These though are mysteries or detective stories, the best part is the life of the characters. The author does a good job of bringing their stories to life and making them believeable.

One of the pleasures of this series is that the characters and their situations evolve from book to book. They're not static. And while things usually end up fine by the end of each novel, the characters do go through their ups and downs.

If you've read any others in this series, you'll enjoy this one.

Mma Makutse is lucky Mma Ramotswe is so reasonable

This series is a world away from my usual literary tastes--I'm a glutton for the Victorian/Edwardian British sentimental novel, and these are set in modern-day Botswana and introduce a lifestyle that is foreign to me. They were recommended to me some years ago, and I read several but then stopped. I'm starting to pick them up again.
They're quite smooth reading and narrate the thought processes of the characters in a way that's entertaining and sometimes thought-provoking. I do recommend them!
They deal with a lady detective, her mechanic husband (an uncomplicated, kind, reliable and occasionally self-doubting man), her assistant (Grace Makutsi, graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, the smartest in the class, but also the least flashy, now engaged to be married, to her own great amazement), and various other people who are part of their lives. There are at least three detective cases being handled with varying degrees of skill, as well as various other small incidents that create a fully-formed, well-realized world. And they drink lots of tea. I'm particularly fond of the concept of making your own life better through..."acts of love, acts of tea, acts of laughter."

it’s been lovely to come back and have tea with Precious Ramotswe and her crew after a few years, now that she’s clearly shown McCall Smith that there was plenty more to her story. as usual, her deep love for Botswana and her fellow humans is what makes her so compelling, and even if the minor cast features some annoying people (with plenty of redeeming traits), one still loves spending time with them. and thankfully, the winning formula is still there: we learn simple lessons from listening to the heart, observing small things, and hearing Mma Ramotswe’s thoughts flow freely without shame or fear. reading these stories makes me feel happy to be alive, to be part of humanity, and to know what love is.

Mma Matkutsi and Charlie both quit. Mma Matkutsi is certain she can find a higher status job or maybe even not work at all. Charlie got his drivers' license and knows he'd really enjoy driving The Ladies around in a taxi. A hospital administrator wants Mma Ramotswe to find out why 3 intensive care patients died in the same bed on 3 different Fridays. Nobody trusts the green-eyed doctor from South Africa. Mr. JLB Matekoni accidentally gets himself assigned to investigate a philandering husband when the terrifyingly domineering wife wants to hire the No. 1 detective agency. He follows the husband and hears him discussing how to get rich with minerals trader Charlie Gotso. And Mma Matkutsi finds that she's been assigned the investigation of weekly theft of supplies in a large printing firm. Mma Ramotswe applies the lesson of love and trust Mma Potokwane uses on her orphan children and finds it doesn't exactly work as planned in the world of adult criminals. And you get to see a countryside park with termite mounds at the base of the swing sets and maybe crocodiles lurking in the nearby marsh.

Originally read in 2009. Reread 2023.
This was a very good book. I chose it for Book Group because Deborah, one of my colleagues, used to live in Botswana. She is bringing pictures and artifacts to Book Group and to Coffee Club. According to Deborah, McCall Smith does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of Botswana.

I love the optimistic and humorous tone, the simplicity and underlying wisdom of Mma Ramotswe, and the courtesy and dignity with which the characters treat one another. I also like the repetition of phrases and images: a lady of traditional build; the tiny white van; the ritual of drinking bush tea; Clovis Andersen's advice from The Principles of Private Detection, etc. It reminds me of the repetition found in children's picture books and I like the certainty and comfort of it. The chapter titles are also fun: How Does One Become More Exciting? The Understanding of Shoes; A Small Business Woman; The Proper Place of Mercy.

I love this passage:

The world, Mma Ramotswe believed, was composed of big things and small things. The big things were written large, and one could not but be aware of them--wars, oppression, the familiar theft by the rich and the strong of those simple things that the poor needed, those scraps which would make their life more bearable; this happened, and could make even the reading of a newspaper an exercise in sorrow. There were all those unkindnesses, palpable, daily, so easily avoidable; but one could not think just of those, thought Mma Ramotswe, or one would spend one's time in tears--and the unkindnesses would continue. So the small things came into their own; small acts of helping others, if one could; small ways of making one's own life better: acts of love, acts of tea, acts of laughter. Clever people might laugh at such simplicity, but, she asked herself, what was their own solution? p. 198

Ännu en gång befinner jag mig hos Mma Ramotswe och hennes detektivbyrå. Det är lättsamt, roligt och charmigt.

Boken är lättläst och underhållande, och McCall Smiths skildring av livet i Botswana är som alltid mycket fängslande men babblig. Karaktärerna är välskrivna och läsaren blir verkligen engagerad i deras liv och problem.

Jag saknar fortfarande djup och i den här boken finns det flera spännande fall som har potential att bli riktigt spännande men det faller platt. McCall Smith låter aldrig berättelsen få ha det djup som den förtjänar, istället blir det babbligt om livet runtomkring. Förmodligen är det jag som har fel förväntningar…

Det är fortfarande underhållande och kommer definitivt att tilltala fans av serien och författarens andra verk. Själv tror jag att jag lägger ner den här serien nu.

It seems that I'm becoming immune to the repetitive references: Mma Makutsi's 97% score, Mma Ramotswe's traditional build, the laziness of the apprentices, etc. I've learned to just skip over those paragraphs. I continued to lose respect for Mma Makutsi in this book as her character became even more self-centered. The cases that are being solved in this book are very easy to solve, so there isn't much surprise at the end.

I just can’t get enough of the African detective agency. There are always new interesting cases where the truth is revealed through reasoning and asking the right questions. I always feel happy when reading the series, since I love the characters and how down to earth they are.

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith

The hero of the book is not The Good Husband, but his wife Mma Ramotswe…a heroine in other words. She has a detective agency- the Number One Ladies Detective Agency in…Botswana...

These are intriguing premises and the book proved to be entertaining, readable if not stupendous. I found it on the Friendswood best 150 books, but for me it is not in the best 100, I’d venture to say not even in the best 150. After I finish a book I mark it to read again or…not to read again. This falls in the latter category
There is humor and interesting stories, even if sometimes it seemed rather silly to me, somehow a book for young adults.
Even if I am not above light, enjoyable literature- indeed I read for pleasure, there is no other higher scope- this book still seems to be too light, too easy going
This is not an absolute judgment, it is just the feeling I have after reading a book which I see on Goodreads that others enjoyed thoroughly- they gave it 4.5 stars on average.

The second time around I still love this book. The flawless mirroring of conflict and lovely language. "Same devil, different clothes."