ReviewingtheEvidence.com – April 15, 2009
“The two authors who write as Michael Stanley (Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip), native South Africans, appear to know Botswana well and to be very fond of it… What emerges is a sense of place that is fully three dimensional, a country that while certainly modern, still maintains a sense of its past and a respect for its traditions… [A Carrion Death’s] great strength is in its characters, most especially Kubu Bengu himself. Interestingly, Michael Sears has said in an interview that initially they had planned for another character to be the lead, but that Kubu had simply taken over. Readers can be very grateful that they let him have his way. I for one am looking forward to his return.”
-- Yvonne Klein

Ellen Shawangunk Journal – April 2, 2009
“The first book in what will be a series, this is both a mystery novel and a thriller… It's exotic as all get-out, set in Africa – the first dead body discovered is pieces left behind, snarlingly, by a hyena and vultures. The detective – Assistant Superintendent David "Kubu" Bengu of the Botswana C.I.D. – is more exotic still, and in ways that continue to surprise and delight from beginning to end… He calls to mind classic detectives from Sherlock Holmes to Nero Wolfe, who are smarter than anybody else in the book, and smarter than you, too. There is also a wonderful cast of characters here who will pretty clearly be important as the series goes along.”
-- Claire Ernsberger

Los Angles Times - December 7, 2008
Favorite Crime Novels of 2008
"The gritty Botswana depicted in Michael Stanley's "A Carrion Death" (Harper) differs from Alexander McCall Smith's gentler vision, but the jovial, corpulent Det. Kubu is a winning creation."

BookReporter.com – May 1, 2008
“Michael Stanley is the collective name for the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip… [who] write seamlessly as one and have crafted an engrossing, even enchanting, mystery… A Carrion Death is full of exotic locales, compelling characters and mind-bending mysteries. Even if you should puzzle out what has taken place, it’s thoroughly entertaining to watch how Kubu puts things together even as he contemplates that all-important next feeding. You will be intrigued, and charmed, from page to page.”
-- Joe Hartlaub

Boston Globe – April 14, 2008
“Smart... The story, with its interlocking strands, is complicated but well thought-out, with clues that will have readers flipping back chapters to check alibis and opportunities... Kubu himself is a marvelous creation, his distinctive characteristics – his weight, his taste in music – as well considered as the plot. And if his Botswana is more violent than McCall Smith's, it is depicted with its distinctive beauty intact as well. This is a marvelous debut, and with any luck, Kubu's next outing will be as filling and tasty as one of the large man's dream meals.”
-- Clea Simon

Los Angeles Times – April 13, 2008
“Michael Stanley's delightful debut… involves sifting through a labyrinthine mosaic of diamond smuggling, family strife and generations of closely guarded secrets that the Kalahari Desert cannot contain anymore… The plot twists are fair and well-placed, the Botswana setting has room to breathe and take shape as its own entity, and Stanley's writing style is equal parts sprightly and grave... When [Kubu] lets his jovial nature recede and talks instead of how murder ‘never works out quite the way you expect,’ it forces the reader to look alongside him for the complete picture – one that should take shape over several series installments.”
-- Sarah Weinman

New York Times Book Review – April 13, 2008
“The challenge of unraveling the many mysteries of Africa has been taken up by Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip… [who] have produced a first novel saturated with local color… The oversize plot is a reflection of its protagonist, Assistant Superintendent David Bengu of the Botswana police, whose great girth and immense appetite account for his nickname, Kubu, the Setswana word for hippopotamus. Happily, Kubu is also hugely appealing – big and solid and smart enough to grasp all angles of this mystery... Readers may be lured to Africa by the landscape, but it takes a great character like Kubu to win our loyalty.”
-- Marilyn Stasio

Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) – February 25, 2008
“This impressive debut from Stanley, the South African writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, introduces overweight assistant superintendent David Bengu… The intricate plotting, a grisly sense of realism and numerous topical motifs (the plight of the Kalahari Bushmen, diamond smuggling, poaching, the homogenization of African culture, etc.) make this a compulsively readable novel. Despite a shared setting with Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, this fast-paced forensic thriller will resonate more with fans of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta.”

Kirkus Reviews – February 15, 2008
“Interesting local color… A stately debut whose pseudonymous authors, Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, are both experts on the region. Their generously detailed portrait of Botswana and of larger-than-life Inspector Kubu augur well for the proposed series.”

Booklist – February 1, 2008
“Assistant Superintendent David Bengu earned his nickname, Kubu (hippopotamus), for his size, generally amiable nature, and occasional ferocity, all of which are evident in this lengthy but fast-moving story... Rich with the atmosphere of modern Botswana, and peopled with interesting and well-drawn characters, this is an exciting debut, which will leave readers looking forward to reading the next investigation of Assistant Superintendent Kubu. Recommend to readers who like the Botswana setting of Alexander McCall Smith’s stories and all readers who enjoy international police procedurals with a strong sense of place.”