“She was in the business of relationships and she understood that business relationships were not built in emails but in person, with love and affection.”

Genre: Fiction
Pages: 224
Published: April 2019
Rate: 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Synopsis
In Mombasa, Oyunga a young chef involved in a deadly drug cartel is set to marry Lily, his business partner. On the day of his engagement party he meets Marion, a dashing beauty with a warm soul who reminds him of a normal life. He plans to run away with her and leave it all behind. Except there’s one problem, the only door out of the cartel is a coffin.

“She did not believe in innocence or coincidence or fate. She believed things happened because of choices and decisions”

My Take

If you’ve been here a while you know I have a goal of reading more Kenyan Literature as I realised that it is one thing that lacked from my bookshelf. Drug Paradise came highly recommended to me by a few people, and when I saw the cover, I knew I’ll be reading it soon.

Drug Paradise is a fast paced book, action packed from the page go. Kariuki’s writing drew me in and ran with me till the last page. He is fantastic when it came to descriptions, so vivid and real that I could ‘see’ it all in mind. The book has a thrilling plot that had me on edge, asking, what’s next? I absolutely loved it! Set in both Nairobi and Mombasa, the book felt familiar as I could relate to these places.

Speaking of relatable, the characters are fun, interesting with a huge sense of humour and a hint of sarcasm which made the dialogue interesting to read. They have a cinematic feel to them, the characters, that I could really visualise them.
My only issue with the book was the ending, it felt rushed and abrupt, which I didn’t like.

If you’re on the look out for a Kenyan book to add to read, this is one I’d recommend.

What’s the last Kenyan book you read?