This is the 6th book in McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. It is so difficult to describe these books without using the trite "delightful." Yet the books are not trite at all. The characters are, well, delightful, true to themselves, yet flawed and totally believable.
Set in Gabarone, Botswana, the series' main character is the No. 1 Lady herself, Precious Ramotswe, an insightful woman of "traditional" size who is quite satisfied with not only her size but passionate about her country and her countrymen. From the beginning, thanks in part to a stable and loving relationship with her late father, she has a natural ability to inspire confidence from and in others.
The first book, which bears the title of the series, recounts the beginning of her agency. In each subsequent book we meet and watch the development of her relationships with her friends: mechanic J.L.B. Matekoni; "orphan farm" administrator Silvia Potokwane; Assistant Detective and proud achiever of 97% at the Botswana Secretarial College Grace Maktusi; two foolish car mechanic apprentices, one called Charlie, the other one strangely never named.
I have finished each book with the same satisfaction I feel at the end of a really tasty meal when I'm just at the right level of satisfaction. I could eat more, but I don't really want to right then. I'd rather just sit a while and savor the experience.
Even though almost all the characters are fetching and likable, there's just enough mystery and conflict to keep you reading to the end. Although sometimes I can figure out where a plot is leading, usually I'm not as clever as Mma Ramotswe in working out clues or solutions to the entanglements.
When I first began reading the series several months ago, there appeared to be only six. I am delighted there now appear to be two more and am just waiting until #7 appears back on the library shelf. There's no way I would skip right on to #8!
I chose to review this particular book because it deals with the area where Mma Ramotswe is most vulnerable. Her ex-husband, the cruel musician, whom she thought she would never see again, shows up and threatens to violate the peace and success she has achieved thus far. Of course, the mystery subplots along the way keep us from becoming too entangled in her personal problems: the case of the man hiding under her bed; the mysterious simultaneous disappearance of his pants and appearance of a pumpkin; how an accident with a bicycle, a shebeen, Mr. Maketoni's house, and the disappearance and recovery of Mma Ramotswe's car are all somehow related. Then of course, there's Mma Makutsi's embarrassingly awkward dance class partner. Where will that lead?
If you like books that end well, that give you some insight into another culture, that let you enjoy mystery and intrigue without violence, involving people you enjoy without being blind to their foibles, start this series. I hope just reading the titles will invite you in to investigate this charming detective and her cohorts:
- The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
- Tears of the Giraffe
- Morality for Beautiful Girls
- The Kalahari Typing School for Men
- The Full Cupboard of Life
- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
- Blue Shoes and Happiness
- The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
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