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    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    Audiobook8 hours

    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

    Written by Alexander McCall Smith

    Narrated by Lisette Lecat

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    This remarkably fresh and charming best-seller took the world by storm upon its publication. It has since earned two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations and was voted one of the "International Books of the Year and the Millennium" by the Times Literary Supplement. Mma "Precious" Ramotswe sets up a detective agency in Botswana on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, making her the only female detective in the country. At first, cases are hard to come by. But eventually, troubled people come to Precious with a variety of concerns. Potentially philandering husbands, seemingly schizophrenic doctors, and a missing boy who may have been killed by witch doctors all compel Precious to roam about in her tiny van, searching for clues. Chosen as a Top Ten Mystery by the Organization of Independent Booksellers, U.S.A., The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is that rare novel that imparts a sage wisdom while inspiring hearty laughter and lasting smiles.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 21, 2003
    ISBN9781436100762
    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    Author

    Alexander McCall Smith

    Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the award-winning series The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and he now devotes his time to the writing of fiction, including the 44 Scotland Street and the Isabel Dalhousie series. He is the author of over eighty books on a wide array of subjects, and his work has been translated into forty-six languages. Before becoming a full-time writer he was for many years Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh.

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    Reviews for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

    3.5/5

    4,062 ratings219 reviews

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    • 1/5
      I really loved this series of books. HOWEVER, I struggled and even cringed with this audio version. The voice of Lisette Lecat did NOT align with the Mma Ramotswe in my mind. I could barely complete Chapter 1 and could not engage Chapter 2 at all. The energy was a bit dissonant and left me a bit qualmish. I found her cadence and tonality off-putting and the trilling of the "R" in Ramotswe to be unnecessary and discordant. It's not clear how that evolved. Even McCall didn't trill the "r."
    • 5/5
      I love all these book by McCall. I’ll buy anything he writes It’s clear he understands the culture and the people.
    • 5/5
      A Most enjoyable book so well performed.
      Describes a most beautiful people.
      For ex-pats of Southern Africa, it paints nostalgic scenes.
      I'm going on to the next one
    • 5/5
      Beautifully and thoughtfully written. A lovely journey through africa with a fantastic narrator. I love this series and the acting is perfect.
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed books 1 and 2, but book 3 lagged. Too little about "detection," too much about the trials of everyday life.
    • 4/5
      I did not particularly care for the treatment of mental illness in this book, though I believe it was trying to be sensitive, it just did not come across that way to me. The cases did not seem quite as nuanced as in the previous books. The characters were still enjoyable.
    • 3/5
      While I loved the first two books in this series, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in the third. There didn't seem to be an overall story to tie the book together. I liked it enough to continue reading the series, so I hope book 4 picks back up again.
    • 3/5
      One of the better books in this series. Mystery is good and there are all round developments. Only there is lot of repition, guess that is expected in a series. Tho in this series, there is a wee bit more. In this book though you learn a bit more about Botswana - That Tropic of Cancer passes it, 8 main tribes, Bushman or Maswara and so on. Pleasant book to read.
    • 3/5
      I'm completely in love with the audiobooks of this series. The prose style is very simple and the POV tends to chop and change which can be irritating to read, but Adjoa Andoh bring the prose and the characters to full, colourful life. I honestly believe these novels are meant to be heard, not read. Though presented as a novel, The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency is more like a collection of short stories, telling the tales of the first few cases Mme Ramotswe has to solve in her newly established detective agency. As such, each story evokes different emotions. The woman with the cheating husband is hilarious, the story of Mme Ramotswe's father's life is heartbreaking, and the cases of the doctor and the missing boy are the most like real mystery stories. All of it is linked together by a simple, heartwarming central relationship and the author's love for the setting of Botswana.
    • 2/5
      This is a fun series - I like each one better than the last because you feel like you really know the main characters and really root for them. This one has a funny ending and a lot more about Mma Grace Makutsi. I plan to read them all...
    • 4/5
      Like the first two books in the series, it was a quietly enjoyable book. Despite being ostensibly a mystery, it is a world that is soothing to the soul. Things will be okay because Mma Ramotswe will take care of them with her steady, positive and unflapable approach to life.
    • 5/5
      More of the lovable and wise Mma. Ramotswe, a remarkable Botawani woman, who hires a remarkable assistant. Touches on so much of life.
