A Carrion Death

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 mid-meal, 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.

Kubu’s personality and physique match the moniker. His nickname 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. And beginning with the suspicious carrion death, the clever detective battles to unravel the tangle of crime and corruption.

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 find themselves fighting for their lives.