Book review by Marika Tornberg, May 2010
”The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency” is a series of eleven novels by British author Alexander McCall Smith. The agency is located in Gaborone, capital of Botswana. Its founder is a Motswana woman, Mma Precious Ramotswe, who features as the stories' protagonist and main detective. The episodic novels are as much about the adventures and foibles of different characters as they are about solving mysteries. Each book in the series follows on from the previous book.
Themes and topics of the stories are women in traditional vs. nontraditional occupations, rural way of life in Southern Africa, social relations in traditional African society, Christianity and traditional belief systems in contemporary Africa.
The bibliography consists of the following books
- The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998)
- Tears Of The Giraffe (2000)
- Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001)
- The Kalahari Typing School for Men (2002)
- The Full Cupboard of Life (2004)
- In The Company of Cheerful Ladies (2004)
- Blue Shoes and Happiness (2006)
- The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (2007)
- The Miracle at Speedy Motors (2008)
- Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009)
- The Double Comfort Safari Club (2010)
For more information, visit http://www.randomhouse.com/features/mccallsmith/no1/
