Rating: 
Summary: The Preciousness of Precious Romatswe
Review: I absolutely love all three of the books that A.M. Smith has written about the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency! Precious Romatswe is an incredibly brilliant character. Her high sense of morality and respect for others (demonstrated by her following in the "old Botswana ways") is a breath of fresh air. I also love how comfortable she is with herself, being a woman of "traditional build". It is so nice to have a book about a large, successful, bright woman. The fact that several cases are solved within each book is a bonus. The cases are not the main part of the book, but only small part of the whole experience. Precious Romatswe and the unfolding of her life hands her is what takes center stage. The descriptions of Botswana make you feel that you are there, and make you long to actually see it. It makes you want to take more notice of your own surroundings. I recommend all three of the books from the Ladies' No. 1 Detective Agency to everyone, and cannot wait until the end of April for book number 4!
Rating: 
Summary: Terrific series - but the author needs a wake-up call
Review: Not a word in the many five-star reviews you'll read here is hyperbole - Precious really is precious, and about as endearing and original a character as you'll find in fiction in the last decade or so. But a warning: in the second novel in the series (which starts with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency), the author takes too much for granted; specifically, he trades on the patience and sympathy readers will feel for his main characters, the wonderful setting and the air of the romantic and exotic that pervades the books. The most dangerous example is the throw-away subplot involving Mr J.L.B.'s ill-tempered housemaid. Jeopardy involving her is cleverly built up, but then carelessly discarded, as if McCall Smith had simply grown weary of this particular subplot. That is a betrayal of the crime writer's craft, and is simply not good enough. This is an isolated failing, but it make one more nervous about borderline cases: at the moment, so many of the simpler plots are used to explore hilarious minor characters, and to allow Precious and her sidekick to show as much caring as cunning. That's fine. What's not so fine is the suspicion that all this may degerate into middle-period Rumpole, that wasteland in which John Mortimer had dumped his most famous creation, with nothing but his own loveable eccentricities for comfort. "Action is character" is an axiom they use in the movie business, and it is worth citing here. At his best, McCall Smith reveals character through action, dialogue and internal musings. Where action is present, particularly in the detective genre, it must surely have purpose and thrust. It must, on ocassion, be puzzling and paradoxical. It must, at the very least, be interesting. Trouble is, Precious herself is so fascinating that, as this tiny little plotting sin reveals, McCall Smith may feel that he does not need to give her very much to do. Should he act on that erroneous belief, he will find his charismatic and sympathetic character becoming - like Rumpole - a bit of a bore.
Rating:
Summary: Lives Up to the First in the Series!
Review: This second entry in Smith's Botswana-set series picks up right where the wonderful The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency left off. Indeed, the two books are utterly seamless, and it'd be a real shame to read this without reading its predecessor first. The book picks up with the engagement of "traditionally built" Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's sole woman detective, to local master mechanic Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. While the structure is the same as the first book'a missing son as the central running mystery, and some smaller cases interspersed'the new couple's relationship is the real focus.So, while Precious is asked by an American woman to find out what happened to her son, who disappeared from a commune ten years previously, she must also negotiate the pitfalls of setting up house with Mr. Matekoni, the acquisition of an engagement ring, and the dastardly schemes of Mr. Matekoni's nasty housekeeper, and the unexpected addition of two foster children to her household. All of which she does with her keen sense of human nature and wisdom. Her secretary/typist is also given increased attention, allowed to take on the case of a cheating wife all by herself. Built into the stories are ruminations of the tensions between modernity and traditional values. There are a number of passages that attempt to capture the essence of Africa, and how that noble vision is under constant assault by greed, corruption, and power. The adventures of Precious and her cohort are a warm antidote to the often depressing news that dominates coverage of Africa in the West. Smith writes in a delightfully fluid and simple prose with pacing that makes the book quite difficult to put down. The series thankfully continues with Morality for Beautiful Girls and The Kalahari Typing School For Men, with further volumes to follow, one hopes.
Rating:
Summary: Unique & wonderful series: Lyrical, moving, and humorous!
Review: In the 2nd novel of his series on Precious Ramotswe, the only lady detective in Botswana, Alexander McCall Smith continues to turn the detective genre inside out with some of the best writing you'll see in any genre. Precious is African, female, of "traditional build," open-hearted, optimistic, and wise, in opposition to the classic hard-boiled cynical American wiseguy. "Tears of the Giraffe" develops the metaphor of a detective as a kind of mother who, by observing the people around her carefully, is at the same time taking care of them. The maternal theme is explicit in this story: the primary mystery involves an American mother looking for a long-lost son. At the same time Precious must cope with the sudden adoption of two winsome orphans by her fiancee, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Watching out for people, watching out for Africa itself, is a way of respecting it. The style of the book mirrors Precious herself: simple, too-the-point, a fine sense of humor, and very observant. There are some really eloquent even lyrical passages as Precious drives across her belowed Botswana. I again caution that readers with a taste for complex who-dun-it thickly plotted detective novels will find this VERY different. And if you are new to the Ramotswe series, start with the first book (The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency), which will give you important details of Precious' and Matekoni's history. But please read it eventually - you will find no better-written book this year.
Rating:
Summary: A rare gem!
