Instruments of Darkness

‘First in a field of one’ (Literary Review) Robert Wilson’s first novel, a tense and powerful thriller set in the sultry heat of West Africa

Benin, West Africa. Englishman Bruce Medway operates as a ‘fixer’ for traders along the part of the coast they used to call the White Man’s Grave. It’s a tough existence, but Medway can handle it… until he crosses the formidable Madame Severnou. Warned off by his client, Jack Obuasi, his energies are redirected into the search for missing expat Steven Kershaw. Kershaw, though, is a man of mystery: trader, artist, womanizer… and sado-masochist.

Against background rumblings of political disturbance, in the face of official corruption, egged on by an enigmatic policeman, Medway pursues his elusive quarry across West Africa. Is Kershaw tied to Obuasi’s and Madame Severnou’s shady dealings? Is he a vicious murderer? Is he, indeed, alive or dead?

Reviews

‘Unmissable… Unflinchingly imagined and executed. No hint of competition’ Literary Review

‘A class act’ Sunday Times

‘An atmospheric and absorbing debut, Instruments of Darkness vividly paints a credible picture of a world I know almost nothing about. Now I feel I’ve been there’ Val McDermid

About the author

Robert Wilson spent several years in West Africa and draws on this experience in his novels. He and his wife now live in Portugal.