I really enjoy this series of books. I like the descriptions, the slow pace, the thoughtfulness, etc. And the stories are always interesting. There were lots of quotes I found interesting as well...

In thinking about her childhood, Mma Ramotswe pondered "arithmetic, with its puzzling multiplication tables that needed to be learned by heart--when there was so much else that the heart had to learn." (pg. 4)

As Mma Ramotswe looked up at her acacia tree and thought about how there could be a snake in More...

"I am your sister. There was no simpler or more effective way of expressing a whole philosophy of life."

"Human hurt was like lightning; it did not choose its targets, but struck, with rough equality and little regard to position, achievement, or moral desert."

"There is plenty of work for love to do."

"It did not really matter what the relationship was; a home was a home whoever lived in it, it was the same family no matter how attenuated the links of blood and lineage."

"Until you hear the whole s More...

As always: charming. "Exotic" as the setting may be (for someone living in Big City, USA), there's always something about these stories and the characters in them that makes it so easy to relate to. Mma Ramotswe's van plays a big role in this book, and her attachment to the decrepit old thing reminded me of my first "real" car -- a pretty but inexpensive blue convertible that I held onto for years past its prime and still cried when it finally broke past the point of repair.

I kind of love the ch More...

I love McCall Smith's books for many reasons and for each one that I read I find more joy. If this series should ever end I shall be a sad girl indeed.

Two lines I liked from this book, the first about the sky and weather, because I always love how he describes the sky of Botswana, and in fact,
I keep a running diary of his weather/sky comments: "So she said nothing, but noticed, when she looked up, that the rain clouds had moved across the sky with great speed, and now they were not far away, ov More...

Amazon.com kindly informed me that this latest in the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series was available in paperback, and I started clicking. This is one temptation I don't even try to resist. Alexander McCall Smith's books are good for me—like a few days' vacation.

Once it arrived, I tried to read Tea Time for the Traditionally Built as slowly as possible, rationing myself to just a few pages a day. Although Smith is a prolific author, his books don't come out every day and—like favorite desser More...

Precious Ramotswe is back for another adventure as she delves into the world of football, which we Americans confusedly call soccer. She has been hired by Mr. Mologololo, the owner of the local Kalahari Swoopers, because has some serious concerns about the bad record of the team. Considering the high level of talent on the team, he things that one or more of the players is doing something to make the team lose. He hasn't been able to sort out who it is, but he thinks that Mma Ramotswe's skills a More...

Could a book that is slow-paced where little happens, compared, say to a Douglas Preston/Lincoln Childs crime novel, be a good book? In this case, very much so. This is a relaxed, slow-paced, pleasant, cheery and inviting novel about Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana. It's the tenth book in a series, and I read it out of order, but I enjoyed it anyway. I thought it had a loose end, or I would have given it 5 stars instead of 4. It's an interna More...

Once again, Alexander McCall Smith has written another wonderful detective book about the Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi. McCall has such a wonderful sense of people and how they think; In simple words, he delves into their innermost reflective thoughts. As he describes in detail what people are thinking about, I find myself connecting to similar thoughts I used to have when I was younger and innocent, and had more free time to reflect upon the goodness of people and the world.

Mma Ramotswe "glanc More...

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, by Alexander McCall Smith, A. Narrated brilliantly as usual by Lisette Lecat. Produced by Recorded Books, downloaded from audible.com. Tenth book in the sries.

In this one Precious is investigating a case for the owner of the town’s football team. They keep losing games, even against teams who are not as good as theirs. He thinks someone, maybe one of the players, is cheating and selling the team out to the enemy. Precious tries to tell him she knows nothing More...

Precious Ramotswe is back in Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, the latest installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. This time, she is investigating a flagging football (soccer) team and facing the possible demise of her little white van. Meanwhile, her assistant, Grace Makutsi, has a rival for her fiancé’s affection.

Tea Time is a fine addition to the series. Like the other novels, it has a gentle, relaxing, and rhythmic tone and pattern to it. Smith unrav More...

I'm addicted to this series of gentle books by Alexander McCall Smith that take place in the southern African country of Botswana. The stories are about the conflict between the traditional way of life and the emergence of modern culture that is placing strains on the people of Botswana. And in the telling of that story, throw in a gentle mystery or human problem or two and you have yourself a good read. In this book, Mms Ramotswe is asked to find out why the popular local soccer team is suddenl More...

This is one of the authors/series (along with Janet Evanovich and John Grisham)whose books I await eagerly and insist on owning. And I am never disappointed. How I love Mma Ramotswe and this endearing cast of characters (Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, Mma Makutsi,Phuti Radiphuti, Violet Sephotho, and all the rest - it is a real treat to hear the audio version of these books - the names just roll off the tongue - so beautiful)! And it is so refreshing to read a book set in Africa in which people go about t More...

This tenth installment in the gentle mystery series starring Precious Ramotswe is every bit as endearing and engaging as all the others.

The main mystery that Precious must solve this time is why a local football team is suddenly losing all of its games when, in the past, it had been a very successful team. The owner of the team, a very impatient man, demands answers and the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency must provide them for him in order to earn their fee - even though neither of the lady detect More...

Even after ten books - I think I've read them all - this series still makes me go aah. In spite of the crimes to be investigated, the moral dilemmas, Charlie's fecklessness and Grace's occasional snappiness they still deal with a world that is somehow innocent, where there is faith that most people are good. Of course one can have too much of a good thing: were I to read them all in one go, the continued politeness and old-fashioned use of titles and surnames would possibly become annoying rathe More...

