Another delightful and sweet read from Alexander McCall Smith. I cannot remember enjoying a cozy series so much in my reading life.

Precious Ramotswe, owner and lead detective of The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, is a winsome person of substantial authority, and someone to trust with your domestic problems. Her rates are reasonable and her life expertise is extraordinary. Botswana, Africa, is lucky to have her. Unfortunately, her business is small as of yet, and money difficulties has forced her to close her rented office room and move her business into her fiance's garage, Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. This has turned out well for Ramotswe and her boyfriend, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, as he is suffering from depression and needs to step away from his business for awhile. Ramotswe puts her office manager, Mma Makutsi, in charge of both businesses as Acting Manager while Ramotswe investigates a poisoning attempt at an important government official's family home.

Every good character in this series is as cuddly as Teddy Bears, but yet as true to life as anybody living in a suburban neighborhood would find next door. Whenever family life goes wrong, Mma Ramotswe finds out why and sets things back on track.

Of course I loved this! Just the joyful and comforting book needed while sheltering in place. I've read this before, perhaps a second time in audio? Delightful no matter how many times I've read these, especially as they remind me of my late Mom. We read/listened to them at the same time and shared how much we loved Mma Romotswe, the cast of characters and learning so much about Botswana.

Why I'm reading this: I'm on a roll, having just finished rereading the first two books in this series . . . a favorite.

Se il Botswana è veramente quello descritto da Alexander McCall Smith nei suoi "gialli", allora la signora Ramotswe ha proprio motivo di essere orgogliosa della sua Africa.

La trama non è molto importante in questi romanzi "leggeri" che però ci dicono molto sull'importanza della famiglia, di sostenere e aiutare le persone che ne hanno bisogno e sull'etica del darsi da fare.

Confortante!

Era bello essere africana. In Africa succedevano cose tremende, cose che a pensarci ti riempivano di vergogna e disperazione, ma non c'era solo quello, in Africa. Per quanto grande fosse la sofferenza della sua gente, per quanto laceranti fossero la crudeltà e il caos generati dai soldati - che poi altro non erano che ragazzini armati - in Africa c'era ancora tanto di cui essere orgogliosi. Per esempio la gentilezza, e la voglia di sorridere, e l'arte e la musica.

3.5 stars

This year I have been in the mood for easy, quick reads and this series fits the bill. Plus it helps me get a couple of books read from my shelf. ;)

I applaud how the author subtly sneaks in important life lessons and observations about morality without sounding preachy or judgemental. This book had a lot going in it. A mystery that I couldn't put my finger on (which is cool considering the mysteries in this series are usually easy-going and not difficult to unveil), several laugh out loud moments, as well as touching upon an important issue.

I also really liked how Mma Makutsi's character got further chance to develop and astound us with her capabilities. This book was comparatively fast paced and there was one thing or the other going on. It never ceased to excite my interest and warmed me with its easy flowing language and hot cups of bush tea.  :D

I think I should have picked up more of this series books for my shelf. I only have around 5. I am really enjoying reading through the series especially when I want to cozy up in my blanket and read for pleasure.

Ah, the third novel about Mma Ramotswe did not disappoint!

In Morality for Beautiful Girls, our female protagonist is coping with a new life: soon to be married with Mr. J. L. B. Matekone, she takes responsibility of his adoptive children and his business while he is taken with a disease of the mind. On top of this, she is moving office and has to deal with a difficult case, which turns out to be of a whole different nature than first presumed.

Precious Ramotswe is (still) the no. 1 lady detective in Botswana, and her clients are many and varied. As most of her cases are
indeed mysterious and exciting, this is not what I perceive as the main point in this series. The philosophical view on Africa and life in general really makes the big difference here. I find these novels so wise and heart-warming, and I love that a man writes so whole-heartedly from the viewpoint of a woman - especially since these views are not always in the favour of men.

A quick, nice read for the days when you are in need of a different perspective of life!

I'd add a half to that star if I could, but couldn't quite go to three. I really liked the first two in this series, but I guess this is why I stay away from series books as a general rule. They seem to lose appeal for me as they go along. I hate the summarizing from past books to catch you up. The characters in this are still endearing and I love the setting and the 'love of country' theme going on. I like the small moral lessons the books aim to teach and the simple writing style. This one had a little too much going on -- too many cases for one book, too much background, and just got a little boring.

"It is sometimes easier to be happy if you don't know everything."

It has been far too long since I visited The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Now that Hoopla has the audiobooks, I'm hoping to, at the very least, read half of the books currently in the series before the year ends.

