To the Land of Long Lost Friends

Although the three cases in the To The Land of Long Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith are not paying clients for Mma Ramotswe, but as always she is entirely dedicated to results. 

While having lunch one day, Precious is startled to see someone she thought was "late." Her friend Calviniah Ramoroka had been reported killed in a road accident, but her she was having lunch at the same place as Precious. Precious soon learns there was someone else with the same name killed in the accident. 

She is so relived her friend is still alive and promises to help her reconcile with her daughter. It seems Calviniah's twenty-four-year-old daughter suddenly has no time for her mother. As much as she has tried to understand why this has happened, Calviniah believes she hasn't done anything to deserve the cold shoulder. 

Precious also learns another friend of theirs has lost all her money. Poppy was the owner of a large store in Francistown and now she has given all her money to a a minister who started his own church called the Church of Christ, Mechanic. 

With no real cases to deal with, Precious decides to help Calviniah reconcile with her daughter and get Poppy's money back. Suddenly the two cases have an overlap and with her usual flair and folksy wisdom, Precious finds a way to solve both cases and wrap up another one she thought was solved.

And then there's Charlie who wants to marry Queenie-Queenie but he had no money to pay the bridal dowry. Poor Charlie, only an assistant, not even a detective. 

As usual this delightful series enables the reader to take a deep breathe of the clear air in Botswana and relax a little.

The Colors of all the Cattle

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This lovely series continues to be delightfully warm, friendly and rich in culture. Although they are not mysteries in the traditional sense, the No 1. Ladies Detective Agency solves problems found in every day life.

In The Colors of All the Cattle by Alexander McCall Smith, Precious Ramotswe is happy operate the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. But Mma Potokwane convinces Mma Ramotswe to run for City Council. Not everyone is comfortable with the decision, including Precious.

When she discovers a developer is planning to build a flashy new Big Fun Hotel adjacent to a graveyard, she decides this is not a respectable way to treat people who are "late." Then Mma Ramotswe enters the race with gusto and finds herself running against Mma Makutsi's nemesis Violet Sephotho, who is in the pocket of the builder.


On the business side, Mma Ramotswe is asked by a friend of her father's to investigate a hit and run accident. Dr. Marang was crossing the street in Mochudi, Precious' hometown, when a car struck and injured him. Although it happened many months ago, Precious says she will investigate.

Charlie, anxious to impress his new girlfriend, offers to speak with someone he knows who is a mechanic in Mochudi. Somehow Charlie gets himself in trouble, but his information helps solve the case.

As election day draws near, Precious is anxious about the results but believes what will be will be.

I love these books because the characters respect each other and their traditions. It is something we are lacking in today's world.

The House of Unexpected Sisters

With a lack of active cases Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are happy to investigate a case brought to them by Mr. Polopetsi. In The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith, it seems a woman has been wrongfully dismissed from her job and Mma Ramotswe, always one to believe in fair play, decides to investigate.

When they meet Mma Charity and hear her story, they feel they might be able to help her. Once Mma Makutsi learns Mma Charity is a graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, she is sure she is innocent. Mma Ramotswe needs more evidence.

Mma Ramotswe decides to visit Mma Charity's mother, Mma Lentswe, in hopes of learning more about her daughter. She learns from Mma Lentswe that Charity can, in fact, be rude sometimes and has a bit of a temper. Saddened by this lack of confidence in her daughter by her mother, Mma Ramotswe feels the story of being dismissed for being rude to a customer, might, in fact, be true. Sorry to have to disappoint Mma Makutsi and Mr. Polopetsi, she plans to return to Gaborone.

Before Precious leaves Mma Lentswe remarks that she has seen a picture of Mma Ramotswe's father and another one of a young woman with the same last name. She rummages through her scrapbooks and finds the photo. It is of a nurse named Mingie Ramotswe who is about a year older than Mma Ramotswe. With this troubling news, Precious is determined to find the nurse with the same last name.

I have always enjoyed this series, but sometimes there is not much going on and it is a bit talky. That's how this book was but as always the story is sweet and the characters are so ethical.

For a review of another book in the series, Precious and Grace, click here. 

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

From the very beginning of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Novels by Alexander McCall Smith, I have been a huge fan. The warming feelings I have for the characters extends to the latest book Precious and Grace. Mma Ramotswe (Precious) and Mma Makutsi (Grace) solve many of life's little mysteries with their folksy knowledge and insight.

In the latest installment they are asked by Susan Peters, a woman who was born in Botswana to Canadian parents, to find her childhood home in Gaborone. She says she lived there until she was eight years old, but doesn't remember exactly where she lived. She has a photo taken with a woman who cared for her as a child and she wants to find her as well.

Precious senses unhappiness in her new client, but is not sure of the source. She sets out to find the childhood home of Susan, and discovers it is right next door to her home on Zebra Drive. 

As usual there are plenty of small stories playing out in this book. Mma Potokwane is thinking of hiring a new house mother who is distantly related to her. Mr. Polopetsi somehow gets himself involved in a pyramid scheme and Fanwell finds a stray dog. Grace's archenemy Violet Sephotho has been nominated as a candidate for the Gaborone Chamber of Commerce's Woman of the Year.

Using her loving heart and her detective instincts gleaned from Clovis Andersen's The Principles of Private Detection, Precious, with Grace's assistance, solves all the mysteries.

For more books by Alexander McCall Smith, click here.