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diana_skelton's review against another edition
3.0
"In a few short hours, the girl had come to represent all that was right and all that had gone wrong in America. [...] Politicians are masters of double speak. If the Mayor says that he 'trusts the Chief of Police will do all in his power to ensure that the right thing is done,' to the whites, it means that the Chief won't hesitate to hand a black man if it comes down to it. To the blacks, it means: don't forget who owns the police."
ebonyutley's review
3.0
It was hard to find this story in the midst of all the violence. When I did find it, it wasn’t because of the novel’s wordsmithing, but because of the main character’s development. When he finds himself in Africa, when he finds out why he had to go to Africa, when he finds out what it means to be black, when he finds love, when he finds justice, when he finds himself, the parameters of the story zoom out just a little bit more to reveal a tangled web of other characters obsessed with murder, money, and missions that crosses continents.
I read the book before a trip to the said places and it helped me put black Americans in Africa and the Tutsi genocide and reconciliation in a context that I wouldn’t have had without it. Is it geniusly presented? No. Is it thought-provoking? If you want to think, absolutely.
I read the book before a trip to the said places and it helped me put black Americans in Africa and the Tutsi genocide and reconciliation in a context that I wouldn’t have had without it. Is it geniusly presented? No. Is it thought-provoking? If you want to think, absolutely.
neistein's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
joyful24's review
3.0
this book was refreshing. it was nice to see a glimpse of what life is like in madison, wisconsin-home of an university i once considered attending-juxtaposed to nairoib, kenya. the reality of the genocide in rwanda haunted the story. even though it was not a very dense text there was great substance despit the one typo and the african american character using the word "lift" instead of "elevator."
megatsunami's review
3.0
Interesting thriller centering around a dead girl's body found on the doorstep of a Rwandan humanitarian hero living in the US. An African American detective follows the trail to Kenya and finds a web of intrigue and corruption. There were a lot of dead bodies in this book, and sometimes I had a hard time following the intrigue.
kofoworola's review against another edition
3.0
Nairobi Heat was an enjoyable crime thriller; one of the first (if not the very first) African one I've read. There were quite a few parts that made me go 'really?
dmahanty's review against another edition
3.0
A good quick read. In Wisconsin, a blonde girl is found murdered on the doorstep of an african university professor. Detective Ihmael Fofona follows the case to Kenya and uncovers the roll of the professor in war crimes at Rowanda.