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Elspeth (Josceline Grant) Huxley |
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Elspeth Huxley draws on her knowledge of Africa--the cultural, racial, and social milieus, the unique physical setting, the wildlife, and the tribal and political complexities--to weave Anglo-African detective stories. They are characterized by many of the traditional detective conventions: a murder timetable (who was doing what, when, where), clues (fingerprints, cigarette butts, missing letters, a shot that wasn't heard, bullets, film, mileage), telephone dialing tricks, double shots, multiple suspects, a good many red herrings, and a careful detective who makes intuitive leaps but is at times tied down by interfering political superiors seeking to cover up scandal. However, these mysteries are unique in the scope of the investigation, for Huxley continually points out the potential diversity and richness of crime in Africa, where every plant can be poison, witchcraft has its own secrets and power, and intertribal and interracial conflicts provide a culture from which murder can grow. To the universal motives of jealousy, ambition, blackmail, and greed, Huxley adds the immensely diverse range of African motives, which include fear of sorcery, fear of exposure of one's secret organization, and internecine relationships dependent on tribal ties.
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