FACETS OF DEATH

New challenges and a baffling mystery face a charismatic detective when he joins the CID.

David Bengu, nicknamed Kubu—that is, “hippo” in Setswana—for the size of both his person and his personality, beams with joy on being appointed a DS with Botswana’s Criminal Investigative Division. But Kubu (Dying To Live, 2017, etc.) learns immediately that his expansive manner is not appreciated in the regimented, by-the-book CID. His first case is a baffling one that concerns disappearing luggage on a transcontinental flight. Kubu is sent back to headquarters to track missing items while senior officials get the more glamorous job on the scene. Lax security allowed the robbers to pull off the crime. The case becomes more urgent when three guards are killed, giving Kubu his chance at the limelight. Might one of the guards have been among the robbers? The stolen baggage contained diamonds, and the complex scheme to steal them involves multiple airports, a polishing facility near the airport, and operatives in Botswana’s capital city of Gaborone. How did the robbers even know which box contained the diamonds? Kubu takes the lead in questioning witnesses, from the head of security at the diamond mine to the plane’s pilot. Meanwhile, Stanley also takes the reader inside the thieves’ den, where paranoia and discord grow in tandem with the investigation. While the veteran CID detectives express pessimism about the case, an invigorated Kubu is optimistic and determined to unravel it. Series fans take note: This seventh Kubu mystery is set at the beginning of the detective’s storied career.

Stanley’s 95 short chapters underscore the hypereagerness of the charismatic young detective.