The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party

Starred review from July 25, 2011
It's a busy time for the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency as assistant detective Grace Makutsi is about to get married and must locate a pair of shoes that literally speak to her. Meanwhile, Precious Ramotswe has taken on a troubling case involving the murder of some of Botswana's beloved cattle. Additionallyâand even more disturbingâboth Precious and Grace have spotted what appears to be the ghost of Ramotswe's old white minivan rumbling about town. And apprentice mechanic Charlie, upon discovering that he's the father of twins, has disappeared. Lisette Lecat, a seasoned narrator of several previous books in McCall Smith's beloved mystery series, turns in another commanding performance. She deftly creates voices for every characterâmen, women, children, and even talking shoesâthat are perfect down to the smallest detail. Lots of fun and totally charming, this winning audio version of McCall Smith's latest installment is not to be missed. A Little, Brown and Company hardcover.

Starred review from February 28, 2011
Smith again makes the sublime look easy in his winning 12th No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novel set in present-day Botswana (after 2010's The Double Comfort Safari Club). As usual, the mystery that the agency's proprietor, Mma Ramotswe, must resolve—the identity of the culprit who maimed two of her client's cattle—takes a backseat to personal matters. Mma Ramotswe, who still mourns the sale to a scrap dealer of the battered white van that was her traveling companion for many years, is unsettled when she thinks she sees the vehicle moving along the road. Meanwhile, her longtime assistant, the prickly Grace Makutsi, is nearing the home stretch of her lengthy engagement. Smith has few peers in capturing the quiet moments of people's lives, and his empathetic lead has one of the biggest hearts in modern literature. Even newcomers will quickly be drawn into Mma Ramotswe's unconventional approach to investigations and rapidly feel that they are with old friends.

March 15, 2011

Four last-minute complications for the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency to sort out before associate detective Grace Makutsi can tie the knot with furniture salesman Phuti Radiphuti.

Mma Precious Ramotswe's latest client, Botsalo Moeti, made no enemies working for a mining company, and he's hardly had the opportunity to make any as a farmer. So why has someone killed two of his cattle by cutting their Achilles tendons? Although a trip to his farm persuades Mma Ramotswe that he may have more enemies than he realizes, it doesn't tell her which of them is responsible. Meanwhile, as usual, "the lady to help people" (The Double Comfort Safari Club, 2010, etc.) must deal with problems closer to home. Charlie, the eternal apprentice mechanic at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, the establishment owned by Mma Ramotswe's husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, seems so determined to avoid Prudence Ramkhwane after she bears his twins that he runs away when he's taxed with his responsibilities. Violet Sephotho, Mma Makutsi's mantrap nemesis from Botswana Secretarial College, is standing for a parliamentary seat she's obviously unqualified for. And Mma Ramotswe has been sighting her beloved white van, which her husband sold for parts when he finally judged it beyond even his expertise to restore, around Gaborone. If it's true that "there is no heaven for cars," what should she make of these spectral visions?

Nothing very mysterious here, of course, but the solution to the problem of those dead cattle is wonderfully inconclusive, and you'll never get through the wedding with dry eyes.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 15, 2010

Precious Ramotswe dreams that she is driving her dear, departed white van--and then she learns that the van is out there, just waiting for her to find it. Meanwhile, an apprentice has gotten a girl pregnant, cattle are being poisoned, and Violet Sephotho is running for Parliament. A no-brainer for mystery fans; with a 12-city tour.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2011
A challenging case awaits lady detective Precious Ramotswe in this twelfth entry in McCall Smiths always-delightful, best-selling series set in contemporary Botswana. This time around, Mma Ramotswe is retained by Mr. Botsalo Moeti, a well-to-do farmer whose cattle are being killed. (Theres something decidedly unlikable about the manhe verbally and, at times, physically abuses his workersand Mma Ramotswe wonders if a vengeful hired hand has been committing the heinous acts.) Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswes genial garage-mechanic husband, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, is also having trouble with his staff. Charlie, it seems, has fathered twins but is shirking his responsibilities to both mother and children. In contrast, its nothing but domestic bliss for Associate Detective Grace Makutsi and her fianc', Phuti Radiphuti. The two will soon be married, and Mma Makutsi, who harbors an unabashed passion for shoes, looks forward to finding the perfect footwear for the event. McCall Smith has great fondness for Botswana and paints a loving portrait of this peaceful, prosperous, and progressive country. This wise and graceful installment will not disappoint series devotees.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)