Detective “Kubu” Bengu returns in A Deadly Trade to solve a complex and compelling mystery. This book is the Botswanan detective’s second outing, and he, and the rest of the characters that populate the novel, are well established and engaging. The authors (Michael Stanley is a combination of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip) treat Africa and its history as a separate and powerful character, and the impact of history on the story is what transforms this book from a standard crime procedural to something with more power and impact.

The book begins with the violent death of Goodluck Timbu. He is found, throat slit, in a tent at the Jackalberry Camp. Created for bird-watchers and tourists, the camp is surrounded by hippo and crocodile infested waters and, underneath the genial eye of Morne “Dupie” Du Pisanie and the slightly tenser management of Salome McGlashan, Jackalberry hides more than just a murderer. The original detective on scene, Detective “Tatwa” Mooka (nicknamed “giraffe” for his height) needs to call in Detective “Kubu” (nicknamed “hippo” for his girth) for help with a case that quickly becomes as complicated as the region’s history.

Goodluck Tinubu is an unusual murder victim. At first, he seems unlikely to be a victim at all—the much beloved teacher and head of a school in Botswana. Soon, the detectives discover that Tinubu’s history is both more violent and more tragic than his name might suggest. According to official records, Tinubu has already been declared dead. His death was recorded more than a decade earlier during the horrific violence of the Rhodesian war.  It seems impossible that he could be connected to the owners, fellow guests, or staff at Jackalberry, but, as the case continues, more bodies begin to pile up. Soon, Kubu and Tatwa must broaden their search from the camp and look to war-torn Zimbabwe and the refugees in Botswana to find the answers to the second death of Goodluck Tinubu. Kubu, especially, struggles to reconcile both Goodluck’s, and Africa’s, violent past with its more optimistic future.  All around him are the victims and perpetrators of a violent history that seems impossible to forgive or forget.

Jackalberry Camp, and Africa, are lovingly and richly described.  Although a few of the characters seem to be “types” (the mercenary, the aging white soldier, the British tourist), the setting always feels real and important. Along the way, there are brief vignettes of daily life: a trip to a market, a Sunday at home with relatives, a small garden.  Each of the vignettes (and the nicknames that the characters carry) anchors the mystery more solidly in its setting and allows for Kubu, and the reader, to feel as if the murder of Goodluck Tinubu is not a single violent event, but a consequence of years of struggle and strife.

It is here that the strength of the story lies. The authors do an excellent job of weaving the repercussions of decades of violence into the mystery without making the modern day issues seem less important or the history dead and gone. Whether it is the delicacy that the detectives must use when dealing with the Zimbabwean officials, the scars that nearly all of the population carry, or the desperation of many to make amends for past violence, the explosive and intertwined history of Africa adds a richness and depth to the novel that elevates it beyond a simple forensic thriller. The story moves quickly, and there is danger around every corner, but the sense of an all pervasive history broadens the narrative and makes the tragic murders of the novel part of a long line of violence, victims, and death in Africa.

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