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When I see a book has been nominated or mentioned for a literary award, in a display of reverse snobbery, I turn away and ignore it. If I had done so with THE #1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY, I would have missed a great deal. Mma Precious Ramotswe's beloved daddy, Obed Ramotswe dies and leaves her a large sum of money, telling her to open a business so she can be self-sufficient. She decides to become a private investigator, because there are many things a woman can discover that a man would ignore. And, women would be more comfortable coming to another woman for help. McCall Smith has woven the recent history of Southern Africa and the life of 30 something Mma Ramotswe into the current dealings of the agency. Obed Ramotswe's fortune came from raising cattle, but his seed money came from his days working in the mines in South Africa under horrendous conditions. Obed's wife dies when Precious is a very small child, so he installs his cousin, a woman who has been abandoned by her husband and so is shunned in her village. She takes care of Precious, teaching her the rudiments of reading and math, until the child is 8, when someone proposes to the cousin. The man is rich. He owns 2 buses. So the cousin marries him and leaves the child. When Precious is older, she goes to work for her cousin's husband. After Obed dies, she opens her business and buys a house with the money fetched by the sale of her daddy's cattle. She has a little money left over, so she hires a secretary. She only charges for successful conclusions and only if the client can afford to pay. This large, friendly, intelligent woman is determined to make her business a success. Finding missing husbands and uncovering con men lead to ever bigger and more interesting cases, all unique to the lives of the native peoples of Botswana, but yet universal. Lisette Lecat, the narrator, is a native South African. She brings to this tale of Mma. Precious Ramotswe a delicate voice, redolent of the dialects of her native land. Smith, although a white man, was born in Southern Africa and loves the land as only a native can. Precious sits in front of her agency looking toward the mountains and glorying in the landscape. We wish for a cup of bush tea, hoping that will transport us into Mma Ramotswe's world. I eagerly await TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE, the second in the series. Note: This unabridged audiobook on cassette can be purchased at http://www.recordedbooks.com/template.cfm?ID=02994&bookInfo=true
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, May 2003
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