In the Company of Cheerful Ladies Audiobook By Alexander McCall Smith cover art

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

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In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

By: Alexander McCall Smith
Narrated by: Lisette Lecat
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Readers everywhere have become entranced by the New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, from acclaimed author and award-winning wit Alexander McCall Smith. Each charming book in the series is a masterpiece of comic subtlety and a window for viewing the distinctive culture and landscape of Botswana.

Handling a busy caseload at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and contending with an intruder in her home, Mma Ramotswe has plenty on her mind. So when her unfortunate past returns to haunt her, she is happy her husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, is distracted as well. It seems one of his apprentices at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors has raced off with an older, wealthy woman.

Life on the edge of the Kalahari is as humorously chaotic as ever for Mma Ramotswe and her loved ones. And there's plenty of bush tea to go around.

Listen to the other titles in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.©2004 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC Detective Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Fiction Suspense

Critic reviews

"[A] consistently delightful series....Amid the hilarious scenarios and quiet revelations are luminous descriptions of Botswana, land of wide-open spaces and endless blue skies." (Publishers Weekly)
"[McCall Smith] delivers another winner, brimming with poetic descriptions of Botswana, pitch-perfect assessments of human foibles, and sensible resolutions reached over steaming cups of bush tea. By turns laugh-out-loud funny and quietly profound, these life-affirming mysteries are fine company, indeed." (Booklist)
Charming Characters • Gentle Humor • Authentic Accent • Heartwarming Tales • Cultural Insights • Engaging Mysteries

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Sometimes I come across inhumanity, rudeness, or hateful behavior. And, I need something to detox the poison. Something to stop my brain from replaying horrible cruelty over and over again. These books do the job.

In the past week I've gone through the first five of the series of fifteen. And, am about to start book six. I'll probably want to save some of the books for later, because surely there will be another awful person who will cross my path and who will deliberately squat and poop on it sometime in the future. . . .

. . . if you ever want to immerse yourself in a virtual world of kind people, with a few foibles that make them interesting, with a few problems to overcome, then the gentle, intelligent, and subtle humor of Alexander McCall Smith . . . perfectly narrated by Lisette Lecat . . . will find you in a soul-restoring experience.

A soothing balm of humanity in story form

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i love the characters, the culture, and most of all the narrator of these stories.

a wonderful change of pace.

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

No.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Perhaps more interaction of the couple who get engaged at the end of the story.

What about Lisette Lecat’s performance did you like?

Her conversations were believable and well spoken.

Do you think In the Company of Cheerful Ladies needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I've read a few in this series and have enjoyed them all. The people in this African town are so polite, which I find very appealing and so lacking in our own society, it's wonderful just to listen to them speak. A delight!

Enchanting

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I have read a lot of books from this series. Unfortunately, not in order. This book gives a lot of background for 2 of the characters. However, the best reason to read this book is that it was a really good story. It made you feel happy for all of the main characters. It is my favorite in the series!

Excellent

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For anyone who loves the stories of the Lady's #1 Detective Agency, these readings are pitch-perfect, an enhancement of the written text with a beautiful Setswana accent, perfect intonation and timing.

The perfect reader

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, no, maybe. This book has little to no storyline. The characters, most especially Mma Makutsi, make me want to spit tacks, yet I've enjoyed the narrator's voice so much that I'm going miss hearing it.

A book about nothing.

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I probable wouldn't have finished reading this book, but the narration is just so lovely it made to book come alive.

wonderful narration

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This lovely book helped me start my new job with a one hour commute each way. I looked forward to hearing how our plucky heroine was going to solve one problem after another. I liked the narrator very much- she could do a variety of voices consistently. I'll be buying others in this series.

Fun mystery with nice humor

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Every one of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books is like being welcomed into a warm and comforting world of friends and family, a world where character and integrity are valued, where community is real. I can't get enough of these (and surely wish HBO would bring the series back)

I'm ready to move to Botswana...

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the most memorable moment was when Mma Ramotswe told Naughty that she was not his wife. I imagined his face and laughed!

Enjoyed out thoroughly!

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