Laurie Thompson: Kennedys Brain [2007] hardback

When archaeologist Louise Cantor's son Henrik is found dead in his flat, she refuses to believe it was suicide. Clues that only a mother could detect lead her to believe something more sinister took place. Henrik had kept many things back from her and she is shocked to learn he had contracted HIV. While looking through his bundles of papers, she discovers he was obsessed with the conspiracy theory that JFK's brain disappeared prior to the autopsy - along with the vital evidence regarding bullet exit wounds. The only lead is a letter and photograph from Henrik's girlfriend in Mozambique. Louise's quest to unravel the mystery surrounding her son's death takes her to Africa; a continent rife with disease, poverty and corruption. Struggling to cope with sickness and the oppressive heat, Louise sees fear in every face, even unexpectedly in the patients at the clinics set up by an American businessman. In "Kennedy's Brain" Mankell confirms his status as a master of suspense, and delivers a timely and riveting thriller which will have readers on the edge of their seats until the very end.