Rating: 
Summary: Continuing Life Saga of Precious Ramotswe, Woman PI
Review: I'm an American woman who has spent 12 years living in Africa, and traveled to almost every part of the African continent. When I discovered the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, I could hardly wait to read Tears of the Giraffe. I was not disappointed. I can hardly wait to get to the next books in the series. After saying she would never, ever remarry (in the first book), Precious does get engaged in this book, but continues to pursue investigating her cases while engaged. There are a lot of interesting developments that I don't want to give away. She hasn't gotten married by the end of the book, that is left to us in the third book to find out about.....!I found it interesting that the author is a Professor of Medical law, living in Scotland, but having been born and raised in Zimbabwe. He has published many varied books on many subjects. I think these are his "fun" books! I also think that part of the reason he has written these books is to show non-Africans what traditional African society is like, especially how it is managing to move into the modern age. By setting it in Botswana, he neatly sidesteps many of the problems found in other parts of Africa, and is able to concentrate both on his story, and on showing us how traditional Africans THINK and act. I found this especially interesting, having lived in several African cultures, myself. I also find the series very uplifting and rewarding to read, in addition to being a good story. I think some of the critical reviews are from people who have never lived or traveled in Africa, and they just don't realize how true-to-life are so many of the episodes-I do not find these books at ALL condescending toward blacks. On the contrary, they are a celebration of the traditional GOOD values found in black African culture (a nice change from what we usually see in the news). There were several things I especially enjoyed about this book. I don't particularly enjoy first-person, male-oriented police detective novels. This is about a woman detective, who had no more qualifications than you or I, but who just hung out a sign, and used her common sense. She ordered a text book from London, from which she learned some investigative procedures. She's very clever. The book is not written as a first person, blow-by-blow account. On the contrary, it is written in third person, and is more about her LIFE, going through her becoming a detective, the cases she meets along the way (which we watch her solve), and what we learn about the society as we go along. I would highly recommend this book to anyone planning to travel to any southern African country. It is a light, humorous book, from which you can learn a lot while enjoying a great story. I found it difficult to put down. I have now read the first two books in the series, and plan to order every single one. I can hardly wait until they arrive in the mail!
Rating: 
Summary: As Good As the First
Review: I truly enjoyed the first of this series, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and wondered if Alexander McCall Smith could live up to the promise of a great series. He has done that with ease, I think. This book is more of a mystery book than the first one, although still far from the classic mystery genre. It contains so much more than just crime solving. Precious Ramotswe's fiancee, J.L.B. Matekoni plays a much bigger role in this book, as does her secretary, and now-assistent detective, Mma Makutsi.
The main mystery in this entry is the disappearance 10 years earlier of an American woman's son. There are a couple of secondary mysteries, but the main focus of the book is on the engagement of Precious and Mr. Matekoni, as well as two orphan children.
I can't wait to read the third in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable second installment
Review: Smith's first book in the series, _No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency_, was enjoyable and easy to read. I found the second installment in the series, _Tears of the Giraffe_ even more enjoyable than the first. The characters continue to develop nicely and the stories held my attention better than the initial book. I particularly liked the introduction of the children from the orphan farm, and look forward to the parts they will play in the following books. The writing style and the stories are simple in nature, with morals that transcend the book. The books are in fact a wonderful advertisement for the country of Botswana, and Africa itself. Great emphasis is placed upon morality, respect and love. I look forward to the other books about Mma Ramotswe and the rest of the ensemble.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Amazing
Review: I read The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency a few weeks ago, and thought it a very good book. This second installment from Law Professor Smith is perhaps even better, and had me chuckling and guffawing at various passages. Strangely, since I enjoy mysteries, there's less mystery here (basically only two plots, neither of them very mysterious) but you wind up not caring because the characters are so much fun. Precious Ramotswe runs a detective agency in Gabarone, the capital of Botswana. She's a "traditionally built" woman with traditional values, too. She's also got a very modern job, working as a detective in Africa, and investigating things. At the beginning of this book, she's accepted the marriage proposal of Mr. J.L.B Matekoni, owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, and there are many complications that ensue, especially when some orphans are adopted into the family. One of the writing tricks that the author uses to give the story quaintness is his use of names. You only read Precious Ramotswe's first name once or twice per book. Instead she's referred to as Mma Ramotswe, the Mma apparently being Mrs. in Botswana. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is never referred to as anything else, anywhere in the book, and their respective businesses, the No.1 Ladies's Detective Agency and Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, are both only referred to by their full names. The result is a sort of quaint pride in accomplishment, tempered with a slightly ridiculous feeling to things. After all, there aren't *two* ladies' detective agencies in Botswana. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will read the third one soon. The fourth I may wait for paperback (or I may not). But this one's definitely worth the price of admission.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Installment of Joy
Review: After reading Alexander McCall Smith's first book in this series "The #1 Ladies Detective Agency" I felt I had to read the following books as well because they are so enjoyable. "The Tears of the Giraffe" reads almost like a fable allowing us to determine whether or not lying for good or bad reasons can be wrong. It is an interesting delimma. I absolutely enjoy the way that Smith writes his characers. Precious Ramotswe, her secretary/assistant Mma Makutsi and her fiance Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni are immediately likable and often shyly funny in the way that they interact with one another. This book brings two orphan children into Mma Ramotswe's life and leaves a door open for the next installment. The ending of the book is left with a wonderful fable-like suggestion about baskets being woven from the tears of a giraffe because that is all they have to give us. We can all give something no matter how small or insignificant it may seem and Alexander McCall Smith has given us a true treasure here.
