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Summary: Feral child
Review: Mma Ramotswe moves her detective agency to Mr. Matekoni's garage and arranges for her secretary and asistant to do office work for Mr. Matekoni. These steps together with the rental on the building used initially for the agency should serve to result in sufficient savings to insure the financial viability of the detective agency. Mma Ramotswe learns from his apprentices that Mr. Matekoni has lost interest in the garage. Mma Makitsi, the assistant, decides to buy a doughnut to celebrate her new duties and promotion. The house of Mr. Matekoni is unkempt. Mma Ramotswe goes to consult Dr. Moffat. She is advised by him that Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni might be depressed. Mma Makutsi is to function as the acting manager of the garage. A detective helps people in need to resolve the unresolved questions in their lives. It is important to remember that every story has two sides. A good mechanic understands cars. The apprentices were a charity of Mr. Matekoni. He thought trained mechanics were needed to replace his generation. Mma Makutsi coordinates the work of the apprentices. Mma Ramotswe believes that the ordinary people of Africa do not have room in their hearts for hatred. Moral codes aree not designed to be selective. Mostly it is about doing the right thing. Mma Ramotswe is distantly related to the woman who runs the orphanage. She goes out to investigate the case of a seemingly feral child. The boy cannot speak and smelled like a lion when picked up by the authorities. Then Mma Ramotswe is called upon to invesigate the motives of the sister-in-law of a government man. In the meantime her assistant is to investigate the background of the contestants in a beauty and integrity event and to help run the garage while Mr. Matekoni recovers from his illness. As usual, the writing is superb and the events described are of great interest.
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Summary: Worth the purchase!
Review: Morality for Beautiful Girls is a great book and a wonderful series. While the mystery aspect of the book is not strong, the character development and descriptive writing allows the reader to transport to a part of the world that (literarily speaking) we don't often get to visit. Another Amazon quick-pick: The Losers Club by Richard Perez
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but not quite as engaging
Review: Morality for Beautiful Girls is the third in the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, a wonderful group of novels that feature a woman from Botswana, of all places, who's a private detective in the country's capital. In this third installment, she's confronted with several problems, both personal and from her business, and solves them all, as best she can. She has an assistant, and that lady also does her part, solving problems too, sometimes even when they seem to be something she can't do anything about. Smith has a wonderful way with words and phrases, and seems to recreate the country and the prose that the people speak there wonderfully. The several main characters are interesting, and of course it's important to note that these really aren't mysteries, in the sense of Agatha Christie or Raymond Chandler. Instead, they're mainly morality plays, with characters and action that are very tame. So far, there hasn't been a murder in the books, just various suspicious goings-on, and things that need to be found out. Often, the wrong-doer is caught, but judged not worthy of punishment for some reason, and released with the injunction to be more honest or good in the future. It's very strange, to say the least, and considering these books mysteries is more than a bit misleading. I enjoyed all three of the books that I've read, but this one is the weakest of the three. For some reason the pace is slower, and the plots are somewhat less interesting. Or perhaps it's just that I've already read something like this twice, and it's not so fresh the third time. I'm not certain which, but I am not quite as enthusiastic about this book as I am about the other two. However, I do recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Not best in series, but still pleasurable
Review: MORALITY FOR BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is the third installment in the First Ladies Detective Agency Series starring the estimable Mma Ramotswe, a modern woman of Botswana who has not forgotten the beauty of the vanishing older culture. The first book in the series, THE NO.1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY, was an unexpected Christmas gift of fine writing, a whole new style, a new rhythm to spinning mysteries, infinitely resonate of Africa and humanity. The second book, TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE did the first justice, though it was more conventionally linear in its deportment. This third book is in part episodic like the first and partly straightforward like the second, a wiggly balance that is difficult to reconcile.
MORALITY FOR BEAUTIFUL GIRLS essentially rolls a lot of logs at the feet of our heroine. Her detective agency is leaking rather than garnering profits, despite a busy agenda. Her fiancé, the dependable Mr. JBL Matekoni, is suddenly not himself and his business is in disarray. A government dignitary wants her to go undercover and prove his sister-in-law is poisoning his brother. An orphanage wants her to look into the mystery of a foundling. Meanwhile, a star rises in Mma Ramotswe's secretary, Mma Makutsi, who rushes in where her boss is not and takes on the titular strand of the story, a job involving a beauty contest. It gives the author an opportunity to tie together the themes inherent in the other story lines.
