The Prancing Jacana

The Prancing Jacana is the story of Caroline Parker, a thirty-something best-selling American author who has just published a detective novel set in Senegal, an Islamic country in West Africa. Problem is, her main character, Police Detective Salif Bampoky, is gay, in a country where homosexuality is universally regarded as an abomination. Caroline, a modern, worldly, independent-minded woman, gladly accepts an invitation to attend a radio interview at the university in Dakar, dragging along her somewhat xenophobic husband, a writer of children’s books. What could go wrong? And why are the U.S. Government and a certain hacker group involved in the affair?

Fast-paced and richly textured, The Prancing Jacana poses serious questions of government overreach and of cultural and religious diversity, but with a light touch. As the vividly-drawn characters struggle to find their way through a labyrinth of perplexing obstacles and perils, they end up transformed and enlightened through a potpourri of improbable yet oddly authentic encounters.

A convoluted, hard-edged John-LeCarré-type spy story tempered with a good dose of Mark Twain humor and irony, The Prancing Jacana will take you on a wild ride through Africa’s most western-oriented country, and leave you glad that you signed up for the trip.