Death of the Mantis: A Detective Kubu Mystery - Paperback

by Michael Stanley (Author)

"The best book yet in one of the best series going: a serious novel with a mystery at its core that takes us places we've never been." --Timothy Hallinan, author of The Queen of Patpong

Death of the Mantis is the third Kubu novel from author Michael Stanley--following the critically acclaimed A Carrion Death and The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu--and it plunges the robust manhunter into the chaotic center of a murder case involving a ranger found dead in a ravine, surrounded by three nomads, that is stoking the fires of prejudice and hatred. When the local police arrest them, Kubu's friend Khumanego insists that the arrest was motivated by racist antagonism, and Kubu must decide how to solve the emotionally charged case.

Set in Botswana--the fascinating equatorial country also explored by Alexander McCall Smith in his #1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels--Death of the Mantis is a book alive with the sights and sounds of a breathtaking land. The exploits of Stanley's singularly captivating policeman protagonist will delight you and keep you guessing.

Front Jacket

In the southern Kalahari area of Botswana--an arid landscape of legends that speak of lost cities, hidden wealth, and ancient gods--a fractious ranger named Monzo is found dying from a severe head wound in a dry ravine. Three Bushmen surround the doomed man, but are they his killers or there to help? Detective David "Kubu" Bengu is on the case, an investigation that his old school friend Khumanego claims is motivated by racist antagonism on the part of the local police. But when a second bizarre murder, and then a third, seem to point also to the nomadic tribe, the intrepid Kubu must journey into the depths of the Kalahari to uncover the truth. What he discovers there will test all his powers of detection . . . and his ability to remain alive.

Back Jacket

In the southern Kalahari area of Botswana--an arid landscape of legends that speak of lost cities, hidden wealth, and ancient gods--a fractious ranger named Monzo is found dying from a severe head wound in a dry ravine. Three Bushmen surround the doomed man, but are they his killers or there to help? Detective David "Kubu" Bengu is on the case, an investigation that his old school friend Khumanego claims is motivated by racist antagonism on the part of the local police. But when a second bizarre murder, and then a third, seem to point also to the nomadic tribe, the intrepid Kubu must journey into the depths of the Kalahari to uncover the truth. What he discovers there will test all his powers of detection . . . and his ability to remain alive.