Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Deadly Harvest: A Detective Kubu Mystery by Michael Stanley

Detective Kubu is back and on the trail of a witch doctor this time.

Harper Paperbacks and Edelweiss allowed me download an ebook of this story (thank you).  It was published April 10th, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

This mystery is set in Botswana, and the pace there is a bit more laid back than in the states.  Many people are poor, AIDS is prevalent, and superstitions abound.  Kubu is a bit unusual because he cares about his cases.  He's methodical, thinks about them carefully and is determined to solve them.  In this case, however, he's looking for an invisible man...

To add to his concerns, a young woman constable has been added to the staff and she is investigating missing persons.  She has a personal interest in this as someone in her life went missing long ago.  When she begins to search for a missing young girl, she finds the police haven't done much of a search.  As she asks questions, she begins to wonder if the girl's body might have been used by a witch doctor to give his followers power in the form of "muti".  Kubu isn't sure how he feels about this.

Then another girl goes missing and her father loses control and kills a man.  Kubu is investigating that case and finds the politician had "muti" in his drawer and that was probably why he got elected.   Maybe this idea isn't so far off the wall after all.

Then an albino goes missing...

The author managed to keep me wondering who the murder could be.  He was always disguised by a mask and animal skin.  No one who talked to him knew who he was.  It's important for Kubu to figure out who he is before he becomes one of the victims.

Africa is a different county and I enjoyed learning about the culture and environment as much I enjoyed the mystery.  

Why don't you settle into a comfortable chair and follow Kubu on his quest to solve this mystery?

Happy reading.    

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