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Feb 02, 2008

Shiloh rated it:

This is the sixth book in the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series that I have read. This book was so much fun for me, not just because it is a easy read and a fun story, but it has so many memories. I love that I know what the hot Botwana sun feels like , or what Kigale hill looks like, or that I can pronounce the Setswana words. I can relate to Mma Ramotswe (which was also the name of our nanny) on what a unique country Botswana is politically in Africa and the pride in their fi More...

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Mar 12, 2009

Jamie rated it:

Another nice entry in this series, a quick, happy read. I'm looking forward to the HBO series based on these books, that starts at the end of March.

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Jul 22, 2011

Shinn rated it:

The only other book in the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series I've read is the first one and so perhaps I should have waited to read books number two to six before jumping straight to the seventh in the series. However, I couldn't resist buying whatever was available when I went to the book store yesterday and in any case, I have maintained a rich tradition of reading books out of order.

It goes without saying that reading this one was as enjoyable as the first one, the warm Botswan More...

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Mar 11, 2011

Sally906 rated it:

BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESS is the seventh book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and looks at some weighty issues such as looks at blackmail, superstition, feminism and medical corruption. Author, Alexander McCall Smith, successfully manages to show how Botswana is managing the balance between tradition and modernity, between village and city communities. The main character, Precious Ramotswe, is a traditionally built woman who follows the traditional values, but also embraces the possibilities More...

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Dec 25, 2010

Larisha rated it:

For those who have read the earlier books, Blue Shoes and Happiness will strike most as the best balanced and most rewarding book in this delightful series. The story has animal tales (one involving a cobra), several mysteries to resolve, challenges in Mma Makutsi's engagement, a detection training opportunity for Mr Polopetsi, more challenges with Mr J.L.B. Matekoni's apprentices, decisive purchases by Mr J.L.B. Matekoni and Mma Makutsi, and many reflections on the true nature of happiness by P More...

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Oct 22, 2010

Sonia rated it:

Blue Shoes and Happiness - The not-so-adventures and the journey-of-discovery-of-life continue for precious Ramotswe. The reader discovers in the process more intricacies and failings of human life. A person established in society can be doing something dishonest and someone who has not done any wrong can be punished for it and looked down upon by society. The tiny attractive failing of Mma Makutsi in buying the beautiful impractical shoes reminds us of similar things we have done sometime or th More...

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Apr 03, 2010

Joyce rated it:

Another of my fave cozy mystery series. Made into a beautifully-shot, but otherwise unsatisfying HBO TV series.

Summary: There is considerable excitement at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. A cobra has been found in Precious Ramotswe's office. Then a nurse from a local clinic reveals that faulty blood-pressure readings are being recorded. And Botswana has a new advice columnist, Aunty Emang, whose advice is rather curt for Mma Ramotswe's taste. All this means a lot of work for our More...

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Oct 29, 2009

Aaron rated it:

This volume in the popular No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series is one that will keep readers hopping as it seems like everyone is looking for help from the agency.

One of the more interesting cases is brought to her by Botelo Mampodi, a nurse who has some concerns that the doctor she works for might not totally on the up-and-up as he seems to be excluding her from portions of exams that she normally would be involved with. Mma Ramotswe remembers the last time she had to deal with a d More...

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Oct 21, 2009

Lori rated it:

Mma Ramotswe is back and it is a real pleasure to sit down and become part of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. This addition to the series does not fall short of expectations. The reader is treated to matters of mystery large and small and the intuitive reasonings of Mma Ramotswe and her assitant Mma Makutsi. Smith's writing is truely compassionate and heart warming. Although we have people committing blackmail, lying, cheating and hurting one another, we have Mma Ramotswe who through her gent More...

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Apr 23, 2010

M and G rated it:

There is only one thing wrong with this series in my opinion: that is that there appear only to be 9 books! Despite rationing myself to reading these interspersed with various other reading matter, to eke out the supply, once I begin reading one I can do so in one or two sittings, and find it impossible to restrain myself to reading a section or a chapter at a time.
This is partly due to the contruction of these books. Instead of each story or chapter tackling one particular investig More...

