Twelve Days And Twelve Books Of Christmas - Day 6

Half way through and I have my stand out book from June which I was actually lucky enough to be part of the blog tour for, my post is here. 

Day 6 - June Book - Deadly Harvest by Michael Stanley

A young girl goes missing after getting into a car with a mysterious man. Soon after, a second girl disappears, and her devastated father, Witness, sets out to seek revenge. As the trail goes cold, Samantha Khama – new recruit to the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department – suspects the girl was killed for muti, the traditional African medicine usually derived from plants, sometimes animals, and, recently and most chillingly, human parts. When the investigation gets personal, Samantha enlists opera-loving wine connoisseur Assistant Superintendent David ‘Kubu’ Bengu to help her dig into the past. As they begin to discover a pattern to the disappearances, there is another victim, and Kubu and Samantha are thrust into a harrowing race to stop a serial killer who has only one thing in mind …

My Thoughts

This was my second Michael Stanley book, my first being A Death In The Family which I read and reviewed all the way back in 2015 (my review for that is here). I've mentioned in both my reviews previously but as it's one of the reasons I think this book stands out to me, I'm going to mention it again. The fact that these books are written by more than one person is just amazing. I've read books before that are co-authored and you can tell which section or chapter is written by each author, but it is just not that way with the Detective Kubu books. The writing is all smooth and cohesive so when I first discovered it was a two man team I was really shocked. 

Another reason this book stands out is the characters. I adore Detective Kubu, he is just such a wonderfully well rounded character. I love the fact that he's such a family man and is in a happy marriage, adores his kids and he is really close with his parents; It's such a nice touch when books are dealing with crime and darkness to have one shining light of joy to keep the balance. 

I really feel that I have learnt a lot from reading Deadly Harvest in particular about Botswana. The books have introduced me to Setswana, one of the languages spoken in Botswana as well as different traditions and cultures, all interspersed with police work and family life. The subject of Deadly Harvest also introduced the darker side of the culture and I ended up doing a lot of my own research following reading it which is good as I love books that make me want to expand my knowledge and really know about the subject they have brought up. 

Overall though I am specifically saying that Deadly Harvest was my stand out book in June, I would definitely recommend the Detective Kubu series as a whole. 

About The Authors

Michael Stanley is the writing partnership of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip. Michael lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Stanley in Minneapolis.
We have travelled extensively in Southern Africa and have a special love of Botswana, where our detective novels are set.

Deadly Harvest - Michael Stanley Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Deadly Harvest by Michael Stanley, the fourth instalment following the wonderful Detective Kubu.

Last year I was lucky enough to review A Death In The Family (my review is here) and at the time I said I was looking forward to getting time to read other books in the series, so when this blog tour came up I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about Detective Kubu and follow him in solving cases.

I mentioned it last time, but I'll mention it again this time, but you would never know that there are two authors writing these books. The whole thing is so well written and it flows beautifully. There aren't sections that you can tell that are written by one person or the other which is what I've found when reading other books by more than one author.

The story itself is wonderfully crafted and is full of the twists and turns that I now expect from a Michael Stanley book. I don't want to say too much about the contents of the story as I don't want to spoil anything for people, but it is a lot darker than A Death In The Family and I really liked that about it, I felt because of the darkness I was drawn deeper into the story and I felt really invested in what would happen next to the characters.

The setting of Botswana is a wonderful backdrop to the story and again I learnt so much more about it and it's people and traditions. I very rarely read books that are set in places other than America, England or a fantasy setting, so it is really interesting to diversify into such a different country. There has been a lot of research gone into making sure a true image is given and it really shows.

I have to mention how well rounded all the characters are, in patricular Detective Kubu. Kubu is just an amazing character, he's intelligent, he's funny, he's caring, he loves his family and he totally owns the fact that he is a larger frame. I really enjoy following him and seeing the way he goes about his day and how he works his way around a case.

Overall an excellent book and I thoroughly enjoy it to anyone who loves their crime novels.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.

Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip

I received a copy of Deadly Harvest from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.