A Death in the Family

August 17, 2015
The fatal stabbing of David “Kubu” Bengu’s father, Wilmon Bengu, propels Stanley’s engrossing fifth mystery featuring the Botswana police detective (after 2013’s Deadly Harvest). Since Wilmon suffered from dementia and had a limited social life, the murder may have been an indirect attack on Kubu from one of the many enemies he’s made during his years on the force. Banned from participating in the investigation, Kubu is ordered to look into the apparent suicide of Goodman Kunene, the assistant director of the Department of Mines. Kunene’s death may be connected with a Chinese business venture that has caused a rift in the local community between elders who want to maintain the status quo and the younger generation, eager for the job opportunities the new project promises. As always, Stanley (the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip) brings to life a Botswana different from the one familiar to Alexander McCall Smith readers. Agent: Jacques de Spoelberch, J. de S. Associates.

September 15, 2015
Murder hits close to home when the victim is the father of David Kubu Bengu, assistant superintendent of the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department. Although the grieving Kubu is ordered strictly off the case, he can't resist getting involved, for which he earns ever-stricter warnings of suspension or worse. Kubu is assigned, instead, to the more recent death of a senior official in the Department of Mines, which is staged as a suicide but soon deemed a murder. Then a deadly riot ensues in the mining town of Shoshong, where Chinese and American officials are vying for rights to mine uranium, a situation dividing generations: the youth want the mine expansion for its new jobs, while the elders fear destroying their heritage. To the intuitive Kubu, it seems that all of the deaths are linked to mining and a search for something more valuable than uranium. This fifth mystery featuring Detective Kubu is another fast-moving procedural notable for its warm characterizations and vivid sense of place. A natural for fans of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)