Kwei Quartey is a distinguished author of mystery, crime, and fiction books. He is best known for his Darko Dawson Mystery series, which features Inspector Darko Dawson, a dedicated family man and a rebel in the office. Quartey was born in Ghana, where he spent his childhood with his Ghanaian father and African American mother, both of whom were lecturers at the University of Ghana. The author's childhood home was filled with hundreds of books, both fiction and nonfiction, which inspired him to write novellas as early as the age of eight or nine. By then, Quartey was certain that he wanted to be an author, but his interests shifted when he was a teenager, and he decided to become a doctor instead.
Quartey's medical career spanned more than 15 years, during which he balanced his writing and medical practice. He would dedicate the early morning hours to writing before beginning each day in his clinic. In 2018, Quartey finally retired from medical practice to become a full-time novelist. Before then, he had already written and published several books, including the Inspector Darko Dawson novels, set in Ghana. These novels include "Wife of the Gods," "Children of the Street," "Murder at Cape Three Points," "Gold of Our Fathers," and "Death by His Grace." Quartey has also written two non-Darko books, "Kamila" and "Death at the Voyager Hotel" (e-book).
In January 2020, Quartey launched a new detective series, the Emma Djan Investigations, with the novel "The Missing American." This novel introduces the first West African female private eye in fiction and was nominated for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best novel, and won the 2021 Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel. The second in the series, "Sleep Well, My Lady," was released on January 12, 2021, and described as "beautifully crafted" by the Washington Post. The third Emma Djan novel, "Last Seen in Lapaz," was released in February 2023, and the fourth, "The Whitewashed Tombs," is expected in 2024. Quartey's works have made the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List in 2009, and the GOG National Book Club voted him Best Male Author in 2010.