Product Description

Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful Botswanan private investigator of 'traditional build', is now married to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. The Agency is busy, but Mma Ramotswe cannot ignore the plea which is made by a woman who comes to her with a tale of particular misfortune. Unfortunately, her attempts to help are interrupted by a close encounter between her tiny white van and a bicycle, and by a spectacular disagreement between her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and one of the apprentices at the garage. This apprentice has found a fancy girlfriend who drives a Mercedes-Benz. How can he be rescued from his folly? And as for Mma Makutsi, she has found a dancing class, and a man who may not be able to dance very well, but who admires her greatly. And all of this happens against a background of quiet sessions of bush tea, and of a land that stretches out forever under mile upon mile of empty sky...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6140 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
'A rare pleasure' Daily Telegraph * 'Forget the library - the body is in the mud hut. An African Miss Marple created by a Scottish lawyer ... superb' Sunday Times * 'There is something almost divinely appealing about the way Alexander McCall Smith writes about daily life in Botswana...it is hard to think of a contemporary writer more genuinely engaging... I find it impossible to think about [his novels] without smiling' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

About the Author
McCall Smith is a Professor of Medical Law as well as an author who has written over 50 books on a wide range of subjects: from Forensic Aspects of Sleep to The Criminal Law of Botswana, The Perfect Hamburger (children's fiction) to Portuguese Irregular Verbs (short stories).

Customer Reviews

Superb
I've read all the Ladies' Detective Agency books, and enjoyed them all, but I agree with the reviewers who thought this was the best one so far. The writing seems to me to be more assured, the characters more rounded, and the plotting more convincing. All in all, a delight - I just wish the book had been twice as long! I do hope it isn't the last in the series as two new characters have been introduced, plus there are the orphans ... would love to know more about them. Keep writing, Mr McCall Smith!

Incredibly fabulous!
Thank you to Alexander McCall Smith, this was well worth the wait. Rather than losing steam this book gathers a momentum only matched by the very first in the series (which got me hooked). Every chapter takes you to another level and the author manages to do this without keeping you in painful suspense. Almost as if you just happen upon it and then you are so glad you did. I'll say no more. You must read it for yourself. What an ending!! I thought all the great books had been written, and now here I am pining for more. Mr Smith, don't let me wait too long for the next one please.

Poised, Perceptive and Perfect
Mma Ramotswe, the lady detective with a 'traditional' figure, continues to enchant and reward In the Company of Cheerful Ladies. I had worried McCall Smith might begin to run out of steam, or at least material, but this is definitely one of the strongest books in an enchanting series. The pleasure I get from reading these gently seductive books is unrivalled - the world of Precious Ramotswe and JLB Maketoni is entirely beguiling and wholly persuasive. I've become somewhat evangelical on the subject and keep pressing the books onto sundry passers-by and relatives with birthdays. If any of you are newcomers to the series - go back to the start and read them all.

Lovely, lovely, lovely.