A Death in the Family by Michael Stanley

A Death in the Family: A Detective Kubu Mystery by Michael Stanley --- 359 pages

Not quite a cozy and not quite a police procedural, the Detective Kubu mystery series presents a less idealized, slightly grittier version of life in contemporary Botswana, a small, arid country bordering South Africa, than that found in Alexander McCall Smith's better known No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series.

In this the fifth book of the Kubu Series, Assistant Superintendent David "Kubu" Bengu of the Botswana Police, is shocked by the senseless murder of his own elderly father, a man of upright character, well-respected by his neighbors, and suffering from the early stages of dementia.  What's even worse is that Kubu, the best detective on the Force, has been forbidden to participate in the investigation.  But driven by grief and stubbornness, Kubu attempts to snoop around behind his boss's back.

When another inexplicable murder occurs --- an official in the Department of Mines --- Kubu's boss sets him on that case. It looks like suicide, but Kubu quickly discovers this suicide looks highly suspicious.  Then an American mining consultant who was a friend of the victim is attacked by a knife-wielding assailant. Kubu is convinced that all three crimes are linked and have to do with a proposal to expand a Chinese uranium mining concession near the historically important town of Shoshong.

To keep Kubu from compromising the investigations by his obsession with finding his father's killer, his boss sends him to represent Botswana at an international police conference in New York City in the middle of winter. Kubu's close encounter with the Big Apple provides some comic relief and yet another opportunity to meddle with the investigation.

Of course it takes Kubu's superior instincts to pull together all the various threads and find the solution, but not before a riot is engineered in order to cover up another murder.

Click HERE to read the review from Publisher's Weekly.

Click HERE to read the review from The Strand Magazine.

Click  HERE to read the review from Book Reporter.

Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley

Death of the Mantis: A Detective Kubu Mystery by Michael Stanley --- 430 pages

Third in the series of police thrillers set in Botswana by Johannesburg natives Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, featuring Assistant Superintendent David "Kubu" Bengu of the Botswana Criminal Investigation Division.

When an obnoxious employee at the Mabuasehube Ranger Station goes missing and eventually turns up dead with a broken skull at the bottom of a steep ravine in the Kalahari wasteland, nobody is particularly sorry --- Monzo was a man who seemed to go out of his way to antagonize everyone who had to deal with him. Initially the death was assumed to be an accident, the fatal result of a moment's carelessness in an unforgiving environment. But when the local police accuse three Bushmen of murdering Monzo, Kubu is drawn unwillingly into the investigation by his childhood friend, Khumanego. Khumanego is an advocate for the Bushmen people, the small indigenous nomads who have roamed the arid Kalahari for centuries, and he insists that the murder accusation is motivated by racial prejudice. And it is true that there is a well-documented history of racism and oppression in the dealings between the Swetsana people and the Bushmen.

Furthermore, this is definitely not a time that Kubu wants to be away from home and his wife, Joy and their brand new baby daughter, Tumi. Kubu is aggravated to find that his initial investigation indicates that the local police show no inclination to look beyond their first assumptions. He quickly gathers enough evidence to cast doubt on the case and force the police to release the Bushmen from police custody. But this is not enough to clear them of suspicion; so he faces the challenge of finding out what really happened.

When a second, then a third, equally bizarre murders occur, also linked to the Kalahari and implicating Bushmen, Kubu is more than ever convinced that something hidden in the desert is at the root of these strange deaths. The only way to find the truth is to pursue it into the savage wasteland himself. What Kubu discovers there will test all of his assumptions --- and his ability to survive.

 

Deadly Harvest by Michael Stanley

Deadly Harvest: A Detective Kubu Mystery, Introducing  Detective Samantha Khama by Michael Stanley --- 477 pages

The fourth in an intriguing series of police thrillers set in contemporary Botswana. Assistant Superintendent David "Kubu" Bengu of the Botswana CID is investigating the murder of a young and charismatic politician. Detective Samantha Khama, newly assigned as the first female CID officer, is looking into two "cold" cases involving the disappearance of young girls walking home from school. The two investigations intersect when evidence suggests the father of one of the missing girls may be the killer who attacked the politician. But why? Samantha is convinced the girls were abducted and murdered for muti --- powerful talismans prepared and sold by
witch doctors feared for their dark magic, trading on ancient superstitions still lingering at the roots of modern Botswanan society. As Kubu and Samantha follow the leads in their cases, they realize that a dangerous and malevolent witch doctor is operating in Botswana, and his fell influence has penetrated the upper echelons of the national police.

This is a grittier picture of Botswana than that found in Alexander McCall Smith's Number One Ladies Detective Agency books, but at least some fans of that cozy series may also enjoy these murder mysteries, particularly the good-natured Kubu with his fondness for opera, good food, and family.

"Michael Stanley" is the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip