Deadly Harvest: A Detective Kubu Mystery (Detective Kubu Mysteries)
This popular whodunit series created by the South African writing team of Stanley Trollip and Michael Sears shares its Botswana backdrop with McCall Smith&#x2019;s Mma Ramotswe mysteries, though the similarities between the two largely end there. These darker, grittier entries featuring the portly and perceptive Detective Kubu blend intricate plotting and a compelling cast. In this fourth offering (after Death of the Mantis,2011), Detective Kubu and new recruit Samantha (the first woman on the Botswana police force) investigate the disappearance of two young girls they fear were killed for a muti, a traditional African medicine rendered by witch doctors. (Though muti typically contains animal and plant parts, the two detectives suspect that the powerful potions in question have human remains.) Meanwhile, the father of one of the missing girls pegs a prickly politician as his daughter&#x2019;s abductor and seeks immediate&#x2014;and deadly&#x2014;revenge. Though the cat-and-mouse chase that ensues propels the novel ever forward, Stanley also peppers the tale with richly detailed descriptions of Botswana and the spirited lives of its citizens. --Allison Block