To the Land of Long Lost Friends

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 20

De: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrado por: Lisette Lecat

In the latest book in the widely beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe takes on a case for a childhood acquaintance and finds that family relationships are always a tricky proposition - even for Botswana's premier female detective.

Mma Ramotswe has reconnected with an old friend who has been having problems with her daughter. Though Precious feels compelled to lend a hand, she discovers that getting involved in family affairs is always a delicate affair. The young woman appears to be involved with a charismatic preacher. But are his ministrations entirely of a godly nature?

Elsewhere, Charlie is also struggling with a tricky matter of the heart. He wishes to propose to his girlfriend, Queenie-Queenie, but he's struggling to come up with a bride price that will impress her father. When Queenie-Queenie's brother offers to help by giving him a job, the offer may not be quite what Charlie expected.

As always, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni will offer wise counsel, Mma Makutsi will weigh in with her opinions, and Mma Potokwane will be there with her welcome fruit cake. But in the end it will be up to Mma Ramotswe to reflect on love, family, and the nature of men and women in order to resolve family dramas and remind everyone about all the good things they have in life - so many, in fact, that it would take far too long to count them.

©2019 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2019 Recorded Books

Reseñas de la Crítica

"How lovely to spend time again with Mma Precious Ramotswe, of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Thanks to the quiet performance of Lisette Lecat, series fans reconnect with a bevy of fully formed Botswana residents.... Sensitive writing, wry humor, and Lecat's deft performance make this choice listening." (AudioFile Magazine)

like an old friend, this book's sweet listening

absolutely does not disappoint! lissette lecat is superb as always. she is the voice of these characters and of Botswana. just a delight!!!

More lovliness

I loved it. It has more of the gentle sweet descriptions of land, people, trouble & joys we have come to expect from #1 Ladies.

More of the wonderful story ....

To those who have yet to meet Mma Precious Ramotswe, you will develop a fine relationship with her and her compatriots in this latest telling of the Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency.
If you have not experienced these stories prior to this tale, you should really, really, go back and start with the first book. The stories are thoroughly enjoyable, and the narration is absolute perfection. Ms Lisette Lecat, who is from South Africa, gives the stories the lilt and inflection that only a person who is thoroughly familiar with the idioms of the area would have.
I have read these books, and I have listened to them, and the Audible version is far, far better: some pronunciations are simply not transferable to the printed page ( such as the pronunciation of, ‘Mma’ ) and this narrator is perfectly suited to these wonderful stories.

Hooray for Madame Ramotswe

Lisette Lecat is a wonder. She brings McCall’s characters to life so they feel like old friends. The civility and humanness in his characters is so uplifting- particularly in these trying times.

Another enjoyable entry

Another enjoyable entry in the series. Two mysteries: why a daughter has cut ties with her mother, Ma Ramotswe's old friend (and why she's suddenly driving a Mercedes) and is a husband really studying math on evenings he's spending with a teacher. (Ma Makutsi doubts his innocence and doesn't want to close the case quite yet.) And happy news: Queenie Queenie wants to marry Charlie (but she wants her brother to help him make money fast for the cattle for the bride price. The brother is not on the level but wants Charlie to render cars inoperable for those who can't or won't pay their loansharks. Charlie meets Queenie Queenie's father and surprised me with his honesty, winning my heartfelt admiration.) A good one. (Especially since I started the next one and HATE the new reader. She TRILLS her R's so much she becomes incomprehensible. After years of enjoying Lissette Lecat, I found the new reader a abominable.)

Why do people do what they do? The #1 Ladies have

Good performance and good pacing. Wisdom and experience do not answer all questions, but find resolutions nonetheless.

A bit too “talky”

I’ve been reading and listening to these books for years and have always enjoyed them. This one has the great characters we know through out the series, and some new ones and overall it is charming but I found myself getting tired of all the reminiscing thrown into odd parts of the story and all the talking, repeating and repeating again. The narration is good but it felt like things were dragging so I increased the speed to 1.2 and it moved along better.

I always recommend the #1 books because they portray a gentle, kind place and time, but I may have reached my limit.

this book is a learning opportunity

I loved it and the narrative was well presented... what a wonderful way to refresh your faith in the human race

I got what I came for in this 20th story

Ahhh. The 20th book in my favorite series. I got what I came for -- to spend time in Botswana with my fictitious friends there -- who surely really exist. I got to follow along on their adventures, to drink their bush tea (and have cake!), to chuckle at the gentle humor, to shed a tear of compassion. While the mystery was very low key and almost backmatter, which was a little disappointing, my curiosity was piqued to find out if Charlie's predicament would be resolved and to learn if any rumors about town had a base.

I prefer to read this series in print (and naturally, I have them all in that format), so I've only listened to one other -- book 15, with the same narrator, Lisette Lecat. Though there is nothing wrong with her narration (flawless, even-paced, delightful accent), it really doesn't add anything to the story. But when time is too tight to sit and enjoy a book, I am thankful to have this option.

I've already got #21, HOW TO RAISE AN ELEPHANT on the shelf and hold out hope that I'll find the time to read with my eyes next time.

Marvelous! I love this series!!

My favorite quote from this novel is, "Men are very fortunate that women are so understanding." After 51 years of marriage to a very understanding wife I can relate to that. Audible has classified the genre of the 20 novels in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series in various ways. It classifies TO THE LAND OF LONG LOST FRIENDS as humor. I would classify the entire series as modern detective mysteries or possibly as cozy mysteries.

This series is set in the landlocked southern African nation of Botswana. The repeat characters are very well developed and each is wonderful. Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith spent much of his life in Botswana.

If you are looking for fast paced thrillers, this series is not for you because life in Botswana is not fast paced. This series is about marvelous stories with great characters well told.

South African Lisette Lecat narrates each novel in this series. She is incredibly good!