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Jul 07, 2011

ebnewberry rated it:

A lot of people are under the impression that Alexander Mccall Smith books are strictly for middle aged women. This is NOT the case at all. These books are for everyone. They are not even just for women. A lot of people are also under the impression that these books are mystery books. This is also a misconception. Mysteries are a very small part of these stories. These books are about humanity and the small things that make it so good to be both human and alive. I dare anyone who is not happy to More...

7 comments like (43 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2008

Shannon rated it:

I'm no fan of mystery, crime or detective books - the bore me, generally, though I loved Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher books in high school and Agatha Christie's Ten Little Niggers gave me chills (since renamed And Then There Were None, for obvious reasons - but I've got an old edition).

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a real gem, however. I absolutely loved it. Wise, funny, intelligent, insightful and blushing with vigour and a heartfelt love of Africa, I'm not in the least su More...

15 comments like (19 people liked it)

May 06, 2008

Abby rated it:

What's all the fuss about? This book didn't have a good story (or any story for that matter), a unique writing style, or a meaningful message. The only thing I can say about it is that it provided a look into a unique culture. Though I love a series, there's something questionable about one with so many books. Does one author really have that many brilliant ideas about a single topic? Most likely not, since he didn't even start with genius. I, for one,will not be reading on to find out.

13 comments like (20 people liked it)

Oct 30, 2009

Gail rated it:

This collection of vignettes disguised as a novel was a great read. The main character is a gentle African woman who decides to be a detective to help other people. She is a delightful character, with light humor and a big heart. Agency isn't like any other detective novels...the characters are much more developed and the "mysteries" aren't the usual murders, whether cosy or hard-boiled. If you'd like a sweet trip to another culture, calmer and gnetler than ours, this is a book for you

4 comments like (12 people liked it)

Sep 13, 2011

Brian rated it:

Pleasant and somewhat interesting, but not compelling.

It's my impression that mystery novels are part puzzle and part vehicle for depicting a cross-section of life in some locale. The puzzle part in No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was never very elaborate. Most mysteries arose and resolved in the span of one chapter. In fact it seemed like the point was to showcase Precious' subtle knack for zeroing in and keeping things from being more complex than they need to be. Precious and her More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Apr 24, 2010

Ruth rated it:

The only thing I didn't like was that it had to end.

I learned that you don't have to write elloquently to write a book. Marcos keeps telling me I should write children's books. This book was so simple and yet so enjoyable that it makes me wonder if I really could write a book too.

Because each mystery/case is so short and precise, it doesn't need all the suspense other books use. I think the suspense in this book is about finding out what the next problem wil be and how cl More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 23, 2008

Eric rated it:

I put off reading this series for a long time until I found out that it wasn't a book for "ladies," but one to be enjoyed by readers of both sexes--and enjoy it I did.

In its simple and conversational manner, this book taught me a little bit about many things: Botswana, African culture in general, working in the diamond mines of South Africa, and human nature. Through the first-person account of Precious Ramotswe we are treated to an assortment of quirky detective stories t More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Mar 07, 2009

Luann rated it:

Excellent! I enjoyed this a lot. Mma Ramotswe is a fun, common-sense character and a great detective. She reminds me of Miss Marple or Mrs. Pollifax. I'll definitely read another in the series sometime.

7 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 01, 2007

Kira rated it:

Just could not get past the very obvious fact that this book is written by a white guy, trying to tell a story through the eyes of a Botswana(ese?) woman. It felt a bit patronising, as in, look how simply these people live, just hanging out in the hot sun watching their cattle, oh to live so simply like this, oh look this woman is setting up a detective agency, can you imagine that, a woman? A black woman? How quaint and adorable, etc. etc. It was a cute story, but that was the problem, it was a More...

10 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2012

Harmonybites rated it:

I'm a fan of mystery novels, although I often find myself less than happy with the subgenre this corresponds to, the so-called "cozy mystery." Several things though lift this above the usual book on the mystery aisle. The style is simple, even spare, and the structure rather loose, but Smith's detective, Precious Ramotswe, is charming and clever--a worthy successor to the detectives that she mentions as her inspiration more than once, those of Agatha Christie. Like Christie's Miss Marp More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 25, 2008

Lula rated it:

I listened to this book on CD! The woman reading it is awesome! And the African Music in the background sets the scene perfectly! This is the perfect, lighthearted book to listen to in the car. I drove around daydreaming that I was driving through the Kalihari! Loved it!

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 10, 2008

Happyreader rated it:

While the book had its charms, it was such a slow read. I kept thinking it would pick up and it didn't.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Sep 11, 2007

Penny rated it:

Christmas present from my sister Gem. She found it reminded her of her childhood in South Africa.

The book has charm, especially the main character, Precious Ramotswe. (When her much beloved father is on his deathbed, he summons her and says that he is leaving her money for her to start a business that will make her financially secure, such as a butchery or bottle store. She takes his hand and tells him she will open a detective agency. He looks startled, says "But... but..." More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2008

Fabian rated it:

I read about Africa and I quickly want to be transported there. I want a more simple life...

The heart of this novel is its feminist protagonist, Mma Ramotswe who lives in a precious town in Gaborone, still untouched by technology or South African cosmopolitanism. This book is extremely feminist, in a very good, positive and enlightening way and it is anti-colonialist.

But to counter this notion there is a heartwarming case that Mma Ramotswe, the number one (and sole) fema More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jan 08, 2009

Kelly rated it:

I really liked this one, an extremely quick read and quite enjoyable. About a lady in Africa who sets up the first (and only) detective agency with a female detective.

It has nice short chapters with different cases, so it can be picked up and put down easily and can be read while reading something else without being distracted.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 28, 2009

Jon rated it:

Closer to 3.5 stars.

