In this prequel to the Kubu series it is 1999 and Kubu is a rookie detective, learning first hand how to go about solving a crime which, although committed in Botswana, would be well above Mma Ramotswe’s pay grade.
As in the Michael Stanley team’s previous books, this is a good, solid mystery. The landscape and atmosphere of a small town in Botswana are easily called to mind and Kubu is also a rookie in the romantic stakes, shyly and hesitatingly attempting to court Joy.
The skeleton of what proves to be a Bushman is unearthed during excavations for a pipe line which will bring water to this part of the Kalahari. One obviously old skeleton is an interesting archeological find but as more and more skeletons are found, signs of a massacre appear.
Kubu and his superior, Superintendent Mabaku, aided by the pathologist Dr Ian MacGregor, have many suspects to interview and eliminate before they can get to the heart of the matter. A mysterious Bushman appears, and murders are now being committed in the present.
This is another clever, interesting collaboration from Michael Stanley. It has mystery, suspense and a little bit of romance, all the ingredients needed for a good detective story and Kubu, “the hippopotamus”, is a most endearing, enduring character
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