The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Lisette Lecat

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Listen to the other titles in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

©1998 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Paperback, 2003
• Edgar Allan Poe Award Winner, Best First Novel by an American Author, 1998

"One of the most entrancing literary treats of many a year...A tapestry of extraordinary nuance and richness." (Wall Street Journal)
"An artful, pleasing novel...General audiences will welcome this little gem of a book just as much if not more than mystery readers." (Publishers Weekly)
"Smart and sassy...Precious' progress is charted in passages that have the power to amuse or shock or touch the heart, sometimes all at once." (Los Angeles Times)

Glad I listened to it

This was a book my mother recommended to me years ago and I finally gave it a listen. It isn't the usual book I would pick but I was surprised by how good it was. I did catch a few of the twists before they were explained but overall it is just a really nice story with a moment that catches in your throat. Glad I listened to it!

Very soothing entertainment, a bit juvenile

Very soothing entertainment, a bit juvenile well written. I I I I. It i I I I ibi. I I

I loved the side trip out of my everyday life!

Would you listen to The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency again? Why?

and provides a nice escape from the starbucks on the corner world I live in. Mid-twentieth century Botswana, early in its post-colonial existence, is the setting for this series. The title character is a strappy Botswanian daughter-of-a-diamond-miner who finds a vocation for herself as a lady detective. What I found surprising and absorbing was her ruminations on the status quo versus her aspirations to be self-determining, the entrenched Africian male psyche, and the feminine--and often the ancient African--mystic that outwits them both. I've been to southern Africa. This book took me back to that world and I loved the side trip out of my everyday life.

A story as big as and colorful as Africa

This book is much more than a large and multi-faceted story. It is also a portrait of an entire continent. I can be confident of this assessment because I spent nearly a year traveling in Africa.

Puts Botswana on Our Trip List

Excellent narration. We enjoyed our RV trip with Botswana in background. A clever cluster of mysteries make for easy good time.

Delighful Common Sence

Not what I had expected at first, this little book draws you in. The culture was refreshingly new, and made me search for other books covering life in Africa which are hard to find. The challenges Mma Ramotswe faces as she begins her new life are not that different than other women, those of love found and lost, career, and aloneness. But I was left with a sense of accomplished and determination that all things are possible if you will only persevere and belief. I would consider this more fictional biography than mystery and as such, a great essay into common sense and fairness.

Great fun.

Lovely stories that will make you smile. and feel as though you are there in the midst of it all.

A lot of fun!

Never read a book quite like this one! A nice little story is built into this book. Lovable heroine, fun to listen to the performance. Recommend!

No 1 in my book

I have never been to Africa, except in these books. I adore the characters and look forward to more

Love

this story was a genuine treat in so many ways. the story meandered through the lives of many, good and bad. It was an expose of the cultural and human condition in Botswana/Africa. The spirit and tenacity of the primary character was mesmerizing and inspirational! it was an honest expose of those who refuse to give up or give in!!