‘Death of the Mantis’ is an African thriller with Minnesota roots

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By Euan Kerr

“Death of the Mantis,” the third book in the internationally successful Detective Kubu mystery series, arrives in bookstores this week.

Like the other Michael Stanley novels it’s set in Botswana. This time the detective tries to solve a series of murders on the edge of the Kalihari desert. While the books are distinctively African, there is an important Minnesota connection.

Michael Stanley introduces himself.

“Michael Stanley is two of us actually,” said one of the two men sitting at the table. “I’m Stan Trollip and I write with my friend Michael Sears.”

Trollip and Sears combined their first names to create a nome de plume after writing their first novel “A Carrion Death.”

They are both South African, and both have had long careers as university professors. Sears lives in Johannesburg, but Trollip taught at the University of Minnesota, UND, and at Capella University. He still lives here part of the year.

Sears traces their writing career together back to an incident decades ago when they were traveling in Botswana.

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African crime writers are gaining attention outside of the continent

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By Cary Darling

We sure have come a long way since Out of Africa and The Flame Trees of Thika.

In the second decade of the 21st century, some of the most compelling contemporary crime-fiction novels are either set in or coming from Africa. Much as Scandinavia became associated with the genre a few years back — thanks in large part to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy — Africa may become a new capital of literary crime.

Cape Town’s Roger Smith, who writes with the brutal beauty of an Elmore Leonard in a very bad mood, is at the forefront. His 2009 debut, Mixed Blood, has been optioned for a film starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger). His second book, Wake Up Dead, is also going Hollywood, with director Mark Tonderai (Hush) attached.

Meanwhile, his third novel, Dust Devils, has just been released as an e-book in the U.S. All of this activity follows on the heels of releases in the past year or so from Ghanaian-born/U.S.-based Kwei Quartey (Children of the Street), Nigeria’s Adimchinma Ibe (Treachery in the Yard), and South Africa’s Mike Nicol and Joanne Hichens, who write under the name Sam Cole (Cape Greed).

Coming in September are new works from Deon Meyer (Trackers) and fellow South Africans Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, who write under the name Michael Stanley (Death of the Mantis: A Detective Kubu Mystery), and Kenyan-raised/U.S.-based Mukoma Wa Ngugi (Nairobi Heat). Just as the works of James Ellroy and Carl Hiaasen dig beneath the glitter and glamour of Hollywood and South Beach, respectively, to reveal a nasty, fetid underside, these books rip away images of the Sahara and safaris and go beyond nightly news pictures of deprivation and desperation.

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Michael Stanley’s top 10 African crime novels

The African crime writing duo pick the best books in their field, from established greats Agatha Christie and John Le Carré to newer names on the scene such as Kwei Quartey and Deon Meyer.

Spotted Hyena: body disposal expert? Photograph: Martin Harvey/Gallo Images/CORBIS

“Ever since we started writing detective stories set in Africa (A Carrion Death and A Deadly Trade), we’ve paid more attention to the many wonderful mysteries set on the continent. Some of the writers were born in Africa, others not. Some are oldies, but others are contemporary, reflecting the surge of mystery writers interested in Africa. The 10 books we’ve chosen all capture some aspect of African culture or location. All but one relate to sub-Saharan Africa – the lands of colonies and colonial masters; of newly democratic countries and post-independence struggles. Reading these books will introduce you to areas with which you may be unfamiliar and perhaps give you new insights into some of the oldest cultures in the world.”…read more

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