annieb123's Review of From a Far and Lovely Country

by Alexander McCall Smith

The twenty-fourth book in the multi-million copy bestselling and perennially adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

If you are the founder and Managing Director of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency you may expect complete strangers to approach you with their problems when they see you having dinner with your husband in a peri-peri restaurant. And if you are Precious Ramotswe, you are a kind and helpful person who will be willing to take on a quest to find the relatives of a man who, many years ago, left the country for the uncertainties and dangers of a distant conflict.

While that is going on, though, there may be other things that claim your attention - such as the shocking news that a club that calls itself the Cool Singles Evening Club is encouraging married men to pretend to be single and meet women under false pretences. Who can be behind such a distasteful venture? Mma Ramotswe shows great tact in dealing with this situation, and avoids harm to the innocent.

And all the time, she and her assistant, Grace Makutsi, are getting on with their normal lives - which, of course, include birthdays and the buying of birthday presents. A new dress makes a fine present, but not if, when being tried on, it splits in a way that is thought to be irreparable. Mma Potokwani has dealt with situations far worse that, and in dealing with this local emergency she shows her characteristic wisdom. At the end of the day, disaster is averted. Life in Botswana, that far and lovely country of the title, continues smoothly, which is what Mma Ramotswe and her friends want - and most certainly deserve.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

From a Far and Lovely Country is the 24th No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novel by Alexander McCall Smith. Released 31st Oct 2023 by Knopf Doubleday on their Pantheon imprint, it's 256 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same pubisher in 4th quarter 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is such a fun, dependable series. Mma Ramotswe is, again, required to use her formidable wit and creativity to sort out several thorny problems and heal a few hearts (and smack some sense into a few heads who really should have behaved themselves along the way). The disparate threads entwine to a satisfying and warm, if bittersweet, conclusion, and the overall effect is of a long and unhurried chat with an old friend.

It's not necessary to have read the books in order, however, the large changes which occur (marriage, family relations, etc) will be obvious if they're read out of order.

Especially with the desperate struggles, illnesses, upheavals, and sadness which seem universal in the world right now, this series and these characters are a balm to the soul. Wonderful.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

11 May, 2024: Started reading

11 May, 2024: Finished reading

11 May, 2024: Reviewed