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Jun 17, 2009

Anne Hawn rated it:

There are so many great reviews of these books that it is hard to not be repetitive. This book was one of my favorites because of Mma Makutsi and her "blue shoes." Like so much else in Smith's books, the shoes are a vehicle for philosophy. There is a contrast between Mma Ramotswe's contented life and Mma Makutsi's need driven one. Mma Ramotswe sits under trees and looks at the land with such contentment and joy. She doesn't escape from her problems, but she does let the land put t More...

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May 16, 2011

TC rated it:

This book is the first I have read of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Typically I managed to pick up the 7th book in the series, but this was a Borrowed Book Challenge book and our library is only small and just had 2 books from the series. (This is the same library that has the second book in The Hunger Games series but not the first - go figure) I had been recommended the series by a couple of colleagues who were amazed I had never read any of them before.

Mma Ramotswe is More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Jenny rated it:

The worst of Smith's books. I did not like (initially) how not "much" happens in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, but there are a lot of thoughts of the characters that provide entertainment and make the book itself. I have learned to appreciate this but in this book the thoughts of the characters seemed to lack meaning and seemed to reveal many useless facts about the characters. The thoughts were not as funny as they have been previously, and always in the last 20 pages is EVE More...

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Sep 24, 2011

Sue rated it:

I do so enjoy the adventures of Mma Ramotswe and the number one ladies detective agency! There's always some sort of dilemma to sort out and there's never a want for work .... not the paying kind, but always someone who needs assistance. And the agency is always there to help.

The gentle and caring nature of Mma Ramotswe is carried into the thought and consideration she puts into her clients - whether they pay or not. And that's what I love about her. It's showing that you should More...

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Aug 02, 2010

Chris rated it:

Little ever seems to happen in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books that can't be resolved in the time it takes the irrepressable Mma Ramotswe to brew and consume a pot of bush tea. Mysteries are solved, quips exchanged, and long passages recited that may (or may not) be quotes from Sir Seretse Khama.

On the flip side, there's something refreshing about Mma Ramotswe and crew. I listened to the audio recording: these are books to listen to when you're having a bad day. Lisette Leca More...

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Jan 09, 2011

Gerald rated it:

The troubles and hardships of life for many in Africa are frequently documented and seldom difficult to comprehend. It is good, therefore, to be shown one part of that huge continent in a gentler, happier light. Alexander McCall Smith's affection for Botswana and its people is palpable. In Mma Ramotswe and those whose lives are touched by the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, the author creates characters who are astutely and persuasively observed.

In Blue Shoes and Happiness, as in its pr More...

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Feb 18, 2011

Robin rated it:

I love this whole series - I actually listened to the audio books and it amazing to hear them read by a lady with a Botswanan accent - it REALLY got me into them!!!!!
The characters are all so beautifully written, you feel like you are their friends, so very close to them!
The stories aren't super thrillers, not really a lot of action, but they are WONDERFUL just the same! Something about the way the stories are written keep you enthralled....I love this whole series - I actually liste More...

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Jan 25, 2010

Dana rated it:

This is the seventh book about the lives of Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency; her assistant, Grace Makutsi; and her husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, proprietor of Tlokweng Speedy Motors.

In this book the ladies discover a cobra in their office, a nurse comes to Mma Ramotswe because a doctor is giving patients false blood pressure readings,a nearby game preserve has some problems and the cook at a local college is feeding her husband and being blackmailed More...

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May 19, 2009

Isis rated it:

Maybe I didn't like it quite as much as the previous one, but still, it is always wonderful to visit Botswana and lose myself in the world of the tiny white van and 97%, of Seretse Khama and the old Botswana morality. The intertwining plots perhaps had the common thread, this time, of vanity and pride: Mma Makutsi's statement about being a feminist nearly derailing her engagement (or so she thinks!), Mr. Polopoletsi's attempt to solve a problem on his own, Mma Ramotswe's diet, and of course, t More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 01, 2010

Kathleen rated it:

It's nice to get back to this series - the characters continue to delight.

Here are a couple of passages that I want to remember:

This new-found fluency ,, enabled him to say things that he had been unable to say for years, and the words flowed out of him ... It was as if a drought had ended - a drought that had made for expanses of silence, as drought will dry up a salt pan and render it white and powdery - and the words were like longed-for rain, turning the land green a More...

