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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by…
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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (original 1998; edition 2003)

by Alexander McCall Smith, Lisette Lecat (Narrator)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
14,064400408 (3.73)2 / 833
This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to help people with problems in their lives. Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors.… (more)
Member:Carole.Dent
Title:The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Authors:Alexander McCall Smith
Other authors:Lisette Lecat (Narrator)
Info:Recorded Books (2003), Audio CD
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

The No. 1 Ladiesʼ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (1998)

  1. 40
    The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill (heidialice)
  2. 51
    Still Life by Louise Penny (bell7)
    bell7: Readers who enjoy Mma Ramotswe's understanding of people may also appreciate Inspector Gamache's methods and insistence that listening to and understanding people solve cases.
  3. 20
    Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin (elbakerone)
    elbakerone: Although they take place in different African countries (Smith's Botswana and Parkin's Rwanda), both books have a similar flavor with the leading ladies helping out their neighbors. Throughout their respective stories, each book reveals a bit about the culture and daily life of the country where it takes place.… (more)
  4. 20
    A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson (bookwoman247)
    bookwoman247: Both books have a similar, lighthearted tone, and of course, they have the African setting in common.
  5. 10
    Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey (-Eva-)
    -Eva-: It's a little more gruesome than McCall Smith's books, but it's a true pageturner!
  6. 10
    The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (stevedore)
    stevedore: Similar light-hearted quirky characters and lack of dramatic tension.
  7. 10
    Frangipani by Célestine Hitiura Vaite (jayne_charles)
    jayne_charles: Culturally illuminating with similar feelgood vibe
  8. 00
    Tail of the Blue Bird by Nii Ayikwei Parkes (sanddancer)
  9. 00
    The Cliff House Strangler by Shirley Tallman (missmaddie)
    missmaddie: Mystery novels filled with woman power!
  10. 11
    Jana Bibi's Excellent Fortunes by Betsy Woodman (amyblue)
    amyblue: Although Jana Bibi is set in India and No. 1 Ladies detective Agency is set in Botswana, both have a great respect for the local culture but are told from a more western perspective, and both have a cast of quirky characters.
  11. 00
    The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall (bookmomo)
    bookmomo: Both books are cory mysteries, with different plotlines, in an exotic environment. Nice, comfortable reads
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» See also 833 mentions

English (381)  Swedish (5)  Spanish (4)  French (2)  Finnish (2)  Italian (1)  Dutch (1)  Danish (1)  German (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (399)
Showing 1-5 of 381 (next | show all)
Excellent, drole, clever, satifying, comfortable, wise
  BooksInARow | Jan 29, 2024 |
1st in series of stories of woman who begins a detective agency in Africa. Fun book
  bentstoker | Jan 26, 2024 |
Loved the book! Great story, setting and characters. ( )
  LuLibro | Jan 22, 2024 |
There are lots of things to like about this book: (1) a great heroine in Precious Ramotswe, (2) satisfying mysteries, and (3) the evocation of Botswana. In some ways the combining of the character study, the detective story, and the Africa novel can't help but come off a bit uneven, but each was done so well that I forgave the book its bumpiness. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
This is excellent! ( )
  Kiri | Dec 24, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 381 (next | show all)
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.
added by Lemeritus | editPublishers Weekly (Aug 27, 2002)
 

» Add other authors (16 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Smith, Alexander McCallprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Benedict, ClaireNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Carcano, ClaudioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Carlsson, PederTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kern, ÉlisabethTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
McIntosh, IainIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Dedication
This book is for

Anne Gordon-Gillies

in Scotland

and for

Joe and Mimi McKnight

in Dallas, Texas
First words
Mma Ramotswe had a detective agency in Africa, at the foot of Kgale Hill.
Quotations
...was featureless land, cluttered with low thorn trees, on the branches of which there perched the hornbills and the fluttering molopes, with their long, trailing tail feathers. It was a world that seemed to have no end, and that, I think, is what made Africa in those days so different. There was no end to it. A man could walk, or ride, forever, and he would never get anywhere. -Page 15
...every man has a map in his heart of his own country and that the heart will never allow you to forget this map. -Page 18
The problem, of course, was that people did not seem to understand the difference between right and wrong. They needed to be reminded about this, because if you left it to them to work out for themselves, they would never bother. They would just find out what was best for them, and then they would call that the right thing. That’s how most people thought. -Page 35
The Reverend looked down at the ground, which, in her experience, was where people usually looked if they felt truly sorry. The shamelessly unrepentant, she found, always looked up at the sky. -Page 68
If she had listened to her father, if she had listened to the cousin’s husband, she would never have married Note and the years of unhappiness would never have occurred. But they did, because she was headstrong, as everybody is at the age of twenty, and when we simply cannot see, however much we may think we can. The world is full of twenty-year-olds, she thought, all of them blind. -Page 135
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
ISBN 1405500018 is the abridged audio book narrated by Adjoa Andoh. Do not combine this edition with the full work.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to help people with problems in their lives. Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors.

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