I read this series when it first came out and loved it. It was delightful and made me feel good. Which I appreciated. A lot. When McCall switched the series from Botswana I stopped reading and now I see there is lots to catch up on. HBO did a series on the first books and it was delightful too. Memorable characters and critters.

Από το 2013 το είχα πάρει αυτό το βιβλίο και δεν το ξεκίναγα, δεν ξέρω γιατί, αλλά έπρεπε!
Απολαυστικό, ενδιαφέρον, μια ηρωίδα ευφυής , λογική, με τρόπο σκέψης που μου ταίριαζε και χάρηκα να βλέπω την Αφρική και τους ανθρώπους της μέσα από τα μάτια της. Η πρωταγωνίστρια Precious, και ντετέκτιβ σε διάφορες μικρές υποθέσεις που λύνονταν με λογική, σκέψη και εξυπνάδα και γυναίκα που ψάχνει και διεκδικεί την θέση της στον κόσμο! 3,5 στα 4 αλλά θα δώσω το μισό υπέρ του μαθητή!

Για την κατηγορία n  n    B.R.A.CE. 2017 ένα βιβλίο που με κάποιο τρόπο συνδέεται με την Αφρική n  n νομίζω ότι έκανα πολύ καλή επιλογή!

Ανυπομονώ για τα υπόλοιπα που έχω από την σειρά και ίσως να δω και την ίδια την σειρά The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Upon the death of her beloved father, Precious Ramotswe sold the cattle he'd left to her and opened a private detective agency. She had no education in the field; no experience, no mentor. What she did possess was an active intellect, knowledge of human behavior, and a heart filled with the desire to help her brothers and sisters solve the mysteries of their lives. As hers is a small town in Botswana, that just might prove to be enough.

Alexander McCall Smith takes his reader through this bold decision and the stutter-step start of its implementation in the first of what will prove to be a long series of mystery novels set in post-Mandela Africa. Here we find "Mma Ramotswe" setting up her business and accepting initial (tentative) requests for assistance from a community inclined to test this avenue of problem-solving. It is through the tackling of these cases that the character of this woman is revealed, along with a bit of the life history she uses to direct her course of action. A simple and rather elegant solution to the introduction of a protagonist - and the good news is it works.

I was quite taken with the steady pace of these inaugural investigations. Each small matter served, in interesting ways, to build investment in both the detective agency and this literary enterprise. Precious emerges as a strong and righteous individual, forged by her own painful past and the faith she has in the spirit of her people and her country. These inquiries might have been mundane had they a less substantial heroine to pursue them. That they did not is no doubt the key to the popularity of these novels.

That and, it must be said, the wonderous ease of the reading.

I thought I’d love this book and I enjoyed it, but not enough to read the others in the series. Guess if there weren’t so many books to read, I could get interested in reading more of these. I did learn some interesting things about Botswana; I knew nothing before I read this. I feel a little guilty about not rhapsodizing more about this book because I know it’s very popular and it was very sweet.

I guess I’m a heretic because I also have read only the first book from his other series so far, but I’d like to read more – think I’m the only person I know who likes his other mystery series a bit better than this one.

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 read any of these books and not feel a little more hopeful when they finish. But they are not over the top. They are not Chicken Soup for the Soul. They are simply very subtle and very wise. I have recommended this book to countless people who unfortunately do not pick it up for the reasons that I have mentioned above. I have met Alexander Mccall Smith and he is one of the most joyful, intelligent, and interesting people I've ever encountered. All these qualities come across in his books. I'm so glad that he's a writing addict because I'm an addict of his books.

This book was a good read. Not my usual books but i did enjoy it.
It had something for everyone, mystery and a little intrigue, culture and strength.

The No1 Ladies Detective agency is based in Boswana.
Mma Ramotswe is the only female detective and it's her job to help solve mysteries.
The cases are different but centered around missing people and cheating husband's.

It's not your normal detective book where there are murders to be solved etc..
It's more about helping people, especially women uncover truths.

It made a change to read a detective book with a difference.

Overall an enjoyable read with some very interesting cases and great characters.
Loved Mma she was very strong and a great Detective.

I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via Netgalley.

Симпатична, леко наивна, много удачна за слушане история. Маа Рамотсве ми стана много симпатична, но историята не е толкова
увлекателна, че да изслушам още 5 книги.

