Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read
Review: I just finished this book, which I read in a day. It was unexpected, funny, and very enjoyable. I would highly recommend. For a movie version, I can see Whoppi Goldberg as the detective. It would be hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: read it in one afternoon---a real mystery treat!
Review: I read several Amazon reviews of THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY before picking up a copy myself. It's not often I read a book cover to cover in one sitting, but I couldn't help myself with A.M. Smith's first in this charming series featuring Precious Ramotswe.The biggest plus of the book is the author's descriptions of Precious' life as she sets up her detective agency, after selling livestock left to her by her father. She says that as a young woman, she took a job as a bookkeeper, which showed her she had a knack for figuring not only numbers, but problems in everyday life. Thus the motive for turning her talents to detective work. In this first episode, Precious investigates a man accused of medical fraud, a husband suspected of adultery and another man accused of a horrendous murder. The murder suspect's story was the most disturbing in a book that has an overall playful and cheerful tone. The descriptions are not graphic; rather it is the circumstances of the murder I found unsettling because of the victim's age. Looking very much forward to reading the next books in the series. I do hope Mr. Smith has several more planned beyond the four he has already written.
Rating:
Summary: Unexpected pleasure!!
Review: #1 Ladies Detective Agency surprised me with it's style and strength. It is the story of a very strong woman in Botswana who opens a detective agency. She tells the stories of the cases that she deals with and solves. Reading this book gives you the feeling of sitting around with extended family and listening to a sage old Aunt telling vivid folktales and imparting her wisdom in a humorous and touching way. The style was so different from the books I had been reading that I wasn't sure that I was going to like this book, when suddenly I realize I was entranced by the tale. It is a wonderful book, full of heart and I have already purchased the next one in this series, Tears Of The Giraffe and look forward to reading it next.
Rating: 
Summary: A different kind of mystery
Review: What a relief to read a detective story where there are no guns blazing, dead bodies every other page, and a hard-bitten, cynical investigator amongst it all. Mma Ramotswe is a curious woman, the perfect detective for her small town in Botswana. She helps people fix their lives and is good at it, making for heartwarming, often funny reading. If you want angst-free reading and a good story to boot, have a peek into Mma Ramotswe's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely, lovely stay in Africa
Review: This is a delightful novel.. Life seems so peaceful in Botswana, in spite of the problems brought to Precious's delightful detective agency. You will love the setting and the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Agency is not quite "No. 1"
Review: "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" is a solid pleasant mystery book, centering on the chubby, pleasant, no-nonsence Precious Ramotswe, seemingly the most unlikely sleuth in Botswana. While a pleasant enough read, it isn't the best I've read. It's a bit like cotton candy -- sweet, but you'll feel hungry after. After a disastrous marriage and the loss of her child, Precious returns to care for her dying father. As he dies, she tells him that she plans to open a detective agency -- the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." Already seasoned in sniffing out crime, Precious finds plenty of clients: A woman searching for her long-lost dad, a very rich and anti-woman client who asks her to find his daughter's boyfriend, a possible insurance fraud over the loss of a finger, a woman seeking proof of her husband's adultery, a woman whose husband converted to a small Christian church and vanished. But most harrowing of all, a young boy kidnapped and possibly murdered by witch doctors... "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" is a pleasant but not amazing read. The best aspects are the unusual -- sometimes humorous -- cases that reflect universal crimes and problems (fraud, adultery), and when giving glimpses of traditional and modern African society. How is it different from American culture? Well, you might get a better idea from this. The writing is plain and not extremely detailed. Smith takes care to make sure that the backgrounds are set up properly -- she gives a description, for example, of the harrowing mining in South Africa, through the eyes of Precious's father, who witnesses all sorts of crimes. A particularly sweet part is when Precious's second cousin (who is infertile and was dumped by her husband) finds true love with a kindly, scarred man. And the writing suddenly becomes deeply detailed and very haunting when Smith takes on the harrowing story of the kidnapped boy. Perhaps the biggest problem is that while Smith makes the book go at a brisk pace, it takes an effort to get to know Precious and the other characters (except Obed, who gets a first-person half-chapter). We don't get much of a glimpse inside their heads. This changes occasionally, mostly in the last chapters, such as when Precious thinks back to the death of her baby, or when Mr. Matekoni thinks about marrying her. But unfortunately through most of the book, the third-person narrative keeps readers distant from the characters. And most of the cases aren't too complex (the adultery one, funny as it was, wasn't really a case). Mma. Precious Ramotswe is a nice character, a break from the hardened or arrogant detective that populate a lot of detective fiction. Her outspoken secretary offers some chuckling humor, and Mr. Maketoni is a nice, doubt-filled love interest for Precious. The most three-dimensional character is Precious's dad Obed; the rest are pretty flat and interchangeable. A pleasant, diverting read. It wasn't entirely satisfying, but a nice enough read with some suspense and likable characters. Nice read.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful stuff!!!!
Review: What a truly delightful little book with such life affirming actions and thoughts . It is just a fun read with the characters coming to life so that you can almost hear their wonderful African English!!!Gives you a real sense of the country and lands within.
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Summary: I Want to Visit Botswana
Review: This was such a nice surprise to find when doing my usual browsing at the book store! And so exciting to find there were three more books in the saga!
Right after reading all four, I met a woman who had been in the Peace Corps in the 70's and had stayed in Botswana for eight years. Her description reaffirmed my desire to visit.
It is not so much a description of the land and atmosphere that makes you want to hop on a plane, but of the people there and how straightforward and uncomplicated everything seems to be.
Rating:
Summary: A Stretch
Review: I'm sorry...but comparing this main character to Uncle Abner and Judge Dee is a real stretch...this is an OK book, but I don't think it will stand the test of time anywhere near as well as the Abner and Dee mysteries. It's "light."
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining!
Review: First, I have to say that this is not a detective novel; at least, not in the traditional sense of having a murder take place at the end of the first chapter and then the rest of the book is spent by the detective solving the mystery. This is more of a novel with some snippets of mysteries thrown in for good measure. The writing style appears to be simple but as you read on, you realize that the prose is deceptively simple. There are layers beneath the surface that give an unexpected depth to the book. I find Precious Ramotswe, the "lady" of the Ladies' Detective Agency, to be an incredibly interesting character. She has suffered with a bad husband (now ex), the loss of a child, and the loss of a beloved father but is strong throughout and keeps her humanity intact. I cannot wait to read the further adventures.
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