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Headless in Kita
by
Moussa Konaté
general information | our review | links | about the author
| Title: | Headless in Kita |
| Author: | Moussa Konaté |
| Genre: | Novel |
| Written: | (2015) (Eng. 2026) |
| Length: | 158 pages |
| Original in: | French |
| Availability: | Headless in Kita - UK |
| Headless in Kita - Canada | |
| L'affaire des coupeurs de têtes - Canada | |
| L'affaire des coupeurs de têtes - France |
- French title: L'affaire des coupeurs de têtes
- Translated by Susan Pickford
- First published posthumously in 2015
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Our Assessment:
B : has some appeal, if a bit thin
See our review for fuller assessment.
The complete review's Review:
Headless in Kita brings Inspector Habib -- who features in several earlier novels by Moussa Konaté -- from the capital city of Bamako, where he is stationed, back to his hometown of Kita.
He knows local Captain Dembélé is probably struggling with the case unfolding around him: a series of headless beggars have been found in town -- with their heads not only having been lopped off but missing -- and a figure claiming to be: "the spirit of the ancestors" warning: "Heads will keep rolling until you, our children, begin to respect the pact that binds us".
The framing of the murders leads many of the locals to believe these aren't mere mortal crimes -- making things difficult for Inspector Habib:
Famous and respected he may have been, but this case involved the spirit world. It was beyond his understanding.Local machete-wielding madman Ngaba seems like a likely suspect -- but he has never been violent before, and the crimes seem far too elaborate and the evidence they find suspiciously convenient for him to be responsible. Indeed, Inspector Habib argues:
Only someone familiar with crime novels and films could come up with such a plan. Like you said, it's like a plot from a thriller.A somewhat misguided attempt to draw the killer out, by having an officer pretend to be a beggar -- a plan they did not run by Inspector Habib before putting it into action -- fails, but makes for some suspense. Other suspects emerge -- and one is jailed, only to escape -- but there are several pieces to what's behind it all, and it takes Inspector Habib a while to put it all together.
As Inspector Habib notes: "in most of sub-Saharan Africa, the supernatural still plays a major role in everyday life", and those behind all this take advantage of that in executing their crimes as part of a rather elaborate scheme. Inspector Habib does put it all together -- and fingers and finds those responsible, a denouement that comes with some surprises and a bit of suspense as well.
Alongside the crime, Inspector Habib also deals with being back in his hometown again, visiting family and seeing what has changed since he was last here -- and can't help but voice his disappointment:
I pictured Kita as a place of solidarity and harmony. Sadly, the case has opened my eyes to a different reality. Kita is not the town I once knew. It has been tainted by globalization. Money is king. Money rules the streets of Kita.Unsurprisingly, much of the trouble here comes from outside -- and outsiders.
Headless in Kita is a bit thin, as far as novels go, with Konaté not delving as deep in the events and interactions he presents here -- certainly nowhere near as much as in the fat thrillers that dominate much contemporary mystery-writing. Still, it's a bit more of a shame here, since the local color and conditions would certainly be of more interest to readers. (A glossary does help with the unfamiliar terms.) The crimes, and what's behind them, are reasonably interesting though rather elaborate (and then somewhat easily unspooled by Inspector Habib) -- but, as with everything else about the novel, certainly also something Konaté could have fleshed out more fully. Quite a few of the scenes presenting the investigation are more interesting, revealing how procedure and local attitudes contrast with the more familiar and perhaps expected.
Headless in Kita is a decent enough little mystery, and certainly of interest in the window it opens on a less familiar world -- perhaps already somewhat: "tainted by globalization", but also still very much rooted in old ways and superstitions.
- M.A.Orthofer, 24 August 2026
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Headless in Kita: Reviews:
- ActuaLitté (French)
- Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse (French)
- lelitteraire.com (French)
- Les notes de Grâce M. (French)
- See Index of Mysteries and Thrillers
- Index of books relating to Africa
- See Index of French literature
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Malian author Moussa Konaté lived 1951 to 2013.
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© 2026 the complete review
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