A Carrion Death
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Product Description
Product Description
A stunning debut crime novel set against a backdrop of poachers, witch doctors, diamond smugglers and corruption...
They find the first body near a waterhole considered magical by the local bush people. A string of clues suggests that the victim was murdered and his identity hidden. For Assistant Superintendent David Kubu Bengu, it's obvious from the start that sinister forces are at work. A convivial figure on the surface, Kubu is a clever and resourceful lawman, well-versed in Botswana's deadliest secrets. As he follows a blood-soaked trail he uncovers a chain of crimes linked to the most powerful figures in the country - influential enemies who will stop at nothing to remove those who stand in their way...
They find the first body near a waterhole considered magical by the local bush people. A string of clues suggests that the victim was murdered and his identity hidden. For Assistant Superintendent David Kubu Bengu, it's obvious from the start that sinister forces are at work. A convivial figure on the surface, Kubu is a clever and resourceful lawman, well-versed in Botswana's deadliest secrets. As he follows a blood-soaked trail he uncovers a chain of crimes linked to the most powerful figures in the country - influential enemies who will stop at nothing to remove those who stand in their way...
About the Author
Michael Stanley is the writing team of native Africans Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip. The two friends have had many adventures together, including tracking lions at night, fighting bush fires on the Savuti plains in northern Botswana, surviving a charging elephant and losing their navigation maps while flying over the Kalahari. Michael Sears lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. Stanley Trollip divides his time between South Africa and Minneapolis, MN. For more information visit www.detectivekubu.com.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
If you like the 'Bony' novels of Arthur Upfield or the 'Chee' books by Tony Hillerman - try this. I took this book to Botswana for a riding safari so I could have done with a little more background on the country in this book. But as a good read, with a happy detective it was refreshing.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Alexander McCall-Smith's No. 1 Detective Agency introduced us to a delightfully fresh setting for crime stories, namely Botswana. His well-known work, featuring the much-loved Mma Ramotswe is a rollicking string of morality tales imbued with good humour and an African charm uniquely its own. But his stories can be seen as deflecting from the true nature of crime, hankering instead after an Africa that's more nostalgia than reality.
Not so Michael Stanley's A Carrion Death.
The novel begins with two game wardens that discover human remains near a waterhole on the edge of the Kalahari. There's not much left of it, just scraps of hair and bone, most of it devoured by scavengers. At first it's suspected that the body belongs to a poacher, then a tourist who'd wandered off into the night. But when Senior Superintendent David "Kubu" Bengu of Botswana's Criminal Investigation Department arrives on the scene, it's cleverly established that not only was the body purposefully dumped there, persons unknown have conspired to hide the fact that the country's most powerful corporation, the Botswana Cattle and Mining Company, is somehow involved. Not long after, Detective Kubu is probing into ancient rituals performed at the site by witch doctors, diamond smuggling that works its way around the Kimberly Process, and corruption at the highest level.
And all the while the death toll keeps spinning like a seven aces jackpot.
Kubu surely is the centrepiece of Michael Stanley's work. His nickname meaning hippopotamus, he's as huge as he's smart, as garrulous and easy-going as he's incisive and determined. While the investigation is quite bloody - there's a scene where one of the killers breaks a sweat trying to snap a corpse's arm on the edge of a bath - Kubu's joyful life seems to counterbalance the brutality.
Unlike the majority of deeply flawed crime fiction detectives out there, Kubu's greatest vice is food taken with a lovely Chardonnay. He's so thoroughly normal compared to the genre's other characters that he comes out looking unusual and refreshing, which is why one can see a good many readers taking a shine to this series.
As a debut novel A Carrion Death holds its own. The fact that it steadily fought its way to the LA Times bestseller list is testament to this. But in places the novel does slow to a snail's pace before picking up again. Also, there are a number of shifts in time in the first acts, not only changing from past to present tense to explore one sub-plot, but moving backwards and forwards over a six week period, to fill in the gaps around the evil mastermind's motivations. It all comes together in the last act, but one has to question whether this cross-cutting adds to the novel.
A Carrion Death is a strong beginning to what will no doubt turn out to be a fun series. A Deadly Trade, Michael Stanley' second novel, has just come out, and will be reviewed later in this blog. Watch out for it.
