In another excellent item in the Washington Post Book Review, Richard Lipez reviews Philip Weiss's real-life murder mystery about the Peace Corps, A Killer Among Us. Set in Tonga, in 1975, the story sounds so incredible, it must be true. A sample quote:
"Tongans were, if anything, far more inclined to find American customs and morality unfathomable in the immediate aftermath of Gardner's murder. The Peace Corps seemed to care more about Priven than his victim, or her friends, or her confused and distraught family back in the United States. Peace Corps volunteers have no diplomatic immunity, and the local authorities wanted to follow Tongan law, which meant putting Priven to trial under their jurisdiction and either imprisoning or hanging him. The Peace Corps, suddenly not so respectful of local customs, just wanted to get Priven out of the hands of these backward Third Worlders..."
You can buy the book here.
