enjoyable story-likable character-exotic setting-look forward to others in the series ( )

I like this series--kind of the cozy mystery genre, if cozies could be set in Botswana. ( )

So far this is an intriguing mystery, but readers should be aware it's somewhat explicit. Not necessarily for Alexander McCall Smith readers (although I am one of those too). ( )

Detective Kabu Benga of the Botswana CID is called on the case when a human body is found in the Kalahari. The case leads to more murders and complexity that reaches to high levels in the local diamond company. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, another surprise was around the corner.

I really liked this book - beginning with the detective whose nickname, Kabu, means hippo. He's overweight, loves opera, good food, and wine. He's also smart. I liked him immediately. The chapters are short making the book easy to read if you're busy and have to stop reading. This would have been a 5 star read but the ending was slightly dissatisfying. I'd read another book though just because of Kabu! ( )

Audiobook performed Simon Prebble

Kalahari game rangers spot circling vultures, and always on the lookout for poaching activity they go to investigate. They find a human corpse, mostly eaten by hyenas, the remains scattered in the area. There are several unusual things about this body – most poachers are black, and this person was white; the deceased was also naked; and his/her teeth had all been knocked out and one forearm was missing. There have been no reports of any missing tourists or residents. Detective David “Kubu” Bengu of the Botswana CID is called in to investigate. He soon uncovers clues and additional crimes which all revolve around the powerful Botswana Cattle and Mining Company and its leaders.

This is a wonderful debut mystery with a great central character. Kubu got his nickname at school because of his size – Kubu is the Setswana word for hippopotamus. Like his namesake he is a seemingly slow and docile beast, but the detective is far from lumbering in his investigation. He combines intelligence, excellent education and sound police procedures with tenacity and a keen intuition to ferret out the truth. The author humanizes Kubu by his love of opera, good wine and his wife, Joy. I can just picture him driving across the desert landscape singing arias.

The plot is fast paced and complicated. This is a much darker and more dangerous Botswana than that portrayed in Alexander McCall Smith’s popular No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. There are plenty of suspects and several plot twists that I did not see coming. The book is divided into parts, and the first four alternate in time frame – March, January, March, January-February – before returning to the March “present” and continuing in a fairly accurate chronological sequence. This was a little confusing at first, especially since I was listening to the audiobook, but a quick check of the text helped me put things in the right order.

Simon Prebble is marvelous performing the audio book. His pacing is good and his acting brings the novel to life. There are a number of characters of different nationalities and he capably handled all the various accents. In fact his use of voices gave me a huge clue in determining the culprit; one character’s talent for mimicry would not be as evident on the page as it was on the audio.

I’ll definitely keep reading this series.

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