Read it if you're looking for a story set in a fabulously rich setting that's unusual and new. Read it if you are the type of reader who is happy to digest larger sections of back story and character development. And definitely read it, if you're on the look-out for a crime series that's a little more light-hearted and warm than the usual stash of noir.
Not so Michael Stanley's A Carrion Death.
The novel begins with two game wardens that discover human remains near a waterhole on the edge of the Kalahari. There's not much left of it, just scraps of hair and bone, most of it devoured by scavengers. At first it's suspected that the body belongs to a poacher, then a tourist who'd wandered off into the night. But when Senior Superintendent David "Kubu" Bengu of Botswana's Criminal Investigation Department arrives on the scene, it's cleverly established that not only was the body purposefully dumped there, persons unknown have conspired to hide the fact that the country's most powerful corporation, the Botswana Cattle and Mining Company, is somehow involved. Not long after, Detective Kubu is probing into ancient rituals performed at the site by witch doctors, diamond smuggling that works its way around the Kimberly Process, and corruption at the highest level.
And all the while the death toll keeps spinning like a seven aces jackpot.
Kubu surely is the centrepiece of Michael Stanley's work. His nickname meaning hippopotamus, he's as huge as he's smart, as garrulous and easy-going as he's incisive and determined. While the investigation is quite bloody - there's a scene where one of the killers breaks a sweat trying to snap a corpse's arm on the edge of a bath - Kubu's joyful life seems to counterbalance the brutality.
Unlike the majority of deeply flawed crime fiction detectives out there, Kubu's greatest vice is food taken with a lovely Chardonnay. He's so thoroughly normal compared to the genre's other characters that he comes out looking unusual and refreshing, which is why one can see a good many readers taking a shine to this series.
As a debut novel A Carrion Death holds its own. The fact that it steadily fought its way to the LA Times bestseller list is testament to this. But in places the novel does slow to a snail's pace before picking up again. Also, there are a number of shifts in time in the first acts, not only changing from past to present tense to explore one sub-plot, but moving backwards and forwards over a six week period, to fill in the gaps around the evil mastermind's motivations. It all comes together in the last act, but one has to question whether this cross-cutting adds to the novel.
A Carrion Death is a strong beginning to what will no doubt turn out to be a fun series. A Deadly Trade, Michael Stanley' second novel, has just come out, and will be reviewed later in this blog. Watch out for it.
Read it if you're looking for a story set in a fabulously rich setting that's unusual and new. Read it if you are the type of reader who is happy to digest larger sections of back story and character development. And definitely read it, if you're on the look-out for a crime series that's a little more light-hearted and warm than the usual stash of noir.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A CARRION DEATH is a rip-roaring read. Set in Botswana, the main character is Assistant Superintendent David "Kubu" Bengu. He's a very large man (hence the nickname, which means "hippo") who loves opera and is happy to be under the thumb of his lovely wife Joy and be the dutiful son to his elderly, traditional parents. The action begins when a body is discovered in the desert. The victim has been almost completely eaten by hyenas, but some scientists on a local field trip stumble across the remains before they vanish for good.
Kubu is called to the scene, and immediately suspects that the dead man was murdered, a suspicion that is soon confirmed by the pathologist. We quickly see that as well as being an engaging man, Kubu is keenly intelligent, intuitive and determined. His investigation into the identity of the body takes him to the heart of the Botswana Cattle and Mining Company, run by the somewhat unpleasant-seeming Cecil Hofmeyr.
The action switches to six weeks earlier. We learn that Cecil has been chairman and chief executive of the company since the death of his brother in an air crash about fifteen years ago. Family tensions are running high, because Dianna and Angus, Cecil's twin niece and nephew, are due to inherit their dead father's lion's share of the company on their thirtieth birthdays in a few days' time. Cecil is clearly up to some dodgy deals involving investing company money in a personal venture, a diamond mine, and is keen for the twins not to discover his activities. His machinations infuriate Dianna, who is highly qualified in economics and has a big chip on her shoulder because her father always preferred her playboy brother Angus as his heir to the business. Kubu is an old school friend of Angus, and the two men are pleased to be briefly reunited at the twins' birthday celebrations. Also at the party is Kubu's boss Jacob Makabu, a golfing friend of Cecil's.
