Sibanda and the Rainbird

Overview

Set in contemporary Africa, this crime novel introduces Detective Inspector Jabulani Sibanda, a highly knowledgeable, cultured, bush-savvy policeman and his overweight, simple but good-natured sidekick, Sergeant Ncube, stationed in a large village on the border of a national park. The story opens with the discovery of a gruesome corpse in the park near Thunduluka Lodge, sparking an investigation. Together the two discover clues, including tire tracks, a knife inscribed with the letter B, and a sliver of metallic blue car paint, all of which lead them on several fraught journeys in search of the distinctive vehicle. Alongside the duo is Miss Daisy, an ancient, truculent, and eccentric Land Rover that is the bane of Sibanda’s life and the love of Ncube’s. There’s plenty of bush adventure, natural history, disparate characters, and friction as the team pursues the leads in old, unreliable Miss Daisy. The tale, despite brush strokes of violence, is gentle and touches on politics, brutality in war and marriage, betrayal, and greed, while also encompassing African history.

Author Biography

C. M. Elliott is a short story writer and a novelist. She and her husband are the founders of a tourism business in Zimbabwe near Hwange National Park.