Alexander McCall Smith - In the company of Cheerful Ladies

 REVIEWED LIVE ON BOOKSHOW BY BRIAN LOWEN 16TH JAN 2014.

Another lovely story set in Botswana at the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Makutsi.

We have moved on now from the original series of three novels that were featured on TV and there are now several more books in the series.

The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency is doing well and Mma Ramotswe has now married her long time suitor, Mr J L B Matekoni, the proprietor of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors garage. Also Mma Makutsi has set up the Kalahari Typing School for men, which she takes one evening per week. She saw an opportunity for teaching men together as they were normally shy of attending a secretarial college where there are mainly girls.

I love the way the stories are written: Her husband is always referred to as Mr J L B Matekoni – never a shortened form and the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency is always given the full title – never just the agency. Also the vehicle that Mma Ramotswe drives is always called the tiny white van. 

These are lovely heart-warming stories that always have a happy ending – several stories in each book that are usually all brought to a happy conclusion in the last chapter.

One chapter involves her ex husband Note Mokoti who used to beat her and make her life a misery. He comes back demanding money but is dealt with and sent packing.

Another chapter involves the young apprentice, Charlie, who goes off with a rich lady and how Mma Ramotswe finds a replacement.

Another chapter is headed Trousers and Pumpkins and is quite hilarious.

All the stories highlight the simple way of life in Botswana where moral standards are high and people have respect for each other. Mma Ramotswe is obviously a rather large lady as you will remember from the TV series but here is referred to as ‘traditionally built’.

Good, easy to read stories, thoroughly recommended.

Tarquin Hall - THE CASE OF THE MISSING SERVANT

review live on show 26th July 2012 by Corinna christopher

This is a detective story with a difference. It is set in hot and dusty Delhi where we meet Mr. Vish Puri the senior man in charge of “Most Private Investigators Ltd “. 51 one year old Puri is a likeable slightly chubby man with a stable family life headed by his wife Rumpi and a problem with an addiction to fatty foods, frowned upon by his doctor.

He has a bevy of undercover operatives with the nicknames of Tubelight, Flush and Facecream. His method of detection goes back many years and involves sometimes a complete change of persona with the help of a useful tailor, skilled in disguises.

The main story concerns a public figure who is accused of murdering his maidservant . This girl seems to have disappeared and even her name is unknown to the family. Somehow the girl must be found and so begins a hunt which takes Puri to the desert oasis of Jaipur and the remote mines of Jharkhand. This all takes time and at the same time Puri is checking out prospective backgrounds for various marriage contracts, since this is his main business.

Along the way we are drawn into the complexities of modern India where the main media interest focuses on Crime, cricket and cinema, in that order ! Detection as in other countries is sometimes done with people’s garbage, where unlike America which has to root around in dark and seedy alleyways, in India. one could simply purchase an individual’s trash on the open market.

Eventually everything is solved in a most satisfactory way and the journey to the conclusion makes an enjoyable read. I liken it to the charming novels of Alexander McCall Smith set in Africa since it leaves the reader with a similar happy feeling. An easy read with an interesting background. I appreciated a glossary at the back of the book with a translation of the Indian terms.

The author is a writer and journalist who lives in Delhi and London. He has written several other books.

Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

review by Brian Lowen on show 2nd Feb 2012
The book that provided the successful TV series.

A wonderful warm, easy to read story concerning Precious Ramotswe, who when her father dies is left a sum of money that enables her to set up her own business. Being an independent person with a warm, intuitive personality, she decides to set up as a private detective. Being the only lady detective in her country of Botswana she calls herself the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, which she has written in large letters on a board above her little office, which comprises two rooms, two tables, some chairs and a typewriter. She also employs a secretary to man the office when she is out on investigations and to type the letters.

Business is slow at first and they spend a lot of time drinking cups of tea, but then the cases start coming in and Mme Ramotswe is able to use her special skills of intuition, common sense and knowledge of the local people to solve the varied cases that are put before her. She also enlists the help of her very good friend Mr J L B Matekoni, the charming proprietor of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors.

If you like stories with happy endings then this is the book for you as there are lots of happy endings! Mme Ramotswe obviously loves her country of Botswana and deplores all the modern trends infiltrating their neighbourhood from the outside world.

I found it charming how her very good friend is always referred to as Mr J L B Matekoni, we never get to hear what his first name is! This is the sort of book that leaves you wanting more and I’m pleased to see that there are more – in fact another three books in the series. A delightful book – thoroughly recommended.

Alexander McCall Smith - The Double Comfort Safari Club

review by Ro Bennett on show 21st April
This is another gentle, good feeling book from Alexander McCall Smith. I read this right after reading Tea Time for the Traditionally Built which was a mistake as I began to find the philosophising a little bit too much - like listening to a kindly old uncle lecturing you about morals and being kind and the importance of values.

The book opens with Mr J L B Matekoni musing about road rage and the futility of reacting to it and it ends with Mma Ramotswe musing about how to lead a good life. "Do not complain about your life. Do not blame others for things that you have brought upon yourself. Be content with who you are and where you are, and do whatever you can to bring to others such contentment, and joy, and understanding that you have managed to find yourself." Yawn yawn!

But on the whole I do enjoy these books - they are a light and easy read and there is nothing horrendously unpleasant in them, they have a feel good factor.

This is the 11th installment in Alexander McCall Smith's series about a female detective living in Botswana. It is not necessary to have read ALL the other books in the series, but if you haven't read any, this is probably not the best place to start.

From the back of the book:
'In an all too flimsy canoe on her way to a distant delta safari camp, Precious Ramotswe reflects on the art of navigation. Her latest cases require her to steer a careful course. Searching for the beneficiary of an American lady’s legacy seems straightforward, but a friend’s suspicion that her husband has strayed needs delicate handling. Meanwhile Mma Makutsi’s husband-to-be Phuti Radiphuti has been injured and an unpleasant senior aunt is seeking to supplant his fiancée at the bedside'.

I read a reviewer complaint about the price on Kindle saying it was nearly £9 but that was in March and I notice it is now down to £4.99.
review by Ro