Rating:
Summary: Africa Beckons You with Love in This Beautiful Novel
Review: If you have not read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, I strongly urge you to do so before reading Tears of the Giraffe. Otherwise, this beautiful novel will seem like a four star effort as you fail to appreciate and integrate the background of Precious Ramotswe into your thinking as it was described in the earlier book. Tears of the Giraffe isn't so much a sequel as a continuation of the events in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. As that book ended, Mma Ramatswe accepted the proposal of Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. In Tears of the Giraffe, the couple decides in which of their houses they will live, picks out a ring and decides about having children. Each event has its unexpected twists . . . including an attempt by Mr Matekoni's maid to derail the marriage. There is less happening at the detective agency than in the prior story. This book involves solving only two mysteries, a wandering wife and a missing son. Mma Ramatswe learns that her able secretary wants to become a detective, and the savvy head of the agency tries out Mma Makutsi's talents with encouraging results. Both story lines focus on questions of right and wrong. As a prospective spouse, what are the right reactions to one's fiancé or fiancée? As a detective, how much may one do wrong to avoid greater wrongs? To one's community, what is owed? To one's employees, what opportunities should be opened? In each case, the suggestion is that all responsibilities must be borne . . . and borne bravely . . . but in a way that is tempered with love for one's fellow people. As with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Africa itself plays a role stronger than any single character in defining what is thought and done. The strong and distinct atmosphere makes the book more enchanting to those who do not know Africa. The story is strengthened by alternating narrators among many different characters and using lots of dialogue so that each part of the novel is vivid and varied. It's as though six or seven almost unconnected short stories were woven together into a seamless novel. It's an impressive accomplishment. As I finished the book, I wondered how much better off we all would be if we each took a strong responsibility for all those we meet and touch.
Rating:
Summary: Haiku in prose
Review: If "brevity is the soul of wit", then McCall Smith has a huge soul and endless wit. In this second volume of Botswana intrigue, he carries forward the characters established in "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency". Mma Ramotswe maintains her role as "traditional" Botswana lady in both girth and personality. Her fiance, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, however, gains in stature, revealed as a man of small confusions and immense strengths. A few worthy [and unworthy] supporters flesh out the cast. Overall looms the figure of an American mother seeking Mma Ramotswe's aid in tracking down her lost son. A decade of searching revealed nothing. Can she actually succeed where so many others have failed? And in so few pages? With a marriage offer given and accepted, Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni enter a new level in their relationship. Both have houses and businesses. Will there be a clash over priorities? Both have domestic and business staff. How will those people be dealt with? Finally, distant and faintly present, is the question marriage inevitably raises - what about a family? McCall Smith deals with all these issues as he follows the interacting threads of the lives of the lady detective and gentle-hearted mechanic. Through it all radiates the presence of African traditions. How to greet people. How to offer and accept gifts. How to present solutions to a client's problems when none of the options avoid hurting someone else? When isn't it a sin to lie or even blackmail a person? These aren't simple questions at the best of times and in the society of Botswana, they loom as an ever-present reality. Clearly, McCall Smith is intimately familiar with these and other aspects of African life. Yet, while his characters live in a different world, their problems and approach to life are hardly alien. Still, there is a reason for a giraffe's tears - a reason we all need to learn. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating:
Summary: Murder she wrote without the murder
Review: I started with this and went backwards through McCall Smith books describing the lives of a soon-to-be-betrothed garageman and detective agency owner. I know nothing about Africa. I know nothing about the languages of people there. I know little about the customs. Yet, after reading the McCall Smith books, it seems that life there is pretty much the same as here, with the exception of the people being more polite. Quick to read. Easy to read. Fun. These books could be described as an African version of television's "Murder She Wrote" without a murder.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book in an Excellent Series
Review: The title, we learn on the last page, refers to doing what one can, for giving whatever one is able, to help the larger world. Giraffes in the Kalahari can offer only their tears. Our betrothed hero and heroine, the stalwart Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni and the shrewd Mma Precious Ramotswe expand their hearts-and in turn ours-when they adopt two orphans. Nothing turns out exactly as expected, either in this series or in life. And that's not necessarily a letdown. I absolutely loved this book! It made me laugh and cry. Beautifully, lovingly conceived and crafted. Unmistakably, the Scottish author found (or found again) his own heart in Africa.
Rating:
Summary: Another Dazzler
Review: THE NO. 1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY was a rare surprise, an entertaining mystery story written in the graceful voice of literary fiction. Does its sequel, TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE hold up, now that we know about the surprises? You bet. Probably the best compliment that can be paid this novel is that although it is a sequel, it stands on its own quite well. TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE carries on the story of Mma Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in Botswanna, Africa. Once again, Alexander McCall Smith paints an evocative picture of a stable African state that has achieved its independence and modernity after a long journey through colonial rule and early selfhood. In Mma Ramotswe and her fiancé, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, Smith has an honest lens on the traditional and emerging cultures that still clash, but are determined to reckon with one another. This time out, their stories convey not only Africa, but a bemused look at its foil, America, when Mma Ramotswe agrees to go looking for the answer to an American woman's question: why and where did her college-aged son disappear 10 years before. Unlike the first book, which unfolded episodically, this has two strong plot lines from the outset with attendant subplots. It is to Mr. Smith's credit, that he prefers complications in plot and character rather than red herrings. He employs both irony and symbolism, but in an almost self-effacing way that make their revelation richer. He knows when to let the reader laugh and when to ask tricky ethical questions.
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