Baobab Blue
Baobab Blue is an African murder mystery by Ravayi Marindo and the third book in the series which started with Frangipani in the mist, followed by Beneath the Marula tree and now Baobab Blue.
The daughter of a senior police officer gets killed in what appears to be a hit and run. Michael Mafuri is asked to investigate the case and then later unceremoniously dropped from the investigation. Michael’s rival who looks into the case makes a startling discovery which ignites a chain reaction of events, sweeping everyone connected into a collision course where truth is distorted and the lines between legality, reality and morality become blurred….
The Good
This third instalment turns things up a notch, Baobab Blue is an intense thriller and the character story arcs having been developed in the previous novels are now rounded and complex navigating through a plot that seems linear but has twists that are in plain sight and yet surprise you as they unfold…
Thematically the book has strong feminist elements, the dearth of women at senior positions in the police force and the Warrior Women and the Mamvura Tribe once again make a prominent feature.
The book explores the clash of tradition and modern life, and the kind of vices easily impressionable young ones can get lured into.
While the previous books have hinted at a touch of African mysticism Baobab Blue brings out the possible psychic impressions from splinters in reality or “cultural mumbo-jumbo” as some sceptical characters would call communing with the ancients…
As an avid fan of African fantasy I especially loved that in this book there was more mention of cultural mysteries that had previously been only teased at and never as part of the main plot..
The Bad
The book sets of with each chapter having a tsumo (Shona Proverb) which would later appear in the course of the chapter but just as I was pleasantly getting used to the proverbs, they disappeared from being on the chapter introduction without so much as a by your leave… hmmm don’t know if the author ran out of proverbs that would have fitted in the later chapters or the was another reason but it gave a rather inconsistent air to the book.
The Ugly
The sleep you will not get when you binge read this series one after the other!
The ending of the book left me with more questions than answers… I cant elaborate further because there be spoilers… hopefully, another book?
Final Thoughts
Its been an interesting journey and I will miss Michael Mafuri, Tango Ayanda, Moon, Skyie, Light and of course the Mamvura tribe and every time I smell frangipanis, I will remember this book series…
~B
Becoming The Muse 
I have no clue what a fragipani is, but I assume it’s a tree and it smells nice. I like the continued theme of trees and the corresponding covers. I’m glad to hear that the 3rd book ramped things up. Not many can do that. Usually, things get worse with every new book in the series.
Interesting thing about the proverbs… I think I would like those because it would make me wonder how they tie in in the chapter. However, I also dislike repetition. The other day, as I was reading an industry magazine, I began to omit the quotes because I would read them in the articles. Why do I need to read who said what two different times? I mean, I get it that if someone doesn’t read the whole thing and just wants to get bullet points, but… c’mon. I do like articles that have a summary at the bottom for those people who don’t have the time to read the whole thing or just don’t know if they want to.
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Frangipani is a tree it has a sharp sweet scent which can be a bit sickly sweet for others and either you like it or can’t stand it, there’s no in between, this book is somewhat like that,…
~B
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Ran into this frangipani tree
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Its build is pretty cool!
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