Anyway, back to the book itself, I was delighted to be back among these characters and Botswana. It was always so relaxing to sit down after a long day, kick my feet back, with a hot cup of bush tea, and listen to Lisette Lecat, the narrator, read away.

Like so many other readers, I really enjoy McCall Smith's stories of Mma Ramotswe, and her Botswana detective service. Mma Ramotswe is a remarkable character, and I love her simple and moral nature. Yet, of the three books I have read in this series, I found _Morality for Beautiful Girls_ to be the weakest story so far.

Mma Ramotswe is pulled in many different directions in this book, and only a few of the circumstances really go anywhere. Nearly a whole chapter is devoted to a young boy that is found outside of town, and he is subsequently sent to the "orphan farm". The matron of the orphan farm, Mma Potakwani, asks Mma Ramotswe to investigate the boy's past, yet that story line fails to go anywhere. Why spend so much time developing a story only to drop it in the end? I was left disappointed, and can only hope that this mystery is revisited in the future.

Another large loose end: what happened to Mr. J.L.B Matekoni? In the previous books, he is a main character, however in _Morality for Beautiful Girls_ he is given little face time. The book did not tell us what brought Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's depression, and once again, are the readers going to be told what happened in the future? Like Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, the children from the orphan farm, who played such a large role in _Tears of the Giraffe_ are nearly forgotten in this novel. What happened to them?

Yet there were parts that I really enjoyed as well... It is exciting to see the development of Mma Makutsi, and her ever-expanding talents and responsibilities. I look forward to reading more about her. I particularly liked her case with the beauty pageant, and her quest to find a girl in Botswana with both beauty and integrity.

Despite the obvious holes in this novel, I am still looking forward to reading more about Mma Ramotswe and the other characters in the future.

No doubt about it. Mma Precious Ramotswe and her detective agency grow on you.

My experience with the first book in the series was a bit lukewarm. That is why it took me a long time to get to the second. But now, I find that I am hooked, after the third. It is almost like a TV serial, when once you get to know the characters, you can't get away.

Don't be fooled - these are not whodunits. Mma Ramotswe is no Jane Marple. Or is she? Even though the "mysteries" she solves are not the brain-boggling problems that the English spinster deals with, Mma Ramotswe is as good a judge of human nature as Miss Marple - and she has the same method of getting to the heart of the problem.

In this third installment, multiple problems beset our heroine. The detective agency is in the red; her fiance J. L. B. Matekoni is suffering from a bout of depression; and his garage is in the hands of his inefficient apprentices. In the midst of this, Mma Ramotswe gets some of the most challenging cases of her career too. The suspected poisoning of the brother of an important "Government Man" by his wife; the need to establish the honesty and morality of the girls appearing for Botswana's beauty pageant; and a wild boy, who cannot speak, and who smells of lion...

But with the help of her secretary-cum-assistant-detective Mma Matsuki (who proves her capability as an acting garage manager also), Precious Ramotswe overcomes all her problems and emerges triumphant.

This is a simple, feel good story written in simple prose - as simple and straightforward as the people of Africa.

מא ראמוצווה, הבלשית היחידה בבבוצוואנה שבאפריקה, צריכה לגלות מי מנסה להרעיל את אחיו של איש הממשלה הבכיר ועוזרתה צריכה לגלות מי מהמתחרות בתחרות היופי ראויה לנצח. חוץ מזה יש כל מיני משברים אישיים שמסיחים את דעתה מהתעלומות.

הספר הראשון בסדרה היה תמים ונחמד אבל בספר הזה התעלומות לא מעניינות והתמימות פשוט מוגזמת.

I read this on my ipod, at the gym and on airplanes. I'm still enjoying the series and the wonderful characters and situations.

Ormai il mio amore incondizionato per la Signora Ramotswe, titolare della Ladies' Detective Agency nr 1 del Botswana è assodato. In ogni sua avventura si trovano grazia, dolcezza, semplicità, saggezza e riflessioni sui grandi temi universali. Leggere i libri che la vedono protagonista è come bere un sorso di acqua fresca all'ombra di un salice in un pomeriggio afoso... puro sollievo.
In questo terzo capitolo della serie, la Signora Ramotswe aiuta il suo futuro sposo JLB Matekoni a guarire da una brutta depressione e risolve un caso di sospetto avvelenamento nella famiglia di un importante politico. Nel frattempo anche la Signorina Makutsi vicedetective risolve un caso e diventa nientepopodimenoché la vicedirettrice dell'officina del Signor Matekoni, la Speedy Motors, dimostrando un piglio ed una capacità organizzativa fuori dal comune.

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