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Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma Ramotswe—with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi—navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea.Under the endless skies of Botswana, there is always something Mma Ramotswe can do to help someone and here she finds herself assisting a woman show more looking for her family. The problem is the woman doesn't know her real name or whether any of her family members are still alive. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi is the recipient of a beautiful new bed that causes more than a few sleepless nights. And, at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has come under the influence of a doctor promising a miracle cure for his daughter's medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to accept. Nonetheless, Precious Ramotswe handles these things in her usual compassionate and good-natured way, while always finding time for a cup of red bush tea.
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It's always a pleasure to visit Botswana's only female private detective agency. These books aren't about crime. They're about life. Precious herself puts it this way:
...I am a lady first and then I am a detective. So I just do the things which we ladies know how to do—I talk to people and find out what has happened. Then I try to solve the problems in people's lives. That is all I do.
In this series installment, a client who believes she was adopted asks the agency for help in finding her real family. Precious also tries to find out who is behind a series of nasty anonymous letters. She solves the case with help from an unexpected source. Mma Makutsi has a problem with a piece of furniture her fiance has purchased in anticipation of show more their marriage. Precious's husband, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, goes to great lengths to acquire a second opinion on their wheelchair-bound foster daughter's disability.
This is the first book in the series that I've read since my father's death. Precious's love for her late Daddy struck me in a fresh way this time. I loved this passage:
That Obed Ramotswe should be remembered, that people should still speak of him; that touched her. One did not have to be famous to be remembered in Botswana; there was room in history for all of us.
“He was a very good man,” she said. “He loved his cattle. He loved his country.”
She had not intended to utter an epitaph, but that, she realised, was what she had done.
This series probably won't win many literary awards. However, it's among my favorites because I always feel better about the world and the people in it after absorbing Precious's outlook on life. Warmly recommended. show less
...I am a lady first and then I am a detective. So I just do the things which we ladies know how to do—I talk to people and find out what has happened. Then I try to solve the problems in people's lives. That is all I do.
In this series installment, a client who believes she was adopted asks the agency for help in finding her real family. Precious also tries to find out who is behind a series of nasty anonymous letters. She solves the case with help from an unexpected source. Mma Makutsi has a problem with a piece of furniture her fiance has purchased in anticipation of show more their marriage. Precious's husband, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, goes to great lengths to acquire a second opinion on their wheelchair-bound foster daughter's disability.
This is the first book in the series that I've read since my father's death. Precious's love for her late Daddy struck me in a fresh way this time. I loved this passage:
That Obed Ramotswe should be remembered, that people should still speak of him; that touched her. One did not have to be famous to be remembered in Botswana; there was room in history for all of us.
“He was a very good man,” she said. “He loved his cattle. He loved his country.”
She had not intended to utter an epitaph, but that, she realised, was what she had done.
This series probably won't win many literary awards. However, it's among my favorites because I always feel better about the world and the people in it after absorbing Precious's outlook on life. Warmly recommended. show less
Book number nine in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, and if you've read the first eight, you know exactly what you're getting here. Which is fine by me! I've long since stopped expecting this series' sameness to start wearing on me and instead embraced it as the consistently pleasant, warm comfort food for the soul that it is.
Although I will say, the things Precious Ramotswe and company are investigating this time -- a woman looking for her birth family, and some harassing notes left at the detectives' office -- were more interesting to me in themselves than they usually are. There's still nothing really exciting or plotty there, but excitement and plot are never the point of these books. Both investigations, after a few show more misunderstandings, end on a very heart-warming note, and that is the point, or at least one of the most important points, and it's one Alexander McCall Smith does a surprisingly good job of hitting in a satisfying way, time after time. show less
Although I will say, the things Precious Ramotswe and company are investigating this time -- a woman looking for her birth family, and some harassing notes left at the detectives' office -- were more interesting to me in themselves than they usually are. There's still nothing really exciting or plotty there, but excitement and plot are never the point of these books. Both investigations, after a few show more misunderstandings, end on a very heart-warming note, and that is the point, or at least one of the most important points, and it's one Alexander McCall Smith does a surprisingly good job of hitting in a satisfying way, time after time. show less
[This is a review I wrote in 2008]
**More delightful philosophising from Mma Ramotswe (Book 9 in the Series)**
Fans of Alexander McCall Smith's 'Ladies Detective Agency' series are sure to enjoy this latest offering. I just love the series. The author has a talent for making you feel right at home in Gabarone, Botswana, with Mma Ramotswe, Mr J.L.P. Matekoni, Mma Makutsi and the other colourful characters in the novels. Crossing continents is not a problem as McCall Smith brings these characters to life in a wonderfully vivid way.
