'There's no easy way to say this, Kubu. Your father's dead. I'm afraid he's been murdered.'

Faced with the violent death of his own father, even Assistant Superintendent David `Kubu' Bengu, Botswana CID's keenest mind, is baffled. Who would kill such a frail old man? The picture becomes even murkier with the apparent suicide of a government official. Are Chinese mine-owners involved? And what role does the US Embassy have to play?

When grief-stricken Kubu defies orders and sets out on the killers' trail, startling and chilling links emerge, spanning the globe and setting a sequence of shocking events in motion. Will Kubu catch the killers in time ... and find justice for his father?

`This fifth mystery featuring Detective Kubu is another fast moving procedural notable for its warm characterizations and vivid sense of place. A natural for fans of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' Booklist

`Bengu is a wonderful creation, complex and beguiling. The exotic smells and sounds of Botswana fill the pages as well as the changes and struggles of a country brimming with modern technology yet fiercely clinging to old traditions. Compelling and deceptively written...' New York Journal of Books

`Richly atmospheric ... a gritty depiction of corruption and deception' Publishers Weekly

`A wonderful, original voice - McCall Smith with a dark edge and even darker underbelly' Peter James