The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

To me, reading this series is like slipping into comfy slippers and grabbing a soft, warm blanket. Mma Ramotswe is a charming, levelheaded character, and the crimes she handles are never gruesome.
Mma Ramotswe and Botswanna pride themselves on being civil and honest, for the most part.
In this story, there's a lot of unrest at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Mma Makutsi, Mma Ramotswe's assistant is feeling underappreciated, and decides to pursue another job, and Charlie, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's apprentice, also decides the same thing. Their absence leaves a noticeable emptiness in the office. There is a wife who believes her husband is cheating on her, and there have been 3 unexplained deaths in a show more local hospital. All will be sorted out, over many cups of tea. show less

I am an unabashed fan of all Alexander McCall Smith’s works, and The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, the eighth instalment in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, only further strengthens that opinion. Without any fanfare, and despite a rather long interval between books, I once again became totally immersed in the world of Precious Ramotse from the very first page, and utterly enchanted.

The season is slowly changing from winter in Botswana, and so it seems is the status quo around Mma Ramotse. With the larger issues in life now comfortably established the inhabitants of Zebra Drive enjoy a cosy routine, until one morning “suppositions are so rudely shattered before eight o’clock” and it becomes “a day for discovering things show more about the world which are quite different from what you thought they were!” Thus are we introduced to the premise for this book, and the merriment begins.

Mr J. L. B. Matekoni decides to try his hand at a little detective work; Mma Makutsi is feeling so unsettled, despite the month for her wedding to Phuti Radiphuti determined, she is considering a change to her employment; and Charlie, the apprentice, wants to start his own business! It is, indeed, as if the stars are out of alignment and are having a dire influence on Botswana, and in particular over Tlokweng Road; all this as the agency investigates three suspicious deaths at a hospital, thefts from a printing works, and Mma Ramotse catches up with old friends, while surveying the world at large in her usual but inimitable fashion.

The appeal of these stories is directly related to the characters – Alexander McCall Smith, I think, genuinely loves his creations, and the land in which he places them – and it is easily apparent that he speaks from personal knowledge and experience. Subtle lessons in life are artfully advanced through the musings and thought processes he links so aptly to these personas; and hence provides a depth of feeling that is unreservedly satisfying to me, at a spiritual level. These people are earthy, engaging, earnest, honest, often idiosyncratic – but with an innate humanity that charms and inspires - who produce many laugh-out-loud moments, even as you know their world will realign favourably!

These tales are never fast-paced, nor a crime thriller; in fact, the sleuthing serves more to emphasise the author’s philosophy and sociological mind-set than to solve crimes – this latest chronicle embodying another consummately well-written, ingenious take on life.

These books simply make me smile.

(Jul 8, 2008) show less

As fully expected by this point in the series, McCall-Smith delivers light and charming reading mixed with insights into ethical dilemmas and human nature. Mma Ramotswe receives what might be her most serious case yet – three different patients at the local hospital have died mysteriously; all in the same bed. Could it actually be murder? As usual, multiple things are going on at once, so we also hear about secretary Mma Makutsi quitting and looking for another job, apprentice Charlie quitting and deciding to start a taxi company, fiancé JLB Matekoni trying to break into detecting, and oh yes, who is stealing from a local business? This installment is actually a little odd, with many characters who are striving to break out of a mold show more and do something more – but with an overarching message that this might not be a good thing, and that the status quo is comfortable. Or is the message more that home is a good place? Or that a change isn’t always a change for the better? Hmm. show less

This is another solid entry in the series. There is a shakeup at the agency and the garage alike. Mma Ramotswe must solve a mystery at the hospital in Mochudi. And Mr. JLB Matekoni gets to solve a case. This was engaging and entertaining alike.

Book number eight in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. This time, various people contemplate changes in their careers, and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni gets to investigate a case of his own.

Once again, the mysteries investigated by the detective agency aren't remotely the point of the story, although their endings do lead to some nice emotional moments (one amusing, one poignant, and one sweet). Instead, as always, it's really all about the characters and the setting, with some gentle musings about life and relationships in modern Botswana and some equally gentle humor. And, as always, I find myself surprised by the fact that, book after book, this never starts to feel tedious and over-familiar, but continues to be pleasant and charming show more and to leave me feeling warm and fuzzy at the end. show less

This series is a world away from my usual literary tastes--I'm a glutton for the Victorian/Edwardian British sentimental novel, and these are set in modern-day Botswana and introduce a lifestyle that is foreign to me. They were recommended to me some years ago, and I read several but then stopped. I'm starting to pick them up again.
They're quite smooth reading and narrate the thought processes of the characters in a way that's entertaining and sometimes thought-provoking. I do recommend them!
They deal with a lady detective, her mechanic husband (an uncomplicated, kind, reliable and occasionally self-doubting man), her assistant (Grace Makutsi, graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, the smartest in the class, but also the least show more flashy, now engaged to be married, to her own great amazement), and various other people who are part of their lives. There are at least three detective cases being handled with varying degrees of skill, as well as various other small incidents that create a fully-formed, well-realized world. And they drink lots of tea. I'm particularly fond of the concept of making your own life better through..."acts of love, acts of tea, acts of laughter." show less

I’ve been reading this series since the beginning and enjoy them, although I feel the series has been straying further and further from the mystery aspect and more toward philosophizing and looking at the personal lives of the characters. This is fine, especially when the characters are as delightful as the ones that populate the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, although I do miss the more fleshed-out mysteries. In this volume, a lot of potential changes arise as Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni seeks to get into detective work so that he will seem more interesting to Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi contemplates leaving work altogether now that she is engaged to a wealthy man, and Charlie wants to leave his mechanics apprenticeship for a shiny, show more new venture. show less