With touches of understated comic irony, this series are just a delightful light-hearted read. Watch out for the moral elements - Mma Ramotswe spends a lot of her time philosophising on life, and the good old days show more in particular when morals were better, young people were more polite, there was more respect in society and, of course, there were more 'traditionally built' women too!... but her moments of reflection just add to the charm of this series!
In 'The Miracle at Speedy Motors', Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi (newly promoted to 'Associate' Detective (!) have some detective work to deal with, including a nasty piece of malicious mail and a lady who has requested that the detectives find her some relatives... Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is hoping for a miracle; Mma Makutsi has some life crises of her own; Will Mma Makutsi and young Charlie, the apprentice finally see eye-to-eye?!; and we hear a bit more about Mma Ramotswe and Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's fostered children, Motholeli and Puso, in this book too. All-in-all you'll find here a few delightful hours of pure light-hearted entertainment. show less
**More delightful philosophising from Mma Ramotswe (Book 9 in the Series)**
Fans of Alexander McCall Smith's 'Ladies Detective Agency' series are sure to enjoy this latest offering. I just love the series. The author has a talent for making you feel right at home in Gabarone, Botswana, with Mma Ramotswe, Mr J.L.P. Matekoni, Mma Makutsi and the other colourful characters in the novels. Crossing continents is not a problem as McCall Smith brings these characters to life in a wonderfully vivid way.
With touches of understated comic irony, this series are just a delightful light-hearted read. Watch out for the moral elements - Mma Ramotswe spends a lot of her time philosophising on life, and the good old days show more in particular when morals were better, young people were more polite, there was more respect in society and, of course, there were more 'traditionally built' women too!... but her moments of reflection just add to the charm of this series!
In 'The Miracle at Speedy Motors', Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi (newly promoted to 'Associate' Detective (!) have some detective work to deal with, including a nasty piece of malicious mail and a lady who has requested that the detectives find her some relatives... Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is hoping for a miracle; Mma Makutsi has some life crises of her own; Will Mma Makutsi and young Charlie, the apprentice finally see eye-to-eye?!; and we hear a bit more about Mma Ramotswe and Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's fostered children, Motholeli and Puso, in this book too. All-in-all you'll find here a few delightful hours of pure light-hearted entertainment. show less
I honestly believe that reading these books can lower your blood pressure. I'm not a doctor or anything, but there is something magical about them that is good for the heart and soul.
They aren't trying to be clever or shocking or special in any particular way. They just kind of sweetly plod along to show you that it's ok to slow down. That it's okay to take a beat when you need to so you can process events over a cup of tea. You don't have to figure it all out now. You don't have to react to everything right away. The world and all its problems will always be here for you to anguish over, so be gentle with yourself.
They aren't trying to be clever or shocking or special in any particular way. They just kind of sweetly plod along to show you that it's ok to slow down. That it's okay to take a beat when you need to so you can process events over a cup of tea. You don't have to figure it all out now. You don't have to react to everything right away. The world and all its problems will always be here for you to anguish over, so be gentle with yourself.
I really like this series. This one involves a threatening letter to Precious and Grace, a possible miracle cure for Motholeli, a client searching for her birth family and a fancy bed for Grace and Phuti. Lots of comic bits and bits of philosophy throughout.
Reread this before going on to next volume. This was as good as the first reading and reacquainted me with the characters.
Reread this before going on to next volume. This was as good as the first reading and reacquainted me with the characters.
Another sweet story where things turn out for the best or, at least, as well as one can reasonably hope for.
One theme deals with how do you react to personal hate mail. Do you respond with sympathy and an apology for whatever unknown action upset the writer or do you retaliate or ignore it? Do you do it publicly or quietly? And does it depend on how much the perpetrator is involved in your life?
Another is being honest when it involves admitting you are wrong----turns out this makes everything better!
Mma Ramotswe still has her white van.
My favorite quote from the book:
"... on one occasion [Mma Makutsi] had tut-tutted when a client had been telling Mma Ramotswe about something he had done. . . . Mma Ramotswe had been obliged to show more reassure him . . . . 'It is not for us, Rra,' she had said, all the while looking at Mma Makutsi, 'to make you feel guilty. It is not for us.'