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

Scotsman author Alexander McCall Smith's series has enchanted readers all over the world with its warmth, simple truths, dry humor, and depictions of life in Botswana. This newest addition doesn't disappoint. Penelope Lively, a neophyte to the series, praised the book for an "Africa made accessible" and for "beguiling" characters. If the plot moves a little slowly and the mysteries seem somewhat odd, it's because the novel focuses on human relations (this time we come to know

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Apr 02, 2010

Poonam rated it:

I found this 7th book quite indulgent in thoughts, perceptions and whims of Mma Precious, her husband J.L.B Maketoni and assistant Mma Makutsi. There seems to be an addition of another character called Rra Polopetsi.

More than the conversations, these thoughts brought out the wit and turmoil each character underwent.

Be it women's handling of men, their tact, issues with 'traditional built', dieting, their foibles (for example, Mma Makutsi's fancy for pretty blue shoes that More...

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Jun 17, 2010

jane rated it:

Mma Ramotswa and Mma Makutsi intertwine several No. ! Ladies Detective themes into her story of "Blue Shoes and Happiness" She spends money on blue shoes that don't fit-she finds happiness wearing them! She is criticized by the uncomfortable style while Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni who criticized her purchases an expensive comfortable chair for himself-Mms criticizes his expensive purchase. Mma Ramotswe-the "unconditionally built" lady questions her diet: "Do I really want to ch More...

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Feb 09, 2011

Kristin rated it:

Mma Ramotswe and Mma Maketoni continue to sleuth and contemplate life in Botswana. We are joined by a new character at Tolkweng Speedy Motors, a Rra Polopetsi - part garage assistant/part detective. In addition, Mma Maketoni now has a fiancee. The apprentices continue thier antics and girl chasing, the ladies contemplate shoes and weight, and Rra JLB Maketoni continues to work on engines.

I did not find this selection as engaging as some of the others. The various sub-plots were More...

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Jul 19, 2011

Rusty rated it:

Once again I returned to Botswana and the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The issues in this mystery are blackmail, drug fraud, weight loss and happiness - strange mixture indeed but Smith weaves it all together to make a warm, humorous story. Precious Ramotswe's intent to lose weight is an all too human effort. At the same time she pursues the identity of a blackmailer and searches out a case of drug fraud perhaps perpetuated by a physician. And happiness comes from the purchase of a beautif More...

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Mar 03, 2011

Rachael rated it:

I was really disappointed by this book. I've read this entire series so far and loved every book until now. It was a bit boring and the almost every character kept having flashbacks that the author kept pointing out. I'm fine with the flashbacks, it just seemed like every character would get lost in their thoughts about the past and someone would have to say, "Um hello earth to Mma Ramotswe" and the character would then jump back into the converstaion. I don't think I'm expaining More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Linda rated it:

This was a lovely, easy, breezy read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The author painted a vivid portrait of the layered textures of life in Botswana. The detecting seems to be a backdrop for Mma Ramotswe to sew her seeds of philosophy about taking the middle path through life. But, she and her stalwart assistant, Mma Makutsi (97%) seem to unravel the mysteries set forth without getting into any danger. I would have given this a five star if there were more of an edge to the mysteries. And, who co More...

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Jun 30, 2009

Erica rated it:

Yes, I read another one of McCall Smith's Ladies' Detective Agency books. This one, Blue Shoes and Happiness, also captures the essence of old Botswana ways and the cheerful characters of Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni.

I felt that this novel, which discusses such cases as a cook being blackmailed, a Dear Aunty Emany character, and a doctor fraudulently prescribing and selling bad drugs to his patients, was a bit on the catty side. Meaning, there was a lot of judgment going on b More...

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May 26, 2009

Visha rated it:

To be honest, I'm not yet done with this one, but it's beginning to irritate me in the way "feminism" is used, subjugated, batted about, poked, prodded, kicked like something foul, gently picked up and shaken, revealed to be not so new or shiny as one might thought, etc. C'mon, McCall Smith, you are showing your old, white-guy paternalism - zip it up, big boy.

Otherwise, enjoyable as all the other books in the series. Good characters, good setting. Nothing bad ever happens. More...

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Apr 25, 2011

Rusty rated it:

I have avoided any prolonged reading schedule while on this mission except for the scriptures and the Liahona. But I decided to read this book for some relaxation and diversion. It provided just that – relaxation and diversion. I give it three stars for diversion and two stars for content.

I very much enjoyed Mma Ramotse’s philosophies and her yearnings for the more simple life of her early years. I found Mma Makutsi’s conversations with her shoes most entertaining. However, I More...

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