This is my first foray into literature set in Africa, and Botswana in particular. Others have mentioned, as does the cover's blurbs, that this is story has hilarious elements in it. While some of Mma Ramotswe antics and detective techniques brought a smile to my face, most of what she relates is heartbreaking. I think my heart would burst with the pain and suffering Africans endure on a daily basis.

Mma Ramotswe is a strong, intelligent woman, fu More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 18, 2009

Esme Pie rated it:

Don't know how I've gone so long without reading these books. Utterly charming and sweet and gentle. Also, quite funny in a way that will appeal to older readers. Loved it and you will quickly see the rest of the series hit my 'read' shelf.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 03, 2007

Zab rated it:

This book is written in a style where it's not clear whether the narrator is just being very understated, or whether the characters are all just kinda simple-minded. I love that style in Daniel Pinkwater when he's writing about New Jersey, but I feel reservations about it when it's a white guy (even one raised in southern Africa) writing about Africa.

Granted, when the narrator makes sweeping generalizations about Africa as a whole (which happens a number of times), they are generally More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it:

This is a story about the first lady detective in Botswana, Precious Ramotswe. Mostly the chapters are about individual cases she takes on, but there are a couple about Precious's life and her father's life.

I liked it. Somehow, the writing came across to me almost as if someone were telling me the stories, rather than me reading them on a page. The language was pretty minimalistic and focused more on Mma Ramotswe's actions than on her every thought and feeling.

I really More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2008

Tracy rated it:

Very peaceful reading experience. McCall Smith is true to the African novel. This novel will not be hurried, and as is the tradition, the reader must first understand the past history. I just relaxed, read, and waited for the story to unfold.

The entire feeling of this book brought to mind my friends from college who were natives of Africa. I felt the language of this book echoed the way they spoke. It seems to me that Africa is a place where people have time to think and meditat More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 16, 2008

Beth rated it:

I love all the books in this series. They are funny and insightful and full of wisdom. I can hardly wait for the next one to come out. These are books I love to read and don't hesitate to recommend to anyone. One friend I recommended them to didn't like them. She said it was like reading a book written for twelve-year-olds (Mr. McCall Smith has written several books for children). Well, maybe that's why I like them; I love to read childrens/young adult fiction!. I wouldn't hesitate to hav More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 17, 2008

Rebekah rated it:

An African woman uses her inheritance to open a detective agency even though she has no previous experience. Using her steady mind and logic she starts with small town problems, and then as she gains peoples' trust and recognition, is handed harder cases to solve, proving to herself and the community that an independent and hopeful woman can reach her dreams as well as any man.

I enjoyed reading about the cases she was handed in Africa, and the techniques she used to solve them. The m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 11, 2008

Janille rated it:

I quite liked this book - I stumbled on by accident looking at an advertisment for Barnes and Noble that listed the latest book in this series, and I am so glad I decided to find the first book and read it. The writing is engaging and Botswana and the African peoples are so intersting to read about, even in a fictional context such as this book. I felt the author did a great job decribing the land, the people, the traditions, the changes, and how people related, even though interpersonal conver More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 09, 2008

Rita rated it:

This is certainly not a traditional detective story. The author has a unique way of giving the reader a view of African culture and tradition in the setting of a detective novel. The author even has the reader pondering social issues. The detective and mystery solver is a soft hearted detective, Precious Ramotswe. You can not help but find her enchanting. It is not the mystery itself but the unconventional methods Precious uses to solve a case that makes the multiple mysteries uniques. Thi More...

0 comments like

Jan 30, 2009

Angelitasurmon rated it:

This is a light read,but fun to learn aspects of African life and culture.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2008

Marisa rated it:

Interesting enough, very fast, easy read but not super moving. I read this book years ago and then recently read another book by the same author, The Careful Use of Compliments, and felt the same way about that book. Interesting enough to keep reading but something lacking. Then I realized that the author is a man writing about main characters that are women (not that I believe that there aren't any male authors that could pull off convincing heroines). I think he just doesn't have enough insigh More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 21, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

The sweetness of this series is not to be missed. Precious Ramotswe is a protagonist to write home about. She is tough, gentle, clever and unashamed of her "traditional" build. McCall Smith uses language so nicely in these books that the reader (listener in my case) falls in love over and over again with Precious, Grace and all of the other characters in this series.

PS. If you get a chance to listen to this series, do it! The reader is Lisette Lecat who is unbelievable. More...

0 comments like

Aug 09, 2011

Gordon added it

It was a pleasant surprise to run across this book by chance after hearing about it several times - and an equally pleasant surprise reading it. I was expected a lighthearted African-themed mystery and if the usual mystery story is what you're looking for this book will probably be disappointing: it's more a collection of quirky, sometimes humorous, sometimes rather sad stories – most, but not all, of which revolve around the detective agency named in the delightful title - linked by the person More...

0 comments like

Feb 17, 2009

Lizzy rated it:

It has always been Mma Precious Ramotswe's dream to open her own detective agency. When her beloved father dies and leaves everything to her, with the wish that she should open her own store, she uses the money to start up the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency". Mma Ramotswe is the only female detective in Botswana, and at first cases are slow in coming, but it is not long before business begins to pick up. She is soon dealing with cases regarding everything from wayward husbands, to ins More...

0 comments like

Jan 10, 2009

Trin rated it:

I resisted reading any books by Alexander McCall Smith for a long time, based on the rather snotty and shallow reason that a lot of people bought them from the Barnes & Noble where I worked, and I have a tendency not to read books that lots of other people are buying (unless the protagonist's name rhymes with "Barry Trotter"—or, well, I feel like it). ANYWAY, I finally came across a copy of the first book in this series, available for the low low price of 50 cents! And I'd seen them so More...

1 comment like

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