If you read "The Covenant" by Michener, and any of Wilbur Smith's novels set in South Africa (some are set elsewhere), that is equal to a one semester course in South African history and culture.

Almost anything by Wilbure Smith has a African link. I started reading him when I was about 10. Great books.

On a different note, the novellas by Alexander McCall Smith about Precious Ramotswe and "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" in Botswana, certainly capture the African sensibility. They're mysteries, but not of the hard-boiled type.