Rating: 
Summary: Just great fun
Review: This book is just great fun. And on top of that, it's well written--two things that rarely go hand-in-hand nowadays. Like McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD or that other stellar read--TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE--this book is one you'll want to share with friends. Having originally come across McCall Smith purely by accident and not through advertisements or word of mouth, I felt as if I'd discovered something really different and spectacular. What a pleasure it was to find that others had already found out what a great writer Smith is. I just can't say enough good things about this book.
Rating:
Summary: Back to storytelling
Review: I read this book in 2 days, maybe a day and half! :)
I barely know how to describe this book. You settle in, open to the first page, and you just feel warmth surround you. It is the first book I've read in a very long while where I feel the author is a storyteller. I feel as though he has tucked me into bed and is telling me this wonderful story, and I can see the landscapes he describes, and the sweat that drips off of Mma Ramotswe's forehead. It is beautifully written, funny, insightful and just a pleasure to read. I can't wait to start the next one! And the next one!...
Rating: 
Summary: light, enjoyable reading. Low on plotline.
Review: Light-hearted reading. Very cute, very different cadence to the narrative. Enjoyed it. Not a strong plot, especially if you like page turners. This book meanders like a collection of short stories. America-bashing while glorifying Botswana. I guess readers have a love affair with Africa and I think that's why this book gained great reviews.
There was a lot of male-bashing, but some good guys too, though expressed more subtly. The characters are entertaining, but again the plotlinein this book is dull. The novel is just barely worth reading for the pleasant local color, but as far as mystery fiction goes, I would rather reread Ellis Peters, Anne Perry, Elizabeth Peters, or Cynthia Peale.
The back cover led me to expect "the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is that of a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors." What?! Where?! The missing boy case was a teensy part of the book, and certainly did not tug at my heart strings at all. There was barely anything made of it at the end. I would have liked to see at least two of the stories to be tied together, or for some clue from another case to help solve the case of the boy's disappearance. Nothing like that is part of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Delightful characters in African Bush county setting
Review: Botswana is a land-locked country just north of South Africa. This delightful novel is set primarily in Botswana's capital city of Gaborone. This story follows the life of Mma. Precious Ramotswe as she sets up shop as the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. We first meet Precious as a dutiful daughter, taking care of her aging father. When her father passes away, Precious unexpectedly receives a large sum of money from him, given with the intention of allowing Precious to buy her own business. After some searching, Precious decides to start her own business, and the No. 1 Detective Agency is born.This story is more a series of small cases solved by Mma Ramotswe, rather than one coherent mystery. Potential readers who might be expecting a continuous story should e aware of this. The cases Precious solves are interesting and gives us insight to life in Botswana.
Rating:
Summary: Humane justice
Review: Smith creates a charming, considerate, overweight, wise, and, most of all an utterly convincing character lady detective Precious Ramotswe. Unlike usual detectives, Mma Ramotswe makes mistakes in life, and she does not hesitate to acknowledge them. She is proud of her homeland, Botswana, her heritage, her father, and even of her chubbiness, as being fat is the how good Botswanian women should be. She is undeterred by westernization -- she seeks to live her life by the traditional African way. Events take place in the vicinity of her city, and across the Kalahari Desert. The volume as a whole is of parallel structure, Mma Ramotswe solving one case after another. The cases she gets appointed to ranges from searches of missing people, finding out whether the appointer's husband is cheating, and tracking down a witch doctor responsible for killing a young boy for use in medicine. Upon resolution of each case, Mma Ramotswe seeks a middle ground -- it is not legal justice she is after; she seeks a humane conclusion, often times striving to protect the criminal in the aftermath, not to mention the victims. The creation of the character Mma Ramotswe is the centerpiece of this novel. She is someone almost everyone would like to have as one's neighbor. Thus if you are looking for a warm, and, as the cover of the book displays, a life-affirming novel, this book could be for you. However if you are seeking a mystery with an evolving plot, it is likely that you'll be disappointed. I personally am yet to decide whether to pick up the next volume of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Great Books! Definition of Mma and Rra...
Review: I loved these books! Simple and well written, I hope the series goes on and on. I looked up the definition of Mma and Rra. If you go to http://www.gov.bw/tourism/culture_and_his/language.html
you can hear the correct pronunciation by clicking the little sound symbol to the right of the words. Basically, Mma means "Madame" and Rra means "Sir". They are pronounced exactly as they appear. The Rra has more of a rolled "r" sound, though. Mma is pronounced "Maah" and Rra is pronounced "Rrraah", both with a sharp "ah" sound at the end. I was not able to find out where these words came from originally, or if they are a shorter version of more formal words. Happy Reading! Z
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Charming
Review: Hardcore mystery fans who live for tightly plotted constructions sporting unexpected solutions may be disappointed in THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY--but what this episodic work lacks in such staple elements of the mystery genre it more than makes up for with character and setting and style. The novel presents us with the episodic adventures of Mma Ramotswe, a large lady of Botswana brimming with commonsense and self-confidence who--with a little reliance on both Agatha Christie and a mail-order "how to" book--converts her beloved father's legacy into a detective agency and quickly makes a name for herself as one of the most astute investigators in the region. Written in a simple style that evokes African fable, the book is episodic in construction, offering several different tales from Mma Ramotswe's casebook--tales that emphasize the culture in which she moves and the thoughtways of her fellow citizens with remarkable elegance. Whether it is tracing a missing husband, investigating a fraudulent insurance claim, or coping with a loathsome witchdoctor, Mma Ramotswe is clever, practical, and remarkably human, and the book has a gentle irony-laced humor that is almost certain to please. The character is easily one of the most memorable created for the mystery genre in a great many years and her presentation is nothing short of completely enjoyable; most readers will feel they'd like to fly to drop in for some of her bush tea and commonsense advice. This is certainly a one-sitting read, the sort of book that you pick up intending to read only a chapter or two and then glance up to find that you've missed your dinner date. Absolutely charming, strongly recommended, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Mme Ramotswe's adventures in the future! GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Delightful read
Review: This is the first book that I have read by this author but it won't be my last. This is a throughly delightful yarn about a African woman who steps out on her own in a nation where a woman enterpreneur is a rarity. The author has done an admirable job of telling an engaging tale while giving the reader a true-to-life picture of southern African. This book made me long to visit the land I grew up in again.
Rating:
Summary: Good warm pleasures
Review: I have just read the three volumns. My reaction was to search for more. Not a mean spirit in any of it. Easy reading books populated kind dignified people from another culture you would love to meet over a mug of bush tea.
Rating:
Summary: Quite simply, a quick and charming read
Review: Precious Ramotswe truly is precious, and the book is a quick, funny, quirky and captivating read. I found myself laughing out loud while reading passages about lawyers and people suffering from constipation. The Botswana culture, albeit stereotypical, came alive through the author's brief but colorful depictions of roads travelled, snakes and bugs, witchcraft, foods eaten, and personalities encountered. The lore of Botswana through the eyes of Precious and the variety of cases she solves in her trusty "little white van," is quite a fun and relaxing read. Be sure to share this one with your friends, family and favorite attorney.
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