It's the plotting that's off, feels contrived, and there is less of the whole of Botswana and Africa in this volume. But it is a chance to spend more time with charming, original characters in an extraordinary place, so do not pass it over.
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Summary: Dangerous Problems Beset Precious and Her Fiancé!
Review: Morality for Beautiful Girls is the third novel in the series about Precious Ramotswe and her detective agency in Botswana, and covers the period of one month after the events in Tears of the Giraffe. Be sure to read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and Tears of the Giraffe before this book, or you will probably think this story is a three star effort. Many reviews describe these books as mysteries . . . but they are really novels about a woman who sometimes solves problems for people. Since the first book, the "mysteries" have not been very mysterious, and the appeal of the books lies far apart from the mysteries. In Morality for Beautiful Girls, Alexander McCall Smith takes a thorough look at the pros and cons of the old communal values found in Botswana's villages compared to the new morality of the urbanizing young in that country. In the process, Mr. Smith makes a powerful case for grafting onto the old values an appreciation for ingenuity, education, effort, organization and courage while dismissing most of the new morality as misinformed at best, and harmful at worst. In so doing, he eloquently describes the potential benefits of a matriarchic society led by determined, talented women who break down traditional boundaries that limit both men and women. As the story opens, Precious realizes that her concept of helping all those who need her help, regardless of ability to pay, is going to leave the detective agency in perpetual financial trouble. Having agreed to marry Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, who runs a prosperous car repair business, Precious looks at ways to reduce her costs by sharing their resources. Her conclusion: She should move the detective agency to the garage, share Mma Makutsi's time and salary with the garage, and rent out the building she has been using for the agency. All seems to be off to a good start when Mr Matekoni begins acting strangely. With her burgeoning responsibilities and plans, Precious has just too much to do. So she delegates as many items on her "to do" list as possible to others, and gets going on what only she can do. It's like reading a lesson in time management. During the course of the story, you will meet another unusual youngster who ends up at the orphanage. Precious is caught up in a case of potential poisoning at the behest of a powerful government official who is also a wealthy and well-connected tribal member. Although Precious doesn't want to take on the case, the official and Mma Makutsi bully her into it. While she's away on the case, Mma Makutsi proves to have even more talents than anyone could have expected from either her degree or her experience. In the process, she brings in a major case which she solves on her own involving four potential beauty contest winners. In the first half of the book, the distress that Precious and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni are experiencing is so palpable that I found myself feeling more and more upset as I read the story. Seldom does "light" fiction affect me that way. I can only ascribe the intensity of my reactions to the quality of the writing and the exceptional care with which the characters have been developed into people for whom anyone would feel great sympathy and empathy. The book ends up leaving some mysteries unsolved, and I found myself wishing that I had a copy of the next book with me so that I could read what happened right away. As I finished the story, I found myself wondering more about Botswana and why people love it there so much. I recently began working with a businessman in Botswana, and he has promised to help me understand more about that intriguing country. I look forward to being his student in this, as I have enjoyed being a reader of these fine novels.
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Summary: Mma Makutsi Finds a Moral Girl
Review: Morality for Beautiful Girls is the third volume in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, following Tears of the Giraffe. In the previous volume, Precious Ramotswe has united an woman with her grandson. Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni has acquired two foster children, who now live in the house on Zebra Road. The girl, Motholeli, is very interested in automobiles and engines; Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni believes that he has finally found someone to whom he can pass on his knowledge and passion for cars. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni also has lost his maid, who was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm. In this novel, Precious Ramotswe plans the merger of the offices and staff of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors garage. Mma Makutsi assures her that she can straighten out the garage files. Then Mma Ramotswe discovers that Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is suffering from depression and unable to concentrate on any of his work. The two apprentices are mostly goofing off and getting very little work done. Precious offers the position of assistant manager of the garage to Mma Makutsi in addition to her other duties. The new assistant manager soon takes charge, motivating the apprentices and satisfying the customers. Mma Pakotwane asks Precious for some advice concerning a child newly received by the orphanage. The child will not wear clothes and is unable to speak. Moreover, one of the men who found the child in the wild stated that the boy smelled of lions. Mma Ramotswe reluctantly takes on a big case for a very important Government Man, who believes that his brother is being poisoned by the brother's new wife. Mma goes to live with the family for a while and even gets poisoned along with the rest of the family. While Precious is away, Mma Makutsi takes on another case for Mr. Moemedi Pulani related to the participants in the Miss Beauty and Integrity contest. Mr. Pulani is well known in Botswana for his beauty pageants and contributions to charity. However, two scandals in recent pageants have persuaded him to consider integrity as well as beauty in the contestants. While he has tried to weed out the immoral girls, he is beginning to think that he has not done that good of a job. He asks Mma Makutsi to investigate the five remaining participants and determine which are moral enough to meet his standards. He wants the job done within three days. Highly recommended for McCall Smith fans and anyone else who enjoys tales of foreign places with interesting people.
