Product Description

In the latest installment of this infinitely enjoyable and best-selling series, Precious Ramotswe is doing what she does best--helping people with their problems and enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

Mma Ramotswe is busy investigating her latest case: a woman who is looking for her family. The problem is, the woman doesn't know her real name of whether any members of her family are now living. Meanwhile, Phuti Radiphuti has bought Mma Makutsi a glorious new bed. Unfortunately, it will inadvertently cause her several sleepless nights. And life is no less complicated at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni--Mma Ramotswe's estimable husband--has fallen under the sway of a doctor who has promised a miracle cure for his daughter's medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to believe. But Precious Ramotswe deals with these difficulties with her usual grace and good humor, and in the end discovers that the biggest miracles in life are often the small ones.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #902 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-15
• Released on: 2008-04-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's foremost solver of problems, is used to handling mostly straightforward domestic cases, which makes a series of anonymous letters threatening her and her prickly assistant, Grace Makutsi, all the more disturbing in Smith's triumphant ninth No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novel (after The Good Husband of Zebra Drive). The search for whoever penned the letters coincides with a new commission: Manka Sebina, whose birth parents gave her up as a child, hires the agency to track down any living relatives. Both problems afford Mma Ramotswe ample opportunity to display her winning blend of insight into others' motivations and an endearingly naïve belief in the best in human nature. Significant, if incremental, developments in the lives of the community Smith has lovingly created over the course of the series will intrigue old fans. Immediately accessible to newcomers, this entry will prompt them to seek out the earlier books. (Apr.)
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Review
Praise for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series

"Alexander McCall Smith's big-hearted Botswanan stories [allow] his readers to escape into a world of simple, picturesque pleasures and upstanding virtues."
--The New York Times Book Review

"The best, most charming, honest, hilarious, and life-affirming books to appear in years."
--The Plain Dealer

"Utterly enchanting... It is impossible to come away from an Alexander McCall Smith 'mystery novel' without a smile on the lips and warm fuzzies in the heart."
--Chicago Sun-Times

"As pleasing as a cup of red bush tea."
--Entertainment Weekly

"Beguiling, lyrical... Blessed with McCall Smith's richly detailed portraits of life in Africa and his flair for storytelling with an engaging cast of fully realized characters."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Delightful... Millions of readers around the world seem to hunger for the kindness, dignity, and humor McCall Smith celebrates in Mma Ramotswe."
--The Oregonian

About the Author
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Try the audio version
If you enjoy reading about the #1 Ladies detective agency, but would like to putter in the garden or house at the same time - or listen while commuting - try the audio version. They're even more hilarious than reading!

Too slow and repetitive
I have enjoyed this series but this last book I found slow and rather boring. I still appreciate the nuggets of wisdom that eventually come to light as the story develops but overall I didn't enjoy this book much. I was getting so frustrated with the repetition... seemed like a third of the book was describing once again the white van, the large glasses, the traditionally built woman, and the landscape.

Absolutely Charming, As Always
If you have not listened to the Ladies Detective Agency books on CD, narrated by the incomparable Lisette Lecat, do yourself a favor and get one immediately! I love these books, but when I listen to the pronounciations (e.g., Pooh-tee Rah-tah-POO-tee), I feel like I am right beside Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi in Botswana.

This tale is as lovely as all the rest, and one of my favorites in the series. The two lady detectives are hard at work on some difficult cases, but something is up with Mr. J.L.B. Matakoni; we fear he has been taken in by a medical charlatan, who has promised a "miracle" in curing the couple's wheelchair-bound daughter. So evocative is this situation, you find yourself talking aloud: No, Mr. J.L.B. Matakoni, please don't do it!!

Then we have the Adventures of the Bed with the Heart-Shaped Red Velvet Headboard--I won't do a spoiler here, but let us just say that the bed has captured Mma Makutsi's heart. (could not resist the pun) I was laughing aloud in my car more than once!

Yes, the lothario apprentice Charlie is very much in evidence, and actually inadvertently helps on a case!

Do yourself a favor, and read or listen to this fabulous book, perfect for summer, perfect for any time you want the gentle kindness that permeates this series.