Deep in the Art of Africa

For some reason, I’ve been on an African crime-fiction binge lately. So I was intrigued to see that author J. Sydney Jones’ latest Scene of the Crime interview is with the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, better known under the cumulative pseudonym of “Michael Stanley.” As part of this exchange, Jones asked the two authors about their connection to Botswana, the setting for their novels about Detective David “Kubu” Bengu of the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department. Their response:

In our first book--A Carrion Death--it is necessary for the murderer to completely destroy the body of his victim. He does this by stripping it, removing anything identifying which may survive the attention of hyenas, and putting it out in an area where wild animals roam. That scenario requires a setting where you will not only find such animals, but also one which you can access without the control and supervision of a national park. Such areas are hard to find in South Africa. But they are readily available in countries like Botswana and Namibia. Botswana seemed an obvious choice because of the attraction of the country itself. So, we suppose the answer to the question is that the plot led us to Botswana, but once there it became an integral part of the stories.

You will find the full interview here.