Rating: 
Summary: I love it, I love it, I love it!
Review: I bought this book to take on vacation, but couldn't wait and I'm so glad that I couldn't resist the temptation. I love the story of this beautiful independent woman who does what she wants with her life. The author made me feel that I was there in Botswana with the main character who "detectives" with love, wisdom, kindness and humor. This is true...I read it through once and then immediately read it again...the language is beautiful and I liked the twists. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK 100 PERCENT and I'm going to buy all the sequels tomorrow...so I'll have some guaranteed good reading on the plane and on my two weeks in Europe... When I'm in the room in Switzerland overcoming jet lag, I'll be in Botswana!
Rating: 
Summary: give us more books about Africa!
Review: I liked this book a lot, but I also think the fact that at least three of Alexander McCall Smith's books are on the bestseller list right now says a lot about our desire to read entertaining, dare we say hopeful stories about Africa. I am fascinated by Africa, but can only bring myself to read so much about war, suffering, drought, and starvation. Smith shows the human, day-to-day life of the continent -- may he be only the first of many!
Rating:
Summary: Hurray For Fat Women
Review: I loved this book. I was very fond of the lead character.
This novel was easy to read and was a real page turner.I highly
recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Review: Love, hate, suspense, mystery, humor....It has it all. Well written leaves you wanting more. Can't wait to read other books by this author. You will not want to put it down until you finish it. The characters are realistic with all the flaws of humanity and all the goodness too.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet and Simple
Review: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a sweet and simple tale--an easy read that despite its simplicity will have you pondering what goes on in the novel. The novel doesn't have much of what one would call a plot, but rather contains a series of vignettes in which Mma Ramotswe recounts various clients she has helped in her detective work. She is an unconventional detective, and goes about solving the riddles posed to her in surprising ways. She also shares her personal history, telling us how she got to where she is. It is a charming tale, charming and enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: More Literary Then Mystery
Review: Mma Ramotswe has just inherited money from her father. Instead of buying a traditional business like he wanted, she decides to start her own, the only detective agency in Botswana owned by a woman. Her clients are slow in coming, but soon she is developing a business finding lost husbands, tracking the secret lives of daughters, and looking for a kidnapped boy.This book is really a literary novel not a mystery novel, which is what I expected when I started to read it. Most of the cases are solved in one chapter. We get several chapters of the main character's back story before the agency is even opened. When I was reading it as a literary book, I could get into it. If I tried thinking of it as a mystery, I was disappointed. Precious Ramotswe herself is a bit unbelievable. She was just starting out, yet did a perfect job on every case. Where were her flaws? Finally, it really seemed like a feminist book. Almost all the men in the book were the scum of the earth. While I will admit that some men are, I'd like to think I can name some that aren't (starting with me.) I have no problem with gutsy, independent women, but the overall tone just seemed to be anti-man. Ironic, since the book was written by a man. Judging by the success of these books, I'm in the minority in my opinion. It was an ok read, but certainly not something I'm crazy about and wasn't enjoyable enough to make me want to read the other books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: a pleasingly relaxed mystery
Review: This book is reminiscent to me of Tony Hillerman's books, in that we are taken into the lives of a different type of people with their own way of dealing with a different kind of lifestyle that we are not familiar with, only instead of the four-corner area of the southwest, we are in Botswana, Africa. The story is not one of a thriller packed with action, but of a No.1 lady detective (the only one) who is approached by various customers to look into mundane to serious cases in her area. It is a relaxing, funny, sad and thought provoking book. It gives the reader a look at life in Botswana that is entertaing and informative and leaves you wanting to learn more. There aren't many fiction books on life in Africa that is available to the average citizen that is this enjoyable. You have a relaxed, good feeling when you finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant easy read
Review: I enjoyed this book because it was a light hearted change of pace from the darker more dramatic books I have been reading as of late. It was fun and well paced. It was easy to put down and pick right back up again, which is especially important if you are a mother of small children and have to steal away to read in small moments. I agree that there were some editorial errors as mentioned in other reviews, but I found them easy to recognize and move on. The errors didn't really deter that much from the story or, more importantly, the place the story takes the reader. After finishing the book in no time at all, I found myself eager to buy the sequels. I would recommend this book simply for the wonderful whit and observation of Mma. Romatswe and the simplicity of reading a good old fashioned detective novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasure to Discover and Read!!!
Review: Alexander McCall Smith has written over 50 books, from such specialized works as The Criminal Law of Botswana, Forensic Aspects of Sleep to Children's books. He currently is a Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh University.
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series introduces us to the delightfully intuitive and enormously likable Precious (Mma) Ramotswe, who sets up the first, and so far, only Detective Agency in Botswana! She is drawn to her profession to "help people with problems in their lives." Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors.
If you are used to morgues-full of bodies generated from unknown and suspicious methods you're out of luck! Mma Ramotswe is layed back. Learning everything she knows as she goes along. This book is best described as "peaceful". It makes you yearn for a more simple life, a roof over your head, enough to eat, and a little white van that runs.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations and was voted one of
the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement. I thoroughly enjoyed this book for it's unique and likable characters and exotic setting. The uniqueness of the mysteries reflect a simpler lifestle than many of us live and especially expect in a "mystery". TOTAL ENJOYMENT!
John Row
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated and bland
Review: This book's success in sales beguiles the fact that it is banal, poorly written, and horribly edited. The interesting plot premise of the adventures a woman detective in a patriarchal society has been developed into a boring story with cliched characters engaged in underwhelming activities. The stilted and choppy writing style could be an attempt to reflect the relative simplicity of life in Botswana, but it is tedious and patronizing. Obvious mistakes were rife in the paperback version (which, by now, should have been corrected from earlier editions). For example, a principal character, described early in the book as a consummate bachelor, has a dead wife mentioned later in the book. Surely better mysteries are out there?
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