Botswana police detective David Bengu is a gourmand who is also more than a bit on the hefty side - which accounts for his nickname, Kubu, which is Setswana for "hippopotamus."

Kubu has been called to a remote Jackalberry bush camp to investigate the murders of two men found bludgeoned to death only hours apart and from which another man has vanished without a trace. Imagine Kubu’s consternation when one of the murder victims is identified by his fingerprints as a Zimbabwean teacher named Goodluck Tinubu - a man declared dead 29 years ago in the Rhodesian Civil war. The second man is a well-to-do tourist. The missing man is said to be a dissident wanted in Zimbabwe.

The local police seem to be no help whatsoever. Kubu has not even begun to delve into this investigation when Goodluck's wife is attacked in her home and Kubu himself is receiving death threats. Before anyone else can be murdered in the camp, Kubu sets about to trap the murderer and save the day. Are the murders related to drug smuggling, Goodluck's supposed previous death, or the missing man rumored to be a dissident?

This book by Michael Stanley (a pseudonym for the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollop) is perfect for the armchair traveler with its well-formed and likable characters.