Mma Makutsi had nodded. 'God will do that,' she interjected. 'He is the one who will judge you.'" [p. 19] show less
One theme deals with how do you react to personal hate mail. Do you respond with sympathy and an apology for whatever unknown action upset the writer or do you retaliate or ignore it? Do you do it publicly or quietly? And does it depend on how much the perpetrator is involved in your life?
Another is being honest when it involves admitting you are wrong----turns out this makes everything better!
Mma Ramotswe still has her white van.
My favorite quote from the book:
"... on one occasion [Mma Makutsi] had tut-tutted when a client had been telling Mma Ramotswe about something he had done. . . . Mma Ramotswe had been obliged to show more reassure him . . . . 'It is not for us, Rra,' she had said, all the while looking at Mma Makutsi, 'to make you feel guilty. It is not for us.'
Mma Makutsi had nodded. 'God will do that,' she interjected. 'He is the one who will judge you.'" [p. 19] show less
The real mystery in this series is how the author manages to continue the charming adventures of Precious Ramotswe, Grace Makutsi and Mr. JLB Matekoni well past the original seven volumes he had originally intended. Now on Book #9, McCall still manages to breathe new life into his characters, even if they still maintain habitual bush tea drinking or conversations with their shoes!
One of the gifts or major frustrations of this series (depending on your preference) is the slow rate of character development (at least in terms of their interpersonal relationships). While Mma Potokwane can still be relied upon to supply fruitcake and charm Mr. JLB Matekoni into doing odd jobs, other characters begin to grow and mature, even if only by show more inches. The changes are subtle, but this is what keeps readers coming back for yet another volume.
I have to admit to skipping over some of the repetitions (Smith writes so that you can pick up any volume in the series, but I do recommend reading them in order) but I found the plot coherency better in this book than in the Good Husband of Zebra Drive, for example. There is still a sense that perhaps he sets up too many loose ends and feels a pressure near the end to tie them up, but it doesn't detract from the general enjoyment of the novel. show less
One of the gifts or major frustrations of this series (depending on your preference) is the slow rate of character development (at least in terms of their interpersonal relationships). While Mma Potokwane can still be relied upon to supply fruitcake and charm Mr. JLB Matekoni into doing odd jobs, other characters begin to grow and mature, even if only by show more inches. The changes are subtle, but this is what keeps readers coming back for yet another volume.
I have to admit to skipping over some of the repetitions (Smith writes so that you can pick up any volume in the series, but I do recommend reading them in order) but I found the plot coherency better in this book than in the Good Husband of Zebra Drive, for example. There is still a sense that perhaps he sets up too many loose ends and feels a pressure near the end to tie them up, but it doesn't detract from the general enjoyment of the novel. show less
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Author Information
310+ Works 125,365 Members
Alexander McCall Smith was born on August 24, 1948 in Zimbabwe. He was a professor of medical law at the University of Edinburgh, but he left in 2005 to focus on his writing. He has written over 60 books, including specialist academic titles including Forensic Aspects of Sleep and The Criminal Law of Botswana, short story collections including show more Portuguese Irregular Verbs, and children's books including The Perfect Hamburger. He is best known for the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. He also writes the Corduroy Mansions, Isabel Dalhousie and 44 Scotland Street series. He has received numerous awards, including The Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library Award and the 2004 United Kingdom's Author of the Year Award. His book, The Full Cupboard of Life, received the Saga Award for Wit in the United Kingdom. In 2007, he received a CBE for his services in literature. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Miracle at Speedy Motors
- Original title
- The Miracle at Speedy Motors
- Original publication date
- 2008-04-15
- People/Characters
- Precious Ramotswe; J.L.B. Matekoni; Grace Makutsi; Charlie the apprentice; Phuti Radiphuti; Violet Sephotho (show all 10); Silvia Potokwane; Manka Sebina; Motholeli; Kenneth Sekape
- Important places
- Gaborone, Botswana; Mochudi, Botswana
- Dedication
- For my wife, Elizabeth, a kind doctor, worker of miracles
- First words
- The correct address of Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's foremost solver of problems - in the sense that this was where she could be found between eight in the morning and five in the afternoon, except when she was not there - wa... (show all)s the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, c/o Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Gaborone, Botswana.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But one had to be careful, Mma Ramotswe reminded herself: one should not ask for too many things in this life, especially when one already had so much.
- Original language
- English
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- 21