A Carrion Death

Introducing Detective Kubu

By: Michael Stanley

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Smashed skull, snapped ribs, and a cloying smell of carrion. Leave the body for the hyenas to devour - no body, no case.

But when Kalahari game rangers stumble on a human corpse midmeal, it turns out the murder wasn't perfect after all. Enough evidence is left to suggest foul play. Detective David "Kubu" Bengu of the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department is assigned to the case.

The detective's personality and physique match his moniker. The nickname "Kubu" is Setswana for "hippopotamus" - a seemingly docile creature, but one of the deadliest on the continent. Beneath Kubu's pleasant surface lies the same unwavering resolve that makes the hippopotamus so deceptively dangerous. Both will trample everything in their path to reach an objective.

From the sun-baked riverbeds of the Kalahari to the highest offices of an international conglomerate, Kubu follows a blood-soaked trail in search of answers. Beneath a mountain of lies and superstitions, he uncovers a chain of crimes leading to the most powerful figures in the country - influential enemies who will kill anyone in their way.

A memorable detective makes his debut in this gritty, mesmerizing thriller. Set amid the beauty and darkness of contemporary Africa, A Carrion Death is the first entry in an evocative new series cutting to the heart of today's Botswana - a modern democracy threatened by unstable neighbors, poachers, and diamond smugglers. Those trying to expose the corrupt ringleaders will find themselves fighting for their lives.

©2008 Michael Sears and Stanley Raynes Trollip (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Intricate plotting, a grisly sense of realism, and numerous topical motifs...make this a compulsively readable novel." (Publishers Weekly)
"A first novel saturated with local color....[Audiences] may be lured to Africa by the landscape, but it takes a great character like Kubu to win our loyalty." (The New York Times Book Review)

A good detective

I liked Det. Kubu and the story was consistently exciting. I will be sure to read the rest of this series.

#2 "traditionally-built" detective

Listening to "A Carrion Death," I couldn't help thinking about Alexander McCall Smith's "Number One Ladies Detective Agency" series, only because both stories are set in Botswana, by authors who know the country and the people well. Of course, little else links the two stories, since "A Carrion Death" deals with an entirely more serious mystery than any of Precious Ramotswe's cases. But, having never before known a thing about Botswana, I appreciated having read Smith's books first. Both authors clearly love the country and her people. Michael Sears and Stanley Raynes Trollip have devised an intriguing, complex mystery story, and written it well. It keeps one riveted to the end. I highly recommend "A Carrion Death" to all mystery lovers. I had never heard of this audiobook before I purchased it from Audible.com; but when I saw that it is read by the wonderful Simon Prebble I couldn't resist it. Simon Prebble has a beautiful, smooth, versatile voice that can assume any timbre and accent to delineate any number of characters. All by himself he creates a whole cast of actors -- good guys, bad guys, males, and females -- along with all their emotional and motivational subtleties. Listen to this book. While it may not have the perfect resolution, it none-the-less repays your time.

Entertaining listen, but disappointing finish

I essentially enjoyed this book.... The story was interesting, fun and engrossing. The characters were distinctive and entertaining (though the descriptions of Kubu's food obsessions grew a bit weary). But the storyline eventually out-complexed itself, leaving a muddled mass of dead bodies, confusing motives and a notable lack of clear resolution. There were ultimately so many amorphous twists and turns in the plot that it became very challenging to keep track of what was going on at any given moment, only to have it NOT really be very cleared up in the end. Enjoyable, but ultimately disappointing. It was more or less a worthy listen, but I'm looking to see this author improve his game a bit in the future... As a final note, the narrator did a great job cleanly conveying both the characters and the story in his pleasant british/S. African accent. It made the lack of solid resolution more tolerable...

Ok, but not No 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Book okay but too long. Good story line but language & sex unnecessary. Entertaining at times. Able to figure out ending too early. NOT as good as No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

Can't wait for the next one

Botswana calls again! Detective Kubu outshines even Mma Ramotswe of the #1 Ladies Detective Agency. The story is captivating and very well told and description of the country makes visiting a must.

A Carrion Death and Detective Kubu

What made the experience of listening to A Carrion Death the most enjoyable?

Exciting mystery

Who was your favorite character and why?

Detective Kubu, He has a funny bone to tickle you, amongst the murders

Have you listened to any of Simon Prebble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He is a genius. The different dialects are spot on. Makes this a thrilling and suspensful.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The entire book was very good.

Any additional comments?

Looking forward in buying the next Book, and happy too hear more about Detective Kubu

Hot and Arid

The story moved along, was believable and the local color was nice.
It's also good to see that race relations in Southern Africa are so improved at least as far as the police are concerned.
The use of Shakespeare phrases was a nice touch.
The description of orgasms could have been left out since it added nothing to the story.
Maybe the obligatory sex was added to remind us this is a "modern" book.

A Wonderful Surprise

I purchased Carrion Death during a Audible sale and it has been sitting in my "to listen" folder for many months. I recently went looking through the folder to find titles I had not listened to and found Carrion Death. It is a delightful, intriguing, and fascinating mystery. The character of Detective Kubu is a delight as an intelligent investigator who loves food, wine and opera. The narration is excellent and the portrait of southern region of Africa is fascinating and beautifully painted by Mr. Stanley. I look forward my next listen and it will not months before my next encounter with Det. Kubu.

Disappointing

Whats begins as a promising murder mystery loses its way in the desert. It's in the spirit of Bosch and Elvis Cole, but not nearly as good.

For such a long book, the characters are surprisingly underdeveloped and cliched--the overbearing police supervisor, the nerdy academic, the greedy CEO, the eccentric pathologist etc. I really didn't feel anything for the characters as they get killed off.

As others have pointed out, the explicit sex scenes are a bit cringey and completely unnecessary.

I loved the narration--I'm a fan of Simon Prebble and he was one of the reasons I bought the book. This is my first fiction listen from him and his female voices are not perfect, but his various accents are spot on.

The book could have been much more, but I won't be following any more of Kubu's adventures.

Not my cup of tea

I disliked the gory beginning and didn't care much about the main characters. The mystery was only mildly interesting. I almost returned it halfway through. I only persisted because I love to listen to Simon Prebble.