#BlogTour Facets of Death by Michael Stanley

It's my turn on the BlogTour Facets of Death by Michael Stanley.

About the Author

Michael Stanley is the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip. Both were born in South Africa and have worked in academia and business. Stanley was an educational psychologist, specialising in the application of computers to teaching and learning, and is a pilot. Michael specialised in image processing and remote sensing and taught at the University of the Witwatersrand.

On a flying trip to Botswana, they watched a pack of hyenas hunt, kill, and devour a wildebeest, eating both flesh and bones. That gave them the premise for their first mystery, A Carrion Death, which introduced Detective David ‘Kubu’ Bengu of the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department. It was a finalist for five awards, including the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger. 

The series has been critically acclaimed, and their third book, Death of the Mantis, won the Barry Award for Best Paperback Original mystery and was shortlisted for an Edgar award. Deadly Harvest was shortlisted for an International Thriller Writers award. They have also written a thriller, Dead of Night, following the investigative journalist, Crystal Nguyen, who gets caught up in the war against rhino poaching and rhino-horn smuggling.

Follow @detectivekubu and @Orendabooks on Twitter, Visit detectivekubu.com

About the book

A dark and sophisticated thriller set in the heart of Botswana, introducing Michael Stanley’s beloved Detective Kubu.

Recruited straight from university to Botswana’s CID, David ‘Kubu’ Bengu has raised his colleagues’ suspicions with his meteoric rise within the department, and he has a lot to prove. When the richest diamond mine in the world is robbed of 100,000 carats worth of gems, and the thieves are found, executed, Kubu leaps at the chance to prove himself. First he must find the diamonds – and it seems that a witch doctor and his son have a part to play.

Does this young detective have the skill and integrity to engineer an international trap? Or could it cost him everything? 

Review

This is a prequel to the Kubu crime series. Kubu is tasked will solving a classic heist, a diamond heist no less. One set in Botswana in a diamond mine, which brings a certain level of political, corporate and economic problems with it. A minefield that Kubu is not willing or able to tiptoe through. 

I think it's a brilliant idea to give Kubu a prequel series. It really gives a lot of insight into the man and detective we have gotten to know in the Detective Kubu series. What becomes evident in this book is that the core of the man is that of resigned peace, he is astute and perceptive, and above all he tries to do what is right. It's certainly a trait he doesn't shake off as he gains more experience.

He has taken jibes and turned the tables on those who mock him. Where is the laugh when he himself parades the insult like a trophy for all to see. It takes the wind out of their sails, which is the sole purpose of his actions.

I kind of like this refreshing take on this series and hope there will be more. It's a bit like the Morse series going back to his early years with Endeavour - it's a completely different experience. It still has the same cultural relevance and gritty vibe. The same strong, vibrant characters and especially the determined Detective Kubu, and yet seeing it being built from the beginning allows readers to see everything from a different perspective. What's not to like?

Buy Facets of Death at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books, pub date 29 April 2021 | Paperback Original | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Dead of Night by Michael Stanley

Today it is my pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Dead of Night by writing duo Michael Stanley. If you get a chance you should also check out their Detective Kubu series (see link at the bottom of this post).

About the Author
Michael Stanley is the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip. Both were born in South Africa and have worked in academia and business. On a flying trip to Botswana, they watched a pack of hyenas hunt, kill, and devour a wildebeest, eating both flesh and bones. That gave them the premise for their first mystery, A Carrion Death, which introduced Detective ‘Kubu’ Bengu of the
Botswana Criminal Investigation Department. It was a finalist for five awards, including the CWA Debut Dagger. The series has been critically acclaimed, and their third book, Death of the Mantis, won the Barry Award and was a finalist for an Edgar award. Deadly Harvest was a finalist for an International Thriller Writers’ award. Dead of Night is their first stand-alone thriller.

Visit detectivekubu.com
Follow @detectivekubu and @Orendabooks on Twitter
Buy Dead of Night

About the book
When freelance journalist, Crystal Nguyen, heads to South Africa, she thinks she’ll be researching an article on rhino-horn smuggling for National Geographic, while searching for her missing colleague. But, within a week, she’s been hunting poachers, hunted by their bosses, and then arrested in connection with a murder. And everyone is after a briefcase full of money that may hold the key to everything. Fleeing South Africa, she goes undercover in Vietnam, trying to discover the truth before she’s exposed by the local mafia. Discovering the plot behind the money is only half the battle. Now she must convince the South African authorities to take action before it’s too late. She has a shocking story to tell, if she survives long enough to tell it…

Fast-paced, relevant and chilling, Dead of Night is a stunning new thriller that exposes one of the most vicious conflicts on the African continent…

Review
This is a standalone novel and not part of the Michael Stanley Detective Kubu series. Once again the writing duo writes about what they know in regards to South Africa. Regardless of whether it's in the context of their light-hearted crime series or a solo novel, they always include important political, medical, cultural and socio-economic issues in their plots. This time the focus is on wildlife conservation, specifically the illegal trade of rhino horns.

