Death of the Mantis

July 4, 2011
Alexander McCall Smith fans interested in a different take on modern-day Botswana will find it in the intriguing third mystery from the team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, who write under the Stanley pseudonym (after 2009's The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu). Khumanego, a Bushman, asks his police detective friend, David "Kubu" Bengu, to intervene to prevent an injustice. Three fellow Bushmen have been charged with the bludgeoning murder of game ranger Tawana Monzo, despite the absence of solid evidence against them. Much to Kubu's satisfaction, his discovery of traces of an unknown other at the crime scene leads to the release of the accused Bushmen from custody. But the gourmand sleuth, who's adjusting to new fatherhood, soon feels less satisfied after another man is beaten to death in a similar manner. The cultural conflict between the Bushmen and their fellow countrymen lends color.

September 1, 2011

A dedicated Botswana detective finds himself in the middle of simmering tensions between police and nomadic Bushmen.

A prologue set in the 1950s reveals a cave atop several desert hills as The Place, where one can meet "the spirits." In the present, rangers Ndoli and Vusi find their colleague Monzo dead in the desert at the bottom of a dry riverbed, a place well out of his bailiwick. The body is surrounded by Bushmen who vault to the top of the suspect list and are arrested. (A few weeks earlier, two University of Botswana students were found dead at a campground, and local gossip blames witchcraft.) Detective Sergeant Phinda Lerako, known to local natives as "Detective Stone Wall," won't listen to educated Bushman Khumanego's warnings against a rush to judgment. So Khumanego appeals to his old friend David "Kubu" Bengu, Lerako's subordinate in the department. The big boss, Mabaku, allows Kubu to investigate as long as he doesn't "stir things up." Unfortunately, evidence leads in a different direction, and the more Kubu follows the real trail, the harder Lerako comes down on him. Monzo's secret mistress provides some key clues, but before Kubu can put all the pieces together, a second, very similar murder raises the stakes and puts the pressure on the usually ebullient detective.

Kubu's third recorded case (The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu, 2009, etc.) is again alive with local color and detail and, refreshingly, offers his fullest mystery plot yet, along with a glossary, maps and a helpful list of characters.

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Starred review from August 1, 2011

When his childhood friend Khumanego, a member of the nomadic first peoples of Botswana, begs for his help, Detective David "Kubu" Bengu (The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu) responds eagerly. A local park ranger has been killed in the Kalahari, and three nomads are being held for the murder. Kubu convinces the local authorities to free the trio, but he wonders what he's missing when a second murder--this one involving a Namibian PI--is discovered in the same region. As the secret lives of the victims are revealed, the variety of possible motives expands at a dizzying pace. Kubu is forced to reevaluate the evidence and make hard choices. VERDICT Impossible to put down, this immensely readable third entry from the duo of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip (who write under their combined first names) delivers the goods. Kubu's painstaking detecting skills make him a sort of Hercule Poirot of the desert. Grimmer than Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe mysteries but not oppressively violent, this series can be recommended to a wide gamut of readers.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2011
The third Detective Kubu mystery (after The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu, 2009) finds the genial Kubu having a hard time adjusting his lifestyle of fine wine and good food to accommodate the arrival of his long-awaited baby girl and the stress on both him and his wife of being new parents. When a murder in the Kalahari is blamed on the three Bushmen who found the body, Kubu is only too happy to take off for a few days to help out his old school friend, now an advocate for the Bushmen. As the investigation progresses, Kubu is drawn deeper into the hot, dangerous, and mysterious Kalahari, chasing a killer and the legendary source of the Namibian diamonds. As in the previous titles, Stanley (a pseudonym for the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip) creates a seamless and complex mystery, replete with the unique atmosphere of modern Botswana. The mystery plot is neatly combined with scenes of Kubu's home life and family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)