Review: What a delight -- to find a new author! This book serves up an African cozy -- a heart-felt book about a world the author clearly loves and admires. The heroine owns a detective agency in Botswwana and, as the book opens, has become engaged to a kind gentleman who owns an auto repair garage. Just how kind is he? Well, let's say this book shows us warm-hearted generosity without descending into maudlin sentiment. The mystery itself -- what happened to a young American who disappeared ten years ago -- allows the author to maintain suspense. We genuinely care about the crime and we observe the heroine's search for a solution. At the same time, the detective agency gets involved in a more routine "who's cheating on who" marital case. While the ending is not a satisfying solution to a problem, the handling of both cases demonstrates the heroine's talent for combining compassion with justice. Books in exotic settings often don't work, but this one does -- splendidly. I am reminded of both M.C. Beaton series -- Hamish McBeth and Agatha Raisin -- but this book actually has less of an "edge" and the humor is more subtle. Tears of the Giraffe goes beyond cozy into a sub-genre of the "gentle" book -- not a tear-jerker and always respectful of the characters and setting.
Rating:
Summary: Even better than the first
Review: Aother charming, lyrical, lovely book from McCall. I love the way he observes things, with humor and heart. The orphan story and Precious' fiance were wondeful additions to this book and I love the way McCall seems to value women and tries to lift all the glass ceilings around them, both big and small. When I read this book, I felt the stress levels around me fall and I felt like I was in Botswana living at a more leisurely pace. As I stated in my previous review, I have visited Botswana once for a very short time and this book brings back wonderful memories and makes me want to return ASAP
Rating:
Summary: The Return of Mma Ramotswe
Review: Here is the second in Smith's acclaimed new series about the only female private investigator in Botswana. Although more episodic than his debut volume, it maintains the latter's quality with its lyrical style, careful pace, and rich evocation of culture, country, and characters. (I am inevitably reminded of my all-time favorite detective writer, Dell Shannon, who invariably kept one major-case thread running throughout each book while cleaning up assorted smaller ones--sometimes humorous, sometimes grave-- along the way.) We find Precious Ramotswe newly engaged to her longtime friend, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, and in the process of promoting to assistant detective her loyal secretary Mma Makutsi. The emphasis is more on the couple's domestic affairs--the search for an engagement ring, the decision as to which house they will live in, and Mr. Matekoni's thoroughly unexpected acquisition (his bachelorhood notwithstanding) of two foster children--than on casework, but there is still a wife's faithlessness to expose, the fate of a long-missing young American to determine, and Mr. Matekoni's vindictively jealous housemaid to deal with. Like Shannon, Smith skillfully blends the humanizing details of his characters' private lives with the work they do, and although the New York Times called Mma Ramotswe "the Miss Marple of Africa," to me she seems more like Mrs. Pollifax (another old favorite). At least two further titles are in the wings. If they're as good as this one, they'll be well worth the reader's time.
Rating:
Summary: The universal detective
Review: Two people review: Hers - This is my first McCall Smith book, and I have hurriedly gone out and bought the other two of the series focusing on The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. The reason is simple: this was a wonderful book! It is entertaining, charming, enlightnening. It taught me lots about customs and manners of Botswana. It described the climate, the flora, the preoccupations of common, regular people. And it reminded me of the universality of human experiences. All of this with a good sense of humor. I don't remember another book in the recent past that delighted me to the extent of a perpetual smile while in the process of reading. Five stars and fireworks! His--This reminded me forcibly of Tony Hillerman's gentle detective stories, in which his hero has to negotiate between local and ancient customs and the newer and more aggressive manners of the prevailing society in the US. The formal narrative voice and the formal manner of treating persons both announce that the human creature is to be honored and revered, even if he is slightly disreputable. The emphasis upon morality and ethics in the detective trade is refreshing for those jaded by the commercially driven culture which reveres the bottom line. The entire novel, with its apparently naive point of view about those norms taken for granted in the Northern hemisphere, seems refreshing in its innocence and its enduring wisdom. I loved it!
Rating:
Summary: The nontraditional detective
Review: Here are some of my favorite things about TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE: It contains a little bit of interesting African history, personalities, views and culture introduced in a creative way as we read about Mma (pronounced MA) Ramotswe who goes about her daily life and solves cases in Botswana. There are wonderful passages that cast a different light on Africa - they bring out positive lessons about the continent and its people. I loved passages like this one found on page 55 (Chapter Six - A Dry Place): "Then there was Mr. Mandela. Everybody knew about Mr. Mandela and how he had forgiven those who had imprisoned him. They had taken away years and years of his life simply because he wanted justice. They had set him to work in a quarry and his eyes had been permanently damaged by the rock dust. But at last, when he had walked out of the prison on that breathless, luminous day, he had said nothing about revenge or even retribution. He had said that there were more important things to do than to complain about the past, and in time he had shown that he meant this by hundreds of acts of kindness towards those who had treated him so badly. That was the real African way, the tradition that was closest to the heart of Africa. We are all children of Africa, and none of us is better or more important than the other. This is what Africa could say to the world: it could remind it what it is to be human."
I'm tickled by some of the story details, such as the names of the businesses in the book -- Mothobani Bookkeeping Services: Tell the Taxman to Go Away; Make Me Beautiful Salon; Honest Deal Butchery; Judgment-day Jewellers. Of course, let's not forget The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency! Love those names. TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE is full of special narrative touches that are unexpected, humorous, serious, enlightening, mysterious and moving like "The Boy with an African Heart," a missing American boy. The solutions to some of the problems are fitting. Fafa Demasio
Rating:
Summary: Even better than the first.
Review: I lived in Botswana for two years and I share the warm, humane view of it that comes out of these books. Only Alexander McCall Smith goes much deeper and brings to life a whole world of wonderful characters. I am a Tony Hillerman fan, but Smith is a far better writer and the cumulative effect of the books is a magnificent, gentle portrait of a whole society. He must have lived there for years.
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