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Summary: Unusual location -- delightful characters
Review: Morality for Beautiful Girls is third in a series about Precious Ramotswe, a lady detective in Botswana, Africa. For this Midwestern reader the landscape, weather, and daily life in Botswana were fascinating and clearly depicted. This is not your typical mystery--there is no murder to be solved. Ramotswe and her assistant detective cleverly handle a couple of cases for clients, but her personal life is just as interesting: moving the office, caring for two foster children, and handling the auto repair shop belonging to her fiance who has suddenly begun acting strangely. Ramotswe deals with both the problems of her clients and her personal life in a thorough and straight-forward manner. I had to buy the first two books in the series (The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, and Tears of the Giraffe) from Amazon.UK, so I was very happy to find this third book on Amazon.com. For something just a little different--highly recommended.
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Summary: I love this series!
Review: Morality for Beautiful Girls, the third book of the series, just continues to please. Mma Precious Mamotswe and Mr JLB Matekoni, as are all the characters in this novel are such complete, carefully drawn people that is wonderful to be with them once again. Mma Mamotswe runs a detective agency but what she really does is help people with problems in their lives. She looks at life in a balanced and faithful way, and she lives a good life, expecting others not always to do the same. In this book we see her give her secretary more responsibility and authority and it does nothing but good. I love the way Alexander McCall Smith describes Africa, and I feel like I am there. This is a wonderful, fabulous book--read it, read the series! After this, it is to The Kalarai Typing School for Men for me.
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Summary: Detective Work African style!
Review: Oh, how I'm enjoying the continuing series in the story of Mma. Ramotswe, owner of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana, Africa! I love this strong African woman who is proud of who and what she is and where she is from and I'm highly entertained by the clients and other characters that she comes across. "We help people with the problems in their lives. We are not here to solve crimes," Mma. Ramotswe tells one client. Not your average detective, she and her staff of one (Mma. Makutsi, her secretary turned-assistant detective) help people from different backgrounds with varied problems. Mma. Ramotswe even has a personal problem to resolve when her fiancée (Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors) starts acting in a strange manner without warning or reasoning. I like the way the author brings out the close relationship between Mma. Ramotswe and Mr. Matekoni. The couple chooses to address each other formally but it is done in the context of respect, affection and love. The mannerisms and dialog between the other characters show the reader some of the cultural nuances in that part of the world. The issue of morality -- how people treat each other, forgiveness, helping others -- comes up as the detectives work. On a job assignment, Mma. Makutsi goes in search of a beautiful girl with morals for a beauty pageant(hence the title). Mma. Ramotswe wrestles with the idea of whether some of her methods of detective work are moral.
Set to a vivid background of the dry but beautiful land of Botswana with its great Braham bulls and colorful people, Alexander McCall Smith describes scenes that remind me of the picturesque movies like OUT OF AFRICA and I DREAMED OF AFRICA. MORALITY FOR BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is another fun book to read. Fafa Demasio
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Summary: My favorite of the series! Read them all!
Review: People often recommend books to me when they realize how much I read, and most recommendations are not to my taste. But I am forever grateful to the person to recommended these books to me! I have read them all, and I waited with anticipation for each new book to come out. The stories are so sweet, wise, affirming, and touching, and the writing so simply poetic! I have really enjoyed getting to know Precious and her friends and clients. I gave one of the books to my mother, and she called me to request that I get the rest of them for her! She marvels that such a story was written by a white man, but she has become a fan nevertheless.
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