The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency / Alexander McCall Smith.
Publisher: Edinburgh : Polygon, c1998Description: 226p. ; 22 cm001: 43405ISBN: 9780748662524 (pbk.) :Subject(s): Private investigators -- Botswana -- FictionGenre/Form: Detective and mystery stories. | Crime.DDC classification: 823.914 MCC LOC classification: PR6063.C33 | N6 1998Summary: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is one woman, Precious Ramotswe, working out of a breezeblock office in Botswana. A cross between Kinsey Millhone & Miss Marple, Previous makes an unlikely heroine as she embarks on a very African mystery.Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | MAIN LIBRARY FICTION | FICTION (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 113134 |
Browsing MAIN LIBRARY shelves, Shelving location: FICTION, Collection: PRINT Close shelf browser (Hides shelf browser)
No cover image available | ||||||||
FICTION Get your war on / | FICTION The fade out. Volume 3 / | FICTION Invisible man / | FICTION The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency / | FICTION Mortal coils : five stories | FICTION Tomorrow I'll be brave / | FICTION The piano teacher / |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
A cross between Kate Brannigan and Miss Marple, Precious Remotswe embarks from her breezeblock office in Botswana on this humourous story of missing husbands, impostor relatives, wayward daughters and abduction. Not all her cases are successful.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is one woman, Precious Ramotswe, working out of a breezeblock office in Botswana. A cross between Kinsey Millhone & Miss Marple, Previous makes an unlikely heroine as she embarks on a very African mystery.
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Publishers Weekly Review
The African-born author of more than 50 books, from children's stories (The Perfect Hamburger) to scholarly works (Forensic Aspects of Sleep), turns his talents to detection in this artful, pleasing novel about Mma (aka Precious) Ramotswe, Botswana's one and only lady private detective. A series of vignettes linked to the establishment and growth of Mma Ramotswe's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" serve not only to entertain but to explore conditions in Botswana in a way that is both penetrating and light thanks to Smith's deft touch. Mma Ramotswe's cases come slowly and hesitantly at first: women who suspect their husbands are cheating on them; a father worried that his daughter is sneaking off to see a boy; a missing child who may have been killed by witchdoctors to make medicine; a doctor who sometimes seems highly competent and sometimes seems to know almost nothing about medicine. The desultory pace is fine, since she has only a detective manual, the frequently cited example of Agatha Christie and her instincts to guide her. Mma Ramotswe's love of Africa, her wisdom and humor, shine through these pages as she shines her own light on the problems that vex her clients. Images of this large woman driving her tiny white van or sharing a cup of bush tea with a friend or client while working a case linger pleasantly. General audiences will welcome this little gem of a book just as much if not more than mystery readers. (Aug. 27) FYI: Anchor is simultaneously issuing two other titles in this series, Tears of the Giraffe and Morality for Beautiful Girls. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reservedKirkus Book Review
Botswana's only female detective, Precious Ramotswe-whose investigation of whether the father who's incontinently turned up on the doorstep of Happy Bapetsi, who's been getting along fine without him, is really her father edges her toward considerably darker waters-isn't just ready to confront everything from theft to kidnapping to murder: she's ready for prime time. The first American publication of this 1999 debut has been preceded by two special Booker citations and two sequels, Tears of the Giraffe (2000) and Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001), both forthcoming in the series. Film rights to Jo'burg Filmed EntertainmentThere are no comments on this title.
Log in to your account to post a comment.