Twenty years ago, Ray Campbell was an idealistic, well-intentioned aid worker dedicated to improving life in Lubanda, a newly-independent country in Africa.

There he fell in love with Martine Aubert, a white farmer and native Lubandan.

Her dream for her beloved country conflicted with those wishing to develop it and Ray, unwittingly, put her life in grave danger.

Now Ray works in risk assessment in New York when he is asked to look into the death of a former friend from those earlier times whose body is found in a New York alley. Signs suggest that this is linked to Martine and Ray sees that he can perhaps do something to finally get to know the truth of Martine’s fate, a fate that he brought about in one moment of error.

This book is by an author of many acclaimed crime novels and this title deserves to win an award in its plot, scope and writing.

While the pace is gentle, it grips you with its language and characters and the issues it raises have the ability to keep you thinking for a long time. It is a novel I shall certainly remember.