After a couple of these temporal digressions, we return to the murder investigation, and Kubu's increasing awareness that the diamond mine is a focus of the mystery. One of its geologists, Aron Frankental, has disappeared after writing to Cecil about his suspicions about the diamonds being mined. His letter is stolen from Cecil's office, but after reporting the fact, Cecil is strangely reluctant for the police to pursue the matter. To add to the complexity, Dianna is having an affair with the mine's manager and Cecil's co-investor, Jason Ferraz, who has his own agenda.
The story continues with great verve, and the pace never flags as more complexities are added to the mix. Kubu is good at turning up leads, but witnesses and suspects disappear - each time he comes up with a hypotheses, an inconsistency renders it impossible or someone is attacked and put out of the running. He is also slightly suspicious of his boss, who is friends with Cecil and who has to keep in with his political superiors: what support will Kubu receive if these influential people turn out to be in the frame?
A CARRION DEATH is very long, but it is a great read. It is full of action and adventure, yet very strong on characterisation. The identity of the villain and the motivation for the crime are obvious very early on, so most of the satisfaction in the plot involves working out the details of how the various aspects fit together.
Kubu is called to the scene, and immediately suspects that the dead man was murdered, a suspicion that is soon confirmed by the pathologist. We quickly see that as well as being an engaging man, Kubu is keenly intelligent, intuitive and determined. His investigation into the identity of the body takes him to the heart of the Botswana Cattle and Mining Company, run by the somewhat unpleasant-seeming Cecil Hofmeyr.
The action switches to six weeks earlier. We learn that Cecil has been chairman and chief executive of the company since the death of his brother in an air crash about fifteen years ago. Family tensions are running high, because Dianna and Angus, Cecil's twin niece and nephew, are due to inherit their dead father's lion's share of the company on their thirtieth birthdays in a few days' time. Cecil is clearly up to some dodgy deals involving investing company money in a personal venture, a diamond mine, and is keen for the twins not to discover his activities. His machinations infuriate Dianna, who is highly qualified in economics and has a big chip on her shoulder because her father always preferred her playboy brother Angus as his heir to the business. Kubu is an old school friend of Angus, and the two men are pleased to be briefly reunited at the twins' birthday celebrations. Also at the party is Kubu's boss Jacob Makabu, a golfing friend of Cecil's.
After a couple of these temporal digressions, we return to the murder investigation, and Kubu's increasing awareness that the diamond mine is a focus of the mystery. One of its geologists, Aron Frankental, has disappeared after writing to Cecil about his suspicions about the diamonds being mined. His letter is stolen from Cecil's office, but after reporting the fact, Cecil is strangely reluctant for the police to pursue the matter. To add to the complexity, Dianna is having an affair with the mine's manager and Cecil's co-investor, Jason Ferraz, who has his own agenda.
The story continues with great verve, and the pace never flags as more complexities are added to the mix. Kubu is good at turning up leads, but witnesses and suspects disappear - each time he comes up with a hypotheses, an inconsistency renders it impossible or someone is attacked and put out of the running. He is also slightly suspicious of his boss, who is friends with Cecil and who has to keep in with his political superiors: what support will Kubu receive if these influential people turn out to be in the frame?
A CARRION DEATH is very long, but it is a great read. It is full of action and adventure, yet very strong on characterisation. The identity of the villain and the motivation for the crime are obvious very early on, so most of the satisfaction in the plot involves working out the details of how the various aspects fit together.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Loved it
Its a kind of more in depth, grown up version of Mr McCall Smiths Speedy Motors series - I was kept entertained, not only by the plot, which does keep one guessing, but by the... Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2010 by pigsmayfly
A Carrion Death
Huge range of characters from the benign to the malevolent, the story twists and turns to the end. Gives the reader an excellent insight to many aspects of life in Southern Africa. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2009 by Mr. Roderick G. Whyte
A great thriller, lovely characters
I loved this! A great thriller, set in a beautiful and dangerous place. It is written by two people Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip who are native Africans from South Africa. Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2009 by Louiseog
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