The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The multi-million copy bestselling series (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, #1)

by Alexander McCall Smith

The first book in the multi-million copy bestselling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series

The one where it all begins

Mma Ramotswe is the proud proprietor of the finest ladies' detective agency in all Botswana (also the only one). She spends her time, with a cup of redbush tea beneath the acacia tree, waiting for clients. When they come along, whether it is to enquire after a missing spouse or check the identity of a long-lost father, it is not The Principles of Private Detection that helps her to solve cases but old-fashioned common sense and a warm-hearted understanding of the fallibility of human nature - especially that of men.

'Among the greatest comfort-reads of all time' Sunday Times

'Jolly and exhilarating' Sunday Telegraph

'The Miss Marple of Botswana' New York Times Book Review

'A publishing phenomenon' Guardian

• ISBN10: 034911675X
• ISBN13: 9780349116754
• Publish Date: 5 June 2003 (first published 1 January 2001)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 11 March 2022
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Abacus
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[wcs53]

This book has probably been on my shelf unread for about 5 years. I had heard lots of good things about it and picked it up along with the next nine books in the series at book sales and used book stores with the intention of slowly working my way through the series.

It was a fairly enjoyable read, with lots of little stories joining together the main story as a whole. In this one we learn a lot about the back story of the main character, Precious Ramotswe, and those who are part of her life. She's a very strong character, with a very sharp mind, and it's hard not to like her as the book progresses. There's a lot of subtle humour in the book as well and I found myself chuckling to myself on a number of occasions.

I'm not sure when I'll get back to the rest of the books in this series, but hopefully I won't leave them for as long as I left this one.

[mbtc]

Interesting stories within the story. Felt it was a little harder to relate to this book, probably because of the cultural aspects. I didn't love this book, but it was a nice read.

[empressbrooke]

Cute, but not really my sort of book. I read it for a book club and won't be reading more in the series.

If you watched the first season on HBO, you've seen all the mysteries that are in this book. Strangely, I liked the show much better than the book.