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The Cold Deck
“Masimba not only transforms the face of Zimbabwean literature by departing from the traditional themes portraying socio-economic issues, but also creates a crime series that mirrors the modern crime-cum-thriller detective stories like the James Hadley Chase crime thrillers or Alexander McCall Smith’s The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency thriller set in Botswana.”- Sarudzayi Barnes, The Standard.
On the glistening waters of Harava Dam, high society’s dirtiest secrets float to the surface.
When Hollywood starlet Tinga Gotora invites her former schoolmates, Ce-Ce and Farai Chisango, onto a luxury cruiser to celebrate her grand return to Zimbabwe, the Rastafarian detective duo expect nothing more than a weekend of glitz, excess, and familiar faces. But as the morning sun breaks through the river mist, the party has been Ruva Muringai is found cold on the teak deck.
Initial whispers point to an overdose, and all eyes quickly turn to Ruva’s bitter social media rival. But Ce-Ce and Farai know better than to trust the obvious.
Operating out of Chitungwiza, the brother-and-sister team bring a sharp blend of street-smart intuition and high-tech forensics to the case. Farai follows the cold data and chemical traces, while Ce-Ce reads the lies etched into the faces of Harare’s elite. Together, they uncover a deadly Ruva wasn't killed on the water, and the frame job was engineered to hide a far more desperate motivation.
In a world of broken promises, leverage, and ruthless ambition, the Chisangos must peel back the layers of deception before the killer escapes back onto dry land.
On the glistening waters of Harava Dam, high society’s dirtiest secrets float to the surface.
When Hollywood starlet Tinga Gotora invites her former schoolmates, Ce-Ce and Farai Chisango, onto a luxury cruiser to celebrate her grand return to Zimbabwe, the Rastafarian detective duo expect nothing more than a weekend of glitz, excess, and familiar faces. But as the morning sun breaks through the river mist, the party has been Ruva Muringai is found cold on the teak deck.
Initial whispers point to an overdose, and all eyes quickly turn to Ruva’s bitter social media rival. But Ce-Ce and Farai know better than to trust the obvious.
Operating out of Chitungwiza, the brother-and-sister team bring a sharp blend of street-smart intuition and high-tech forensics to the case. Farai follows the cold data and chemical traces, while Ce-Ce reads the lies etched into the faces of Harare’s elite. Together, they uncover a deadly Ruva wasn't killed on the water, and the frame job was engineered to hide a far more desperate motivation.
In a world of broken promises, leverage, and ruthless ambition, the Chisangos must peel back the layers of deception before the killer escapes back onto dry land.
45 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 11, 2026
About the author
Masimba Musodza
27 books13 followers"Musodza knows the value of creating a cyclical story, but he also understands that themes and time can be cyclical, too. ...The malaise of the past becomes the terror of the present, and good men easily become bad when the situation demands. Musodza's skill is to foster empathy within the reader for Stanley, but also for the hitchhiker, and then to demolish the feelings for both. In the end, there are no winners, and yesterday's dog is tomorrow's master. And of course he wants his own dog, too." - Damian Kelleher, 2010
“‘When the Trees Were Enchanted’ by Masimba Musodza is, by any measure, an extraordinarily fine work of fiction.- Wendy Bousfield, FutureFires.net, 2016
Masimba Musodza’s characters live in a morally gray world where the debate about whether the ends justify the means rages on. Lots of little details that, upon a second or third reading, take on a deeper significance.- Alex Brown, Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction for October 2021, Tor.com
Masimba was born in Zimbabwe, but has lived much of his adult life in the UK, settling in the North East England town of Middlesbrough. He has published over 40 pieces of short fiction, mostly on the Speculative Fiction genre spectrum, in anthologies and periodicals around the world and online. He has also published two novels and a novella in ChiShona, and a collection of short stories in English. He was listed in Geoff Ryman's 100 African Writers Of Speculative Fiction He has become a regular at the Festival of the Battle For Ideas, held annually in London. He contributes to Sticks & Stones, the premier Black British magazine in the North East of England.
“‘When the Trees Were Enchanted’ by Masimba Musodza is, by any measure, an extraordinarily fine work of fiction.- Wendy Bousfield, FutureFires.net, 2016
Masimba Musodza’s characters live in a morally gray world where the debate about whether the ends justify the means rages on. Lots of little details that, upon a second or third reading, take on a deeper significance.- Alex Brown, Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction for October 2021, Tor.com
Masimba was born in Zimbabwe, but has lived much of his adult life in the UK, settling in the North East England town of Middlesbrough. He has published over 40 pieces of short fiction, mostly on the Speculative Fiction genre spectrum, in anthologies and periodicals around the world and online. He has also published two novels and a novella in ChiShona, and a collection of short stories in English. He was listed in Geoff Ryman's 100 African Writers Of Speculative Fiction He has become a regular at the Festival of the Battle For Ideas, held annually in London. He contributes to Sticks & Stones, the premier Black British magazine in the North East of England.
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