Review of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This book was completely different from what I expected. When I picked it up, I expected a mystery novel set in Botswana, maybe Agatha Christie style? I was wrong, and that's not a bad thing.
Our protagonist is Precious Ramotswe, a woman in her mid-30s, a big African lady. With money she inherits from her dad, she decides to open the first and only Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana. We get to follow her story as she slowly gets more customers and solves cases.
Each chapter is pretty much self-contained, the novel is not about any single case. In some chapters we get backstory, like her father working in the mines in South Africa in the 60s, or Precious' unhappy marriage to a viciously abusive jazz musician husband. Above all, we get a glimpse of life in Botswana, and the main character's abiding love for her country and continent, despite …
This book was completely different from what I expected. When I picked it up, I expected a mystery novel set in Botswana, maybe Agatha Christie style? I was wrong, and that's not a bad thing.
Our protagonist is Precious Ramotswe, a woman in her mid-30s, a big African lady. With money she inherits from her dad, she decides to open the first and only Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana. We get to follow her story as she slowly gets more customers and solves cases.
Each chapter is pretty much self-contained, the novel is not about any single case. In some chapters we get backstory, like her father working in the mines in South Africa in the 60s, or Precious' unhappy marriage to a viciously abusive jazz musician husband. Above all, we get a glimpse of life in Botswana, and the main character's abiding love for her country and continent, despite witch doctors' abducting children, or men being dismissive of women.
I really enjoyed it and will likely pick up more of the books in this series. Though I am intimidated by the number, there's 18 books!
