The Matatu Slasher by Keith Kinambuga

The Matatu Slasher is the fourth book by K. Kinambuga, a stand-alone novel, following, in no particular order, The Black Algorithm, The Rebirth of Syokimau and, I am not a Black Widow but I Spin Webs.

Ironically, despite the saying in judging any book, one must always go against the saying, never judge a book by its cover, and do exactly that.

The Matatu Slasher’s cover is well composed in its design and colour scheme, giving a sense of morbid melancholy, (Here there be monsters!) to set the mood and expectation for this horror story. The well-suited external graphics carry over to the internal graphic design and layout, making it an easy read visually and textually when held in one’s hands.

“Capua where do I begin?”

The pen is mightier than the sword, and my dive into the content holds a figurative sword to it, to put the idiom to the test.

With a title like “The Matatu Slasher,” one would expect a high-octane situation, compacted and localized solely to the matatu in question, the said location permeating the majority of the story, akin to the movie Speed, or the elevator-based horror, Devil.

While I felt the title was a bit of a misnomer, this is not a fault of the book, just an assumptive observation which The Matatu Slasher, quickly turns away from. Just as quickly, the action begins following the introduction to the chief protagonist, Ireri, engaged in his day-to-day vocation as the conductor of the matatu, Fifty-Nine. While engaged in his habitual work of transporting the vividly and aptly described Nairobi denizens on his route, “The Matatu Slasher”, appears and disappears in an instant, savagely delivering the first of three strikes, the totality of which do not see “The Matatu Slasher” or the protagonist strike out, further heightening the cat and mouse mystery aspect that unfolds.

Ireri is a well written, functional everyman within with realm of Kenyan existence, which “The Matatu Slasher” disrupts within the first five pages and repeatedly throughout the book, giving credence to the maxim, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the head”, or in this case slashed as “The Matatu Slasher” claims victim number 1 in the first five pages.

The conundrum of this disruption spreads to the passengers, who are as equally fraught as Ireri, and who, just like the two desensitized police who show up, and quickly assign responsibility without action, equally as confounded to the detective who acts as the secondary protagonist. “Hii itaangukia Kiplimo.”

Caught in the aftermath, Fifty-Nine is impounded, down but not out for the count, and Ireri has no choice but to go home to where his heart is, that heart being Wamuyu, who keeps him afloat, preventing him from sinking into psychological trauma and despair.

It is in their discussion about the event, and their own circumstances, we learn about their status quo, and possible future stakes. With the overture chapter ended, Chapter 2 opens up depicting how smartphone technology and social media have integrated into all walks of life and how as a result news travels faster, introducing us to Casa, who acts as a pivot for events in the second act, and brings the word on the street, that Ireri comes to represent, at the heart of the story to the narrative’s mainstream media, as the Matatu Slasher saga continues.

As the story proceeds, mostly under the direction of Casa and Kiplimo, it succeeds where other mystery detective dramas that graced Kenyan screens have failed. The Matatu Slasher embraces staying true to localized mannerisms and habitual characteristics of the characters, particularly the investigative police, avoiding the pitfall of copy-pasting Western methodology and swag onto local enforcement for the sake of looking or feeling “cool.”

In addition, the second act reveals more of the day-to-day existence of the central characters and how the titular “Matatu Slasher” disrupts everything in their lives. As the second act progresses, the slasher attacks and the stakes for all involved are raised as who “The Matatu Slasher” is comes into focus. The action and mystery effectively moves beyond matatu routes into Nairobi neighborhoods and the lives of the denizens residing in them.

It is at this point, despite its well penned progression, that I feel The Matatu Slasher takes the first of two missteps, or rather missed opportunity of not going into the greater backstory of characters, not giving the reader the chance to bite into the potential meat of several characters, particularly Kiplimo and Casa, and their own endgame, given that everyone is the hero in their own story. The second misstep is the narrative not cementing the involvement of a notorious gang to the ongoings, despite repeated mentions that would have added further complexity to Ireri’s familial links and the motivations of “The Matatu Slasher” within the well compacted novel. Such a direction would have further elevated the puzzle box, The Matatu Slasher presents. Perhaps it’s just the conspiracy theorist in me, looking for more, but you can decide for yourself when you dive into the fun read.

New dynamics are engaged by Kiplimo and Ireri expanding the hunt for “The Matatu Slasher” including a career change, under the weight of the investigation’s duration and the reality that not all mysteries can be solved in 24 hours, harkening to the factual reality of Nairobi-Kenyan life that careers, unlike change, are never constant or guaranteed. In going beyond any time limit confines,

The Matatu Slasher hits its stride, while transitioning between 2nd and 3rd act, and everyone bears consequences and rewards, validating the maxims, “No good deed goes unpunished,” and “Before you embark on a path of revenge, dig two graves,” particularly so for Ireri and “The Matatu Slasher” as the story draws to a close.

Ireri, while not guilty of any crime, like other characters, experiences a fall from the grace of the honest life he had sent in motion for his emerging family before the “Matatu Slasher” appeared.

With a cliff hanger ending, perhaps if Keith Kinambuga maintains his brand of unique story selection perhaps, we will be graced with a sequel like, The SGR Slasher, who knows? I give The Matatu Slasher a solid 8.5 out of 10.