In the Company of Cheerful Ladies: The New Novel in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series [Hardcover]

A rare pleasure (Daily Telegraph )

Forget the library - the body is in the mud hut. An African Miss Marple created by a Scottish lawyer . . . superb (Sunday Times )

One of the most entrancing literary treats of many a year (Wall Street Journal )

A strong, independent, and endearing model for contemporary women anywhere . . . A crowded fictional genre will have to make room for Precious Ramotswe. In the best sense possible, she's a heavyweight (Boston Globe ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

* Highly original 'detective' stories with unique setting and characters featuring Mma Ramotswe and her No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. --This text refers to the Perfect Paperback edition.

In the newest addition to the universally beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, the charming and ever-resourceful Precious Ramotswe finds herself overly beset by problems. She is already busier than usual at the detective agency when added to her concerns are a strange intruder in her house on Zebra Drive and the baffling appearance of a pumpkin. And then there is Mma Makutsi, who decides to treat herself to dance lessons, only to be partnered with a man who seems to have two left feet. Nor are things running quite as smoothly as they usually do at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Mma Ramotswe’s husband, the estimable Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, is overburdened with work even before one of his apprentices runs off with a wealthy woman. But what finally rattles Mma Ramotswe’s normally unshakable composure is a visitor who forces her to confront a secret from her past. . . .

All this unfolds against the sunlit background of Mma Ramotswe’s beloved homeland, Botswana–a land of empty spaces, echