Synopsis
'A fantastic debut - the most interesting and richly drawn amateur sleuth I’ve read for year' ANN CLEEVES
'Vivid and engrossing' FRIDAY TURNER
From award-winning author Jeffrey Boakye, Faith's First Case is a sharp, arresting and darkly funny crime novel like no other.
Mother. Cook. Detective?
Faith Amponsah runs the Met Police canteen with an iron fist and zero patience. While she knows exactly how London’s police officers like their lunch, she lives worlds apart from crime. That is, until a shocking kitchen discovery pulls her into its depths . . .
Suddenly at the centre of a robbery, murder and a mysterious disappearance, Faith finds she has a taste for sleuthing. Just another hardworking Ghanaian Auntie, she's used to being overlooked by her bosses, rebellious daughter and mollycoddled son – but being invisible means she sees the clues others miss, the whispers they ignore.
As Faith digs deeper, the case threatens to boil over, hitting terrifyingly close to home. Navigating the city’s murky streets, she’s unearthing dangerous adversaries, painful truths about her loved ones and long-buried secrets from her own past . . .
Faith is used to the heat of the kitchen – but this time, she might just get burned.
Praise for Faith's First Case
'A fantastic debut - the most interesting and richly drawn amateur sleuth I’ve read for years' – Ann Cleeves, the Sunday Times bestselling author of the Vera and Shetland series
'Vivid and engrossing' – Friday Turner, bestselling author of The Country House Murders
‘A detective mystery rich in depth and brilliantly flavoured. Faith's First Case is certainly one to savour’ – Julia Chapman, international bestselling author of the Dales Detective series
'A fully realised debut that announces a distinctive new voice' – Nitin Sawhney, Booker Prize Judge 2024
'Gripping, enjoyable, and moving' – Levi David Addai, BAFTA-winning screenwriter and producer
'A wonderful mix of crime and drama, with vivid, relatable characters - I was hooked from the moment I was introduced to Faith and her shocking discovery!' – Debbie Wiseman OBE
Details
Reviews
“I found Faith’s First Case vivid and engrossing. It’s an intriguing detective story, and a brilliant insight into the vibrant and precarious lives of a whole community. There are twists and turns, shocks and surprises, and glimpses of an alarming and sometimes tragic underworld. Above all I really loved the wonderful central character, Faith, as she faces the many challenges of caring for her family, working, and supporting her friends, with endless determination and courage”Friday Turner, author of the Kindle bestselling The Country House Murders, a Polly Hope Myster
“This is a fantastic debut about family and the stress of living up to community expectation in an unforgiving city. It also has the most interesting and richly drawn amateur sleuth I've read for years”Ann Cleeves, the Sunday Times bestselling author of the Vera and Shetland series
“A detective mystery rich in depth and brilliantly flavoured. Faith's First Case is certainly one to savour”Julia Chapman, international bestselling author of the Dales Detective series
“The writing is clean, rhythmic and rich in sensory detail, from the steam and clatter of the kitchens to the particular silence that falls when four women understand that everything has changed. As a former Booker Prize judge I look for books that combine narrative drive with psychological depth and cultural observation. Faith’s First Case does exactly that. It places Black African British experience at the heart of crime fiction without flattening anyone into a type or a lesson. Faith is tested and we feel the cost. I closed the book feeling both thoroughly entertained and quietly enriched. This is a fully realised debut that announces a distinctive new voice”Nitin Sawhney, Booker Prize Judge 2024