I have been following this series for years, and it never fails to cheer me up and give me several hours of pleasant reading. Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are among my favorite fictional characters. In this story, they must investigate a losing football (soccer) team whose owner suspects that one of the players is throwing the games. Since neither Mma Makusti or Mma Ramotswe knows anything about soccer, they rely on their skills in understanding human nature, and the help of Mma Ramotswe's foste More...

The First Ladies Detective Agency books are mostly books about people. They are full of the everyday lives and conversations of the characters. Mma Ramotswe solves her cases due to her intuition and knowledge of people.

"Much as Mma Ramotswe admired Clovis Andersen's The Principles of Private Detection, it had to be said that this was one matter on which she felt she knew better than Mr. Andersen himself. Nowhere in that great book did the author recommend the practice that Mma Ramotswe had found More...

So how can you not love these books? Very little actual detective work takes place – in this installment of the #1 ladies detective agency series, Precious Ramotswe has only one real mystery to solve – specifically why is the local football (soccer) team losing? Is someone being bribed? Of course she solves the problem, with help from her adopted son this time. I like that there is no blood and gore coating the whole environment!
The bigger crisis in Precious’ life is the series of noises coming More...

This is the 10th book in a series with a delightful host of characters living in Botswana, now Zimbabwe. The main characters are the "traditionally built" Precious Ramotswe, her husband whom she calls Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, and Precious's assistant detective, Mma Makutsi, whose claim to fame is scoring 99% on the secretarial test. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency solve everyday mysteries with not a drop of death or mayhem. The big mystery in this book is why the local soccer team is doing so poo More...

I didn't enjoy this as much as previous books in the series. I don't know if I was just not in the right mood for it, or if the book wasn't that compelling. All of the books have a very comfortable feel to them, like hanging out with interesting neighbors. In this book, the neighbors are having an off day.

The mystery of the under-performing football team led to some interesting observations on human nature. I think there are a lot of similar conversations happening locally as we have the mystery More...

Another solidly enjoyable book in this series. My favorites are the ones in which a theme emerges, and here the theme is change; or rather, the idea that the things that one knows and loves should not be changed. Which isn't a theme I really embrace for myself, but I completely understand that change is a scary thing, and that one should not give into the temptation to change for the sake of change.

Mma Ramotswe gets a new vehicle; Mma Makutsi is afraid her fiance will exchange her for a more gla More...

When I need a good, solid book with an entertaining plot that 'feeds' me, I turn to Alexander McCall Smith and his "Number One Ladies' Detetive Agency." This tenth title in the series, "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built," did not disappoint. With its simple tales of Precious Ramotswe and the other fine people of her village in Botswana, I finished the book feeling uplifted. From smiling through Mma Makutsi's observation in the first of the novel that "our fingers have evolved so that we can d More...

As always, this was a pleasure to read. The characters have become like old friends, complete with their own particular quirks. They are so fully fleshed out that they seem as though they must be real! I can't tell you how much Mma Makutsi made me laugh out loud this time. It was also fun to finally learn more about "the younger apprentice" in Mr J L B Matekoni's garage. The cases in this installment were very benign, and sources of real amusement. I just love Alexander McCall Smith and am so th More...

Need a break from real life, but can't go on a vacation right now? Then do the next best thing and pick up "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" (book 1 in the series) or which ever one is "next" for you. This one is #10 in the series. I think I've read eight of them. If you love action adventure thrillers, then these books are NOT for you. But if you love quiet, character-driven, subtly humorous books, then this delightful series set in Botswana, South Africa are the perfect "vacation" for you. M More...

Having just read Michael Connelly's Scarecrow, I have to laugh at the assignment of McCall Smith and Connelly both to the mystery section (at least in our library). Nothing terrible really happens to the honorable women of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Nobody slugs them into unconsciousness or otherwise attempts to deprive them of their civil liberties. Their mysteries don't embody the sadistic or nastily destructive acts of other detective fiction. The mysteries are ...well... ladylike.

Tha More...

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency has a case to solve that truly puzzles them. The owner of the local football team is concerned that there is a traitor on the team who is purposely throwing the games; they had been quite successful but now they are losing to inferior teams. Mma Precious Ramotswe and Mma Grace Makutsi may not know anything about football – that is something men like – but they do know about shoes, and this knowledge will serve them well.

There is the usual personal drama as well More...

Now this is what I'm talking about! And I don't give five stars only because I think a person really does have to have read others in the series to fully appreciate the nuances of characterization and stuff. I see a delightful similarity between the Mmas and Rwas and the folks of Lake Wobegon. Conventional politeness and downright goodness leaves room for all those private thoughts or silences in conversation that are so funny. The dialog has such a beauty, and it also reveals so much personalit More...

The 10th in the series, if you are reading this you are already a fan. Smith maintains the same delightful level offered in the prior nine. The central mystery here concerns a soccer team and whether or not someone is throwing games. Mma Makutsi faces a personal challenge as an old rival attempts to insinuate herself between Makutsi and her fiancée. Mma Rawotse must come to grips with the likely demise of her beloved van. Along the way we meet more of the fascinating characters that populate Smi More...

The author obviously doesn't know what it's like to drive an really old car, never knowing how much longer it will run, or if it will break down during an important trip. You're always on edge! Every little weird sound or smell sets you off! You know what I'm talking about! Mma Ramotswe is married to an excellent mechanic who buys her a new car with air conditioning, new paint, and smooth shocks (for now). Anyone who's ever driven a really old car, even though they're attached to it, would never More...