Rhino Horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine, and having one is also considered a symbol of success and wealth in certain Asian cultures. In their country of origin the rhino are often dehorned to keep them safe and less valuable to poachers. These countries are sat on stockpiles of horns acquired through death by natural causes and by dehorning, and have created a monopoly in this dubious market.

There are five rhino species, three of those are found in Asia and two of them are already extinct. The majority of them are bred in national parks and only a small number remain in the wild. It is unfathomable that they are being killed for some mumbo jumbo witch doctor myths that suggest the horn has any medicinal value or magical powers.

Crystal finds herself in the middle of this dubious trade when she starts looking for Michael, who disappeared while looking into the poaching in South Africa. She is surprised by the level of violence and greed she encounters, and certainly doesn't expect to dig up more secrets than she is prepared for.

Stanley gives readers the harsh reality of the greed, brutality and war culture in South Africa. You get rid of one murderous bully boy and there is always one waiting to replace him. It's a fast-paced read with a lot of action, and it shines a light on the insidious world of poaching. A world where honour is defined by how long you can resist the pull of the dollar sign. Nothing is sacred and trust is overrated.

Buy Dead of Night at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Orenda Books orendabooks.co.uk
Pub. date: 31 August 2018

Read Dying to Live by Michael Stanley

Blog-Tour: Dying to Live by Michael Stanley

Today is my stop on the Blog-Tour for Dying for Living by Michael Stanley. It is a light-hearted read infused with important topics. The kind of significant issues the western world can't really fathom because it is part of the traditional tapestry of African culture.

About the Author
Michael Stanley is the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip. Both were born in South Africa and have worked in academia and business. On a flying trip to Botswana, they watched a pack of hyenas hunt, kill, and devour a wildebeest, eating both flesh and bones. That gave them the premise for their first mystery, A Carrion Death, which introduced Detective ‘Kubu’ Bengu of the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department. It was a finalist for five awards, including the CWA Debut Dagger. The series has been critically acclaimed, and their third book, Death of the Mantis, won the Barry Award and was a finalist for an Edgar award. Deadly Harvest was a finalist for an International Thriller Writers’ award, and book 5, A Death in the Family, was an international bestseller.
Visit detectivekubu.com
Follow @detectivekubu and @Orendabooks
Buy Dying to Live

About the book
The body of a Bushman is discovered near the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and the death is written off as an accident. But all is not as it seems. An autopsy reveals that although he’s clearly very old, his internal organs are puzzlingly young. What’s more, an old bullet is lodged in one of his muscles … but where is the entry wound?  When the body is stolen from the morgue and a local witch doctor is reported missing, Detective ‘Kubu’ Bengu gets involved. As Kubu and his brilliant young colleague, Detective Samantha Khama, follow the twisting trail through a confusion of rhino-horn smugglers, foreign gangsters and drugs manufacturers, the wider and more dangerous the case becomes…  A fresh, new slice of ‘Sunshine Noir’, Dying to Live is a classic tale of greed, corruption and ruthless thuggery, set in one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, and featuring one of crime fiction’s most endearing and humane detectives.

Review
The Michael Stanley writing duo weave important issues into their often light-hearted detective series. Violence and abuse of women, the Aids epidemic. biopiracy and witch doctors.

Muti plays a huge role in this story, and indeed in the daily lives of many people in Africa. Muti is word used for traditional medicine in Southern Africa. Traditional medicine is indigenous or folk medicine, as opposed to what we know as modern medicine. There are witch doctors who only use plants, herbs and in general legal substances, however there are still a large number of them who don't.

They kidnap, torture and kill men, women and children to obtain body parts to use in their muti rituals. In the last few years there has been a global focus or rather an attempt to inform and prevent the abduction and murder of albinos, which is just one example of how dangerous witch doctors are.

Another example is the unhealthy and quite frankly downright scary advice they give to their patients or customers.They actively encourage and convince HIV patients to stop taking their antiretrovirals and actively work against the modern medical community, thereby contributing to the spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

When Detective Kubu Bengu is asked to look into the unusual death of a Bushman (Afrikaans: boschjesman) he has no idea he and his team will be pulled in multiple criminal directions, but with one common thread, witch doctors. One dead body turns into more and Kubu gets a schooled in the art of Bushmen knowledge.

Stanley delivers a vigorous read with a quirky, dominant set of characters and plenty of food for thought. It's almost as if they want their readers to have fun whilst reading, but at the same time show them some harsh realities. Well, consider me shown.

Buy Dying to Live at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Follow @detectivekubu