The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 14

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Lisette Lecat

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Precious Ramotswe has taken on two puzzling cases. First, she is approached by the lawyer Mma Sheba, who is the executor of a deceased farmer’s estate. Mma Sheba has a feeling that the young man who has stepped forward may be falsely impersonating the farmer’s nephew in order to claim his inheritance. Mma Ramotswe agrees to visit the farm and find out what she can about the self-professed nephew.

Then the proprietor of the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon comes to Mma Ramotswe for advice. The opening of her new salon has been shadowed by misfortune. Not only has she received a bad omen in the mail, but rumors are swirling that the salon is using dangerous products that burn people’s skin. Could someone be trying to put the salon out of business?

Meanwhile, at the office, Mma Ramotswe has noticed something different about Grace Makutsi lately. Though Mma Makutsi has mentioned nothing, it has become clear that she is pregnant . . . But in Botswana - a land where family has always been held above all else - this may be cause for controversy as well as celebration.

With genuine warmth, sympathy, and wit, Alexander McCall Smith explores some tough questions about married life, parenthood, grief, and the importance of the traditions that shape and guide our lives.

©2013 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2013 Recorded Books

Book 14 and still going strong

Would you listen to The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon again? Why?

The wonderful fun and adventure continues in yet another installment of the ladies at the #1 LDA. Like visiting with your best friends and hearing all the latest gossip, one can never get enough of these characters and the world they inhabit.

Blkbttrfly63

The reading is slower, but it is the way. The story and narration is overall good. I love the adventures of the #1 Ladies Detective Agency.

Love McCall

Would you listen to The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon again? Why?

I would, but would rather wait for the next

Who was your favorite character and why?

Madame Kootzie (misspelled)

What does Lisette Lecat bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

dialect

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, I just found the whole book charming and so easy to listen to. Always left me in a good mood and smiling when I left off......

A wonderful addition to the series

Alexander McCall Smith adds even more depth to the beautiful friendship between Precious and Grace. This is a lovely addition to the long running series.

Fun

As good as all the Ladies Number One Detective Agency novels. Love the reader! Looking forward to the next one.

Delightfully read and satisfyingly rich

I loved this next chapter of life attached to the characters and setting of the agency. They continue to grow and mature, as the world changes and they do, too. I thoroughly enjoyed this reader, hearing the voices she imagined, experiencing the rich characterizations with additional depth. I absolutely recommend this for a wonderful bedtime read, taking time for the story to unfold.

I feel very happy now…I love to laugh and smile...

Somehow I don't feel like I am the only listener who pines for the next installment of No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (read by Lisette Lecat). Each new installment is like a visit by a lovely old friend.

Dang…I feel so positive when I am done listening to each book…if I needed therapy I would choose Mma Precious Ramotswe as my shrink…she can fix just about anyone except Violet Sephotho.

This series makes me want to do two things: rejoin the Peace Corps and drink Red Bush Tea (which I now have in my pantry). That picture to the left is me in Liberia in 1978.

Friends, here is another spectacular winner in a long series of great listens written by A.M. Smith.

This one is for the faithful

Fans of the series, here is another book that will strengthen our friendship with the people we've come to know and love. This series has become that wonderful annual conversation you have with the closest of friends that you don't see often, but have strong feelings for.

This is not a series where you can start in the middle, it requires you to put in the time to get to know the players and the rhythm of the narrator - - who is marvelous. This story is slightly less family-friendly than some of the others, so a slight note of warning if you're listening with small ones. Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy the trip back to Botswana.

Thank you, Alexander McCall Smith!

What made the experience of listening to The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon the most enjoyable?

I've been a fan of the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency books since book 1 in 1999. I started getting hard covers then I started listening - usually on the day they were released. I've been looking forward to this addition to the series for 2 months! And I was not disappointed - it was well worth the wait.

No, these are NOT traditional mysteries although there are always a couple of puzzlers for Mma Precious Ramotswe to work on. The main thrust of the series is the growing relationships between the major characters. In The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon Grace Makutsi is married and having a baby. Regular readers will know who she is married to, how they met, what sorts of troubles they have. But Smith is good and does a bit of background work - not overdoing it. If necessary the book can stand alone.

One criminal plot thread involves a possible gaining an inheritance meant for someone else. Another small crime involves the slander of a beauty shop (hence the title). And winding through this book is the theme of modern Botswana vs old fashioned Botswana in several aspects.

Listening to Lisette Lecat is a joy. I smiled all the way through and occasionally I laughed out loud.

delightful story, good narration, addicting!

Would you listen to The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon again? Why?

No, I don not usually listen twice

What other book might you compare The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon to and why?

Other books by McCall Smith

What does Lisette Lecat bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her accent and the way she can pronounce names-great!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

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