel to its predecessor, The Witch Doctor's Wife (2009). In October 1958, reports of a white girl living among the Bashilele tribe of headhunters shock young American missionary Amanda Brown; her dashing police captain suitor, Pierre Jardin; her conniving maid, Cripple; and the rest of the diamond-mining outpost of Belle Vue. Could the self-possessed teen known as "Ugly Eyes" be the same Belgian who vanished from the community as an infant 13 years earlier? In any case, what should become of her? Answering these questions proves unexpectedly complex as well as surprisingly dangerous. Myers (Butter Safe than Sorry and 17 other Pennsylvania Dutch mysteries) spins an engagingly devious yarn, but what truly elevates this effort is the warmth with which she evokes the now-vanished Congo where she spent much of her childhood.
December 15, 2010
The closer the Belgian Congo comes to independence in 1958, the more dangerous it becomes for the white population.
Young missionary Amanda Brown, who runs the guesthouse overlooking the spectacular falls in the mining town of Belle Vue, is doing penance for her role in a fatal car accident in her South Carolina hometown. Back in 1945, a white baby girl had vanished from her home. The mysterious Mastermind planned to hold her for ransom until his plans went awry when the baby was taken by a young Bashilele boy. Raised in the tribe, the Headhunter's Daughter has grown almost to marriageable age when her existence becomes known, and she's taken along with her native father back to the guesthouse by Amanda and Pierre Jardin, a dashing police captain in love with Amanda. Amanda's servant Cripple, along as a translator, realizes that great difficulties will face the Bashilele-raised child in white society. The townspeople are agog over the new arrival, who has not the slightest idea of how to live as a white person. When the Mastermind revives the kidnapping plan, the headhunter vanishes, and long-buried secrets come out before Cripple takes matters in hand.
The second in Myers' new series (The Witch Doctor's Wife, 2009) hides the Mastermind's identity well. But it's best read for the evocative descriptions of life in the Congo, where the author grew up, and the skillful portrayal of the vast disconnect between the white and black inhabitants.
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February 15, 2011
Drawing on her experiences from childhood, when she lived with her missionary parents deep in Belgian Congo, Myers has fashioned a charming mystery series very much in the vein of Alexander McCall Smiths No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. In this second adventure (following The Witch Doctors Wife, 2009), it is 1958, and word has reached the mission station that a white girl (not an albino) is living with an isolated tribe of headhunters. Could this be the baby girl who disappeared from her carriage 13 years previously? Missionary Amanda Brown sets out with lifelong Congo dweller Captain Pierre and her maid, Cripple, to locate the girl and return her to her rightful people. Thick with atmosphere, the novel is a gentle read, yet Myers does not hesitate to acknowledge the simmering racial tensions that plagued all levels of Congolese society in the last few years before independence. An excellent choice for book groups.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)