Playing a Dangerous Game, Patrick Ochieng
Playing a Dangerous Game, Patrick Ochieng
List: $12.99 | Sale: $9.10
Club: $6.49

Playing a Dangerous Game

Author: Patrick Ochieng

Narrator: Tony Tambi

Unabridged: 4 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 08/17/2021


Synopsis

“The further one stays from that evil house, the better.”

Everyone in Lumush’s Nairobi neighborhood knows to stay away from the house on Desai Street. A family died there, and now the place is haunted by strange noises and ghosts in the night.

Lumush and his friends, Dado, Mose, and Odush, who spend their free time hanging out by the wreck of an old Zephyr car near the railway yards, begin sneaking into the old house on Desai Street in search of adventure. They soon
realize that it’s not ghosts they have to fear but Mwachuma, the malevolent owner of the town junkyard who has his own reputation for violence.

Meanwhile, Lumush’s father gets a promotion at work and Lumush is forced to attend the private (and wealthy) Hill School, where he feels woefully out of place. Seizing every chance to get together, the boys devote themselves to uncovering
what Mwachuma is up to at the house. As the boys dig deeper, strange and horrific deaths in town come to light, and they are certain he is behind them. But Mwachuma has a secret to protect at any cost, and when Lumush and his friends
are drawn further into the mystery, they face a mounting danger that they may not overcome.

With propulsive and sharp storytelling, Patrick Ochieng’s rich coming-of-age novel smartly and humorously explores class, friendship, and corruption against the backdrop of 1970s Kenya.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lulu on March 20, 2023

This was a quick, entertaining read. Definitely reminiscent of Ali Cross and his buddies solving a crime. I wouldn’t mind reading more by this author.......more

Goodreads review by Gus on August 08, 2022

Some problems with pacing, but a good plot nonetheless.......more

Goodreads review by Nancy on November 29, 2021

Read this with my 14yo daughter. It felt like a series of vignettes involving these boys. It was a bit of a surprise at the end to have a story come out of the various pieces. What I liked: It did what I love best about historical fiction: it taught me about different times and different places. I ca......more

Goodreads review by Sooz on November 20, 2021

Thanks to Goodreads for this book won in a giveaway! This book is set in 1970’s Kenya and circles around 4 friends. They live in the same area as each other and meet everyday at a broken down car. They become interested in a house the whole area believes is haunted. So they investigate! I liked the......more

Goodreads review by B on January 30, 2022

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. On the one hand I truly enjoyed reading this book and getting an insight into the life of a group of young friends who sometimes struggled to grow up in Kenya in the 1970's. What their lives were like and the challenges they faced (for them and their families)......more