BKMT READING GUIDES
A Death in the Family: A Detective Kubu Mystery
by Michael Stanley
Hardcover : 368 pages
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"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, Assistant Superintendent David 'Kubu' Bengu, the smartest detective in the Botswana police, is baffled. Who would kill such a frail old man? ...
Introduction
"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, Assistant Superintendent David 'Kubu' Bengu, the smartest detective in the Botswana police, is baffled. Who would kill such a frail old man? Kubu's frustration grows as his boss, Director Mabaku, bans him from being involved in the investigation.
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?
Set amidst the dark beauty of modern Botswana, A Death in the Family is a thrilling insight into a world of riots, corruption, and greed, as a complex series of murders presents the opera-loving detective with his most challenging case yet. 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?
Excerpt
Chapter 1Assistant Superintendent David “Kubu” Bengu was enjoying his dream. He was at an all-you-can-eat buffet at The Palms hotel. His table was on the patio away from the noisy bar, and Joy, his wife, was visiting her sister, so she couldn’t limit how much he had to eat. ...
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Discussion Questions
1. Kubu is excluded from the investigation of his father's murder. Why was this important? Was Kubu's response reasonable and realistic?2. What was your reaction to the funeral of Kubu's father? What benefits does such an elaborate affair have? And what drawbacks? Would it work in a Western country?
3. At the heart of the book is the conflict between traditional ways and the desire to move forward. Were you convinced by how this was portrayed? Where else have you observed it. How does the conflict materialise in the United States, if at all?
4. Some people regard the widespread presence of the Chinese in Africa (and elsewhere) as a new form of colonialism. Do you agree? If so, how does it differ from the colonialism of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries?
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