Sibanda and the Black Sparrowhawk

Detective Inspector Jabulani Sibanda, a hard-bodied, bush-loving, instinctive crime fighter, is the focus of this series. He is based in a village on the borders of a national park in Matabeleland, but no one quite understands why such a rising star in the Zimbabwe police force has been banished to a rural backwater. The detective doesn't object to the posting as it gives him the opportunity to pursue his passion for elephants, birds, trees, all things wild, and the love of his life, the illusive Berry Barton.The series also features his sidekick, Sergeant Thadeus Ncube, an overweight, bumbling, multi-married policeman with a delicate digestive system who adores food, fishing and matters mechanical. He is both more astute than his physical presence might imply and a discerning judge of character. It helps that the sergeant loves motors because the third in this triumvirate of law enforcers is Miss Daisy, an ancient, battered and truculent Land Rover that huffs and puffs through the bush, steams with indignation and breaks down at the most inappropriate moments. She is the bane of Sibanda's life and the love of Ncube's.This series will steep you in the African bush and Matabele culture and keep you guessing and laughing by turns. But murder in any environment, particularly the African wilderness, is a dangerous and often gruesome business. Together, our trio put their lives at risk as they investigate unique crimes and plumb the depths of Africa's worst depravities.When a skinned body is discovered on the side of the railway line deep in the Matabele bush, Detective Inspector Jabulani Sibanda, along with his sidekicks, Sergeant Ncube and the troublesome Land Rover, Miss Daisy, are back on the trail of a murderer. As more girls go missing and more bones are discovered by the tracks, Sibanda realises they are dealing with the signature of a vicious serial killer, who chooses the train as his killing field.Suspects abound, and the trio pursues the leads relentlessly, but the warped psychopath is elusive. Has Sibanda met his match? To complicate matters, his unrequited love interest, Berry Barton, is back on his radar, Gubu police station politics are as partisan as ever and Sgt Ncube, in an attempt to equal the brilliance of his boss, has discovered the wonders of the Oxford English Dictionary, to hilarious results. With winter tightening its grip, and drought and hardship threatening the population, Sibanda uses a risky strategy to trap his nemesis. Can he pull it off?The adventures come thick, fast and furious, punctuated by Sibanda's explosive sarcasm and Ncube's explosive gut, as once again, we are plunged into the wildlife world that Miss Daisy tolerates, the detective revels in and the sergeant fears so desperately.

CM Elliott was born in England, emigrated to Australia and completed an Honours degree in French Studies at the University of Western Australia. She moved to Zimbabwe and pioneered a tourism business, based in and around Hwange National Park.