Contemporary Botswana but this is not the land of Mma Ramotswe of The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. This is a dark, tough Botswana of diamond smuggling and corruption, and this stars Assistant Superintendent David Kubu Bengu. I liked him which is good news for he’s going to reappear in several more books. The traditional cultural background is here but this is a modern land where global influences prevail. It’s good.
Comparison: Peter Temple, Colin Cotterill, Matt Rees.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
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Closing date: 02/08/2026
"[An] impressive debut. . . . The intricate plotting, a grisly sense of realism and numerous topical motifs . . . make this a compulsively readable novel." -- Publishers Weekly
A Carrion Death offers a gritty, authentic look at modern-day Africa teeming with poachers, deadly diamond dealers and the aftermath of apartheid.
They found the first body--what the hyena didn't ravage, that is--near a waterhole considered magical by the local people. A string of clues suggests that the victim was murdered and his identity hidden, a mysterious crime tailor-made for Assistant Superintendent David Bengu, nicknamed Kubu (hippopotamus in Setswana) for his ability to trample whatever lies in the path of his objective. Detective Kubu, a clever and resourceful lawman, is determined to rid Botswana of crime and corruption, even if his discoveries following a blood-soaked trail marked by lies and superstition leads him to the most powerful figures in the country: people who would make powerful, dangerous enemies.
A Carrion Death juxtaposes familiar themes of wilderness, superstition, tribal culture and colonialism with the new understandings of Africa's big business and modernity. It is an unforgettable debut.
A Carrion Death features in the following genres: Thriller and Suspense, Crime and Mystery, Debut Books of the Month, eBooks of the Month, Fiction, Recommendations
A Carrion Death is available in Paperback, Hardback
A Carrion Death was written by Michael Stanley and published by Harper Perennial an imprint of HarperCollins
A Carrion Death has 512 pages
Yes it is part of Detective Kubu series
