Young girls are disappearing around Timbuktu—and a Catholic mission on the city’s edge is terrified that the old slave trade is stirring back to life.
To find the truth, two unlikely allies step in: Stevens, an impulsive American lawyer with a knack for trouble, and Muntaka, a sharp Nigerian judge who sees what others miss. Together, they push into the heart of the city—tracking clues from the heights of the great Sankoré Mosque to the hidden corners of Ahmed’s Café de Timbuktu.
But their search uncovers more than a kidnapping case. It pulls them into a shadowy network of intrigue, echoes of long-buried explorers, and a mystery written into the past—where even the smallest detail could change everything.
Filled with humor, suspense, and the irresistible sense that Africa keeps its own rules, Timbuktu is a fast-moving adventure you won’t want to put down.
About the Author
David Smith was born in the village of Saranac Lake, New York, in the Adirondack Mountains. After graduating from Harvard college and Harvard Law School, he spent eighteen months serving as an advisor to customary courts in West Africa. Since then, Mr. Smith has traveled widely in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where he has been a consultant to the governments of various developing countries. He is now Vice-dean of the Harvard Law School, and lives in Belmont, Massachusetts, with his wife and two children.
