Alexander McCall Smith, The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, New York: Anchor Books, Division of Random House, Inc., 1998. 235 pp. Pb.

A review by Nina Gove

When the title of a book includes the phrase "detective agency," one may expect it to be a thriller with victims subjected to grotesque violence. This first book of the series of six by Alexander McCall Smith is entirely different. The Plain Dealer calls it "one of the best... most honest, hilarious and life-affirming books to appear in years."

Alexander McCall Smith is professor of medical law at Edinburgh University. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and taught at the University of Botswana. He is the author of over fifty books on a wide range of subjects, including titles such as Forensic Aspects of Sleep, and children's books, such as The Perfect Hamburger.

The protagonist of the book The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Mma Precious Ramotswe, is a mature woman of "traditional" girth, who lives in a small town in Africa. She uses the proceeds of the sale of her father's one hundred and eighty cattle, which she has inherited, to start her own business--the first detective agency in Botswana run by a woman.

The narrator says about her, "She was a good detective and a good woman... She loved her country, Botswana, which is a place of peace, and she loved Africa, for all its trials." And Mma Ramotswe says to herself, about her chosen profession, "I love all the people whom God made, but I especially know how to love the people who live in this place. They are my people, my brothers and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries in their lives. That is what I am called to do."

One of Mma Ramotswe's earliest cases is that of a woman who has done well in her life. Raised by her mother, the father having left when she was an infant, she shows a remarkable aptitude for calculation, is trained as a bookkeeper, and eventually secures a good job in a bank. She has a nice house of her own and is very happy until a man comes to her door claiming to be her "daddy."

Like a good daughter, she begins to do all the work for him, makes his breakfast, lunch, and supper, and buys his clothes. "All he does is sit in his chair outside the front door and tells me what to do for him next," she says.

"Many men are like that," interrupts Mma Ramotswe.

"This one is especially like that," responds the client.

Then comes the key point. She wouldn't resent all she does for him, she says, except that she doesn't think he is her real daddy, but an impostor. She asks Mma Ramotswe to find out whether this man is indeed her father. Through an inspired Solomonic ruse, Mma Ramotswe brings the man to confess that he is not the father and drives him to the bus that returns him back to his home town. Subsequent cases are more complex but they always, in some way, involve a moral human question.

Besides the detective stories, we also learn of the life of Mma Ramotswe's father, Obed Ramotswe, who was a miner, and of Mma Ramotswe's younger years, as well. These stories inform us of changing times in Botswana, of the customs of the country, and especially of the ever-important family relations.

The narrative is witty, ironic, and thoughtful. Some of the situations are addressed from a gently feminist point of view.

I read this book, as well as the remaining books in the series, with great pleasure. The other titles are Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, and The Full Cupboard of Life.

[COVENANT, Number 21, September 2005]

Nina Gove is Professor Emerita in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Vanderbilt University. She lives and writes in Boulder, Utah.