Yesterday, I was off to Botswana and met Mma Precious Ramostwe, that nations first lady detective. I found the story charming but not quite sure I want to commit to a series that has so many volumes of books. However, I felt this was a refreshing and funny read with memorable characters.


Goodreads review published 28/03/20

“There was a teapot, in which Mma Ramotswe -- the only lady private detective in Botwana -- brewed tea. And three mugs -- one for herself, one for her secretary, and one for the client. What else does a detective agency really need?”



Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a quick and fun read. I felt transported to a Botswana with a slower pace of life reflected in folksy good-natured lady detective Precious Ramotswe. Precious solves a number of cases, but it's not the cases that are important, but how she goes about solving them. I was surprised to learn that there are something like 22 books in this series. I enjoyed the book, but I think I will need to be in the mood to relax before I pick up another. So yeah, it's a detective novel that allows you to relax and rewind instead of whatever it is that usually happens when you read detective or crime fiction. 3.5 stars

“It was time to take the pumpkin out of the pot and eat it. In the final analysis, that was what solved these big problems of life. You could think and think and get nowhere, but you still had to eat your pumpkin. That brought you down to earth. That gave you a reason for going on. Pumpkin.”

4+ stars. I remember being totally charmed by this series when I read several of the books years ago, and my opinion has not changed upon rereading the first book.

Precious Ramotswe was the only child of Obed Ramotswe. As a young man, he had gone to South Africa to work in the diamond mines; he was very frugal and when he left the mines, he bought cattle with the money he had saved. He was a good cattleman and after his death, he left enough cattle that Precious was able to buy a home and a business. Her father wanted her to buy a butcher shop, but she decided to be a private detective. As she says, "Women are the ones who know what's going on. They are the ones with eyes."

Thus begins Mma Ramotswe's adventures as a private detective. This is not a tightly plotted procedural; instead, it is a series of loosely connected vignettes in which she helps people "with the problems in their lives," as she puts it. Along the way, she exhibits common sense and prudence and dispenses kindness and wisdom. And that is the secret of the popularity of this series, IMO.

There are quite a few negative reviews here on GR; that's perfectly natural. This is not a book for everyone, perhaps. Some common complaints are that there is no plot, that nothing happens, that it's just a book about boring nothingness, etc. This made me chuckle, and I was reminded of the storyline on Seinfeld in which Jerry tries to get NBC interested in a TV show called Jerry and he and George describe it as a show about nothing, a gentle self-mockery of the actual Seinfeld show.

I enjoyed the characters in Ladies as well as the African setting. The first time I read it, Google did not exist; this time I enjoyed looking up pictures of the acacia trees and maps of Botswana and Gaborone and reading the country's history.

One minor criticism: early in the book, AMS does more telling than showing. He tells us that Precious Ramotswe was "a good detective, and a good woman." This is quite redundant because later on, he shows us that she is so. Nevertheless, this is a small thing that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book.

What a delightful read!

I had often had books from McCall Smith in my hands, read the blurb and thought "not for me". Luckily for me, the other day I stumbled upon a little essay from Theodore Dalrymple (if you have not read him do yourself a service, stop what you're doing and read the best prose in English currently been written http://www.skepticaldoctor.com/reader/ ) and he recommended this author.

https://www.takimag.com/article/a-sim...

Boy, am I grateful to the good Dr!

This is the first book in the series, Mma. Ramotswe, a clever 30-something Motswana of traditional build (meaning fat) has just set up a business with the money her dad got from working 15 years at the South African mines. She could have opened a butcher's, or buy cattle but she's decided to open the First Lady's Detective Agency. After some initial dithering she proves to be quite adept at it and the cases she takes on are increasingly difficult and dark.

Two things mark this book: que quality of the writing, which is excellent and being entirely permeated with sunshine.

No unicorns, though. Mma Ramotswe has known tragedy, more than most and of the worst kind. However she has opted not to react in bitterness and angst. She is full of compassion this Lady.

I see myself reading one in the series every year, or more often, as a tonic, when needed.

Precious Ramotswe is a super nice woman, and the story told by the great McCall Smith is really fun, it was for me a perfect read after books with heavy narratives, violent and extreme, I needed to relax a bit and smile a lot