The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

The first novel of Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is a charming peek into life in modern day Botswana and is destined to become an African classic.

This charming book by R A McCall Smith has none of the yuppie angst, gratuitous violence, psychopaths, and rat race typically experienced by an American female private eye. On the contrary, when Precious Ramotswe inherits her father's wealth of cattle and uses the proceeds of their sale to set up the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, she finds herself perfectly in tune with the ebb and flow of African life and is asked to investigate the more mundane crimes and misdemeanours of stolen vehicles, unfaithful husbands, and wayward children - with a 'muti' murder to add to the tension. Set in Botswana, Africa's most stable post-Colonial country, this book will transport you into Mma Ramotswe's world and leave you feeling beguiled and refreshed.