The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Book 1)
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma Ramotswe—with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi—navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea.
This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to “help people with problems in their lives.” Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency received two Booker Judges’ Special Recommendations and was voted one of the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement.
This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to “help people with problems in their lives.” Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency received two Booker Judges’ Special Recommendations and was voted one of the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
I love this book and am retroactively rating is a huge five stars (up from my original four). The book is wonderful; but, more importantly, it introduced me to my favorite author, to some of my best fictional friends and to Botswana.
I look forward to revisiting these loyal, kind, amusing, and in Mma Precious Ramotswe's case, wise friends as soon as a new book in this amazing series is released. I've read almost every piece of fiction Alexander McCall Smith has published as well and I'm never disappointed.
I generally listen to the audio recordings as I commute or walk my dog every day and can say that Lisette Lecat is wonderful at capturing personalities and adding a true local dialect (she was born in South Africa). In some of the early books, I remember her adding beautiful clicks and other non-English nuances to some of the dialog.
I look forward to revisiting these loyal, kind, amusing, and in Mma Precious Ramotswe's case, wise friends as soon as a new book in this amazing series is released. I've read almost every piece of fiction Alexander McCall Smith has published as well and I'm never disappointed.
I generally listen to the audio recordings as I commute or walk my dog every day and can say that Lisette Lecat is wonderful at capturing personalities and adding a true local dialect (she was born in South Africa). In some of the early books, I remember her adding beautiful clicks and other non-English nuances to some of the dialog.
There's a lot to criticize [0, Betty's comments in 1, 2]. However, it was still a really enjoyable, easy read.
[0] https://nytimes.com/2005/04/24/books/review/in-the-company-of-cheerful-ladies-the-weaker-sex.html
[1] https://goodreads.com/review/show/4483751
[2] https://reddit.com/r/books/comments/10nw34o/does_alexander_mccall_smith_depict_botswana_and
[0] https://nytimes.com/2005/04/24/books/review/in-the-company-of-cheerful-ladies-the-weaker-sex.html
[1] https://goodreads.com/review/show/4483751
[2] https://reddit.com/r/books/comments/10nw34o/does_alexander_mccall_smith_depict_botswana_and
This was one of my choices to take on vacation since I was hoping to pack in a lot of reading while aboard a cruise ship. I didn't read what this was about, just relied on a friend's recommendation that it was "charming" (and cost me $1 at Half Price Books).
I ended up reading this in one day and leaving it on the cruise ship for someone else to enjoy so I don't have it with me to refer back to for the review.
Precious Ramotswe lives in Botswana with her father, raising cattle and taking care of her dad and the land. She tried marriage before and ended up abused, beaten and having a miscarriage for her efforts. Once her father dies, she sells the cattle and opens her own business. This business is a detective agency and she can claim it to be Number 1 because, well, no other detective agency exists, let alone one ran by a woman.
Ramotswe takes on various cases and cleverly solves them all. The blurb on the back claimed a missing boy was her biggest concern, yet that case wasn't technically a case and it took up very little of the book. Either way, this is a cute and charming book but I'm doubtful I will read the rest in the series.
I ended up reading this in one day and leaving it on the cruise ship for someone else to enjoy so I don't have it with me to refer back to for the review.
Precious Ramotswe lives in Botswana with her father, raising cattle and taking care of her dad and the land. She tried marriage before and ended up abused, beaten and having a miscarriage for her efforts. Once her father dies, she sells the cattle and opens her own business. This business is a detective agency and she can claim it to be Number 1 because, well, no other detective agency exists, let alone one ran by a woman.
Ramotswe takes on various cases and cleverly solves them all. The blurb on the back claimed a missing boy was her biggest concern, yet that case wasn't technically a case and it took up very little of the book. Either way, this is a cute and charming book but I'm doubtful I will read the rest in the series.
Easy read... or listen in my case because I did it as an audiobook. Some fun stories, interesting cultural reflections and just a simple story.
This is a book I’d describe as a “comfort book”. Whenever you need something to read that isn’t taxing but still entertaining or a bedtime story to lull you to sleep, that’s a comfort book. Precious Ramotswe is cunning and ambitious. I like the interactions between the different country peoples and the biases because it makes the characters more human. If you’d like this to be a book to read during bedtime, I’d suggest the audiobook.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.