Opening Michael Stanley’s new book is like opening a door and greeting a wonderful friend who visits you once a year or so. The friend in this case is Assistant Superintendent David “Kubu” Bengu, a Botswana police detective, a man of massive size, appetite and personality. Kubu (the nickname means “hippopotamus” in the Setswana language) is one of those people possessed of a quiet but immense dignity, who you would embrace almost immediately in the real world. The five loves of  Kubu’s life, which he notes in the opening pages of the book, are his infant daughter, Tumi; his wife, Joy; his fox terrier, Ilia; food and wine; and being a policeman. It is the last of those that lets him down most often. And as DEATH OF THE MANTIS opens, it has let him down once again.

"DEATH OF THE MANTIS is a wonderful piece of work, a novel that is quietly perfect in every way."

This is the third book featuring Kubu, following A CARRION DEATH and THE SECOND DEATH OF GOODLUCK TINUBU. The “Michael Stanley” claiming authorship is actually a wonderfully seamless collaborative effort between Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, both of whom were born in Johannesburg and know the lay of the veld, as it were. The first few pages consists of a thoughtful list of the characters to be found within, for those of us who might find the names of some to be a bit too exotic to keep track of. And if you happened to miss the first two books, that is no problem; you can jump right into the new one without missing a beat. Stanley provides you with what little you need to know of the genial Kubu’s background to bring you up to speed. And up to speed you will want to be, because DEATH OF THE MANTIS is a wonderful piece of work, a novel that is quietly perfect in every way.