    • 4/5
      This book is very entertaining and quick to read. It is written in a style similar to that of folk tales with minimal descriptions and adjectives. I found it an interesting glimpse into life and culture in Africa and Botswana in particular, even though it is fiction. The main characters are two women who work at a detective agency and the plot involves the cases they solve. It is book 3 in the series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency". Although the book can stand alone as an excellent read, you might want to start with the first book and read the whole series!
    • 3/5
      This one read a little more slowly than the first two. Something about this series, where I enjoy reading about Mma Ramotswe's adventures, but the stories are just not riveting. Very low key. I enjoy the author's voice, and the personality given to the characters, though.
    • 5/5
      one of the best of the series.ILY this book (:
    • 4/5
      This installment in the series didn't appeal to me as much as the first two. It was still a good read though.
    • 5/5
      It was a happy accident that I first encountered Precious Ramotswe and I can't get enough of this down to earth, delightful gentle woman.
    • 4/5
      OK, nothing much happens and some of the story lines are thin, but the people are all so human and graspable that you can't help loving the series.
    • 3/5
      Business as usual for this series. Drifts to an end rather than concludes. An enjoyable escapist read.
    • 3/5
      I’ve been enjoying this series so far which provides highly likeable characters, a bit of intrigue and a trip to Africa without the expense or the actual travel. In the Botsawan of Mma Ramotswe, it seems that everything can be overcome with a bit of common sense, good observational skills, and above all, good old fashioned manners. If only it were so, in Africa or anywhere else! Not my favourite book so far, or maybe I'm tiring of the formula already? I guess I’ll have to read the fourth book to find out...
    • 4/5
      An unusual mystery novel set in Botswana. A powerful and ingenious woman makes a job for herself solving everyday problems for regular people. The beauty of this book is hard to explain. The simple prose tells a story with such power it will take your breath away.
    • 4/5
      Third in the "No.1 Ladies Detective Agency" series. Mma Ramotswe makes the decision to share offices with her fiance Mr J.B.L. Matekoni at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. This is for prudent financial reasons to do with the Agency's low income, but turns out to be a useful thing for Speedy Motors as well, when Mr Matekoni is unwell and Mma Makutsi takes over the management of the garage. Another enjoyable tale of life in Botswana.
    • 2/5
      Not my favorite of the series. Mma. Ramotswe's problem-solving techniques seem to rely not on her usual intuition, but on bald assumptions based on little to no information. This is especially true in the solution to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's mysterious condition.
    • 3/5
      This is the first one of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency books I've read. I saw one or two episodes of the tv series and i liked it. This is the third of the series of books but I don't think it really matters all that much that I didn't read the first one because i did see the first episode of the tv thing so i knew the characters. These aren't high crime, serial killer, violent types of books, at least this one wasn't. They are gentle. The women are smart and resourceful and independent. I love that the main character describes herself as a "traditionally built woman" so she doesn't worry about what she eats.The detective cases are cases of logic, investigation, and reason. The main case in this story describes a government official who thinks his sister-in-law is trying to kill his brother to get the farm. The sub plot concerns the fiance who is dealing with depression with the agency assistant taking over management of the fiance's garage and whipping the young apprentices into shape. It's an easy read, not a long book and i will probably read more of them. Makes a nice break from something heavier and more involved. I also liked the descriptions of African culture and life
    • 4/5
      Part of a nice, easy to read and cheerful series. I did find the depression story harder though this time and whilst it allowed for the ladies to develop in their role, it does not seem needed as part of the story.
    • 4/5
      I like this series for quick, fun reading. Definately a book series to bring on vacation.
    • 4/5
      Another beautiful book about the best of African culture and life.
    • 4/5
      I've always loved books where the characters develope into better people by the end. Also, Botswana is a great background for a book. I did this one on "books on tape" which added to the pleasure.
    • 4/5
      Another wonderful story by McCall Smith, it wraps its way around your heart like a big warm fluffy jumper. I hate to get to the end of every one of his books, can't wait for the next installment. I have rated it four just because this isn't a book that is going to really change your life or open your mind to a whole new way of thinking. It's just a lovely warm hearted story that you feel so intimately connected to that you won't want to put it down.
    • 4/5
      The book was slow to start and not the traditional detective fiction I expected. But once I got into the rhythm of the stories, I loved it! It is a delightful slice of life in Botswana with Mma Ramotswe as a spunky, smart, compassionate heroine who is out to do good in the world. All the characters are delightful and the ending is absolutely heart-warming. I definitely recommend it!