My rating: 4.5

Although “fantasy noir” and “mystery” are good descriptions of the genre of this book, it can also be classified as magic realism - in my opinion.
From Brittanica:

“…chiefly Latin-American narrative strategy that is characterized by the matter-of-fact inclusion of fantastic or mythical elements into seemingly realistic fiction. … Some scholars have posited that magic realism is a natural outcome of postcolonial writing, which must make sense of at least two separate realities—the reality of the conquerors as well as that of the conquered.“

While this story takes place in Africa, the setting is definitely post-colonial, and the magic embedded in the story takes a hard boiled detective story to new heights.

The story is written in first person from the perspective of our intrepid detective, Boubacar. As we follow Bouba’s quest to find out what happened to the bleeding woman who stumbled through his door, we gain a picture of the uneasy peace between colonizer and the colonized. We learn about the history of the place, Boubacar’s personal history, and what drives him.

Pros:

the world-building is top notch - the setting, the history, the culture

the characters are well-fleshed out. It’s easy to gain a sense of who they are.

a wonderful plot - as with any good mystery, it’s a lot of fun following the detective around searching for clues.

excellent writing

Cons:

I have just one little quibbling criticism. In several of the long conversations between two characters, I got lost on which character was talking, and would have to go back to the beginning of the conversation to clarify. This would be easy to fix.

Will I read more of this author? Yes!

Positives: The setting is strong in the specifics - language, politics, history. The fantastical element is unexpected and striking.
Negatives: Scenes change very quickly between chapters, in a way that often feels rushed/confusing. Some scenes feel unfinished; the book, at times, feels more like a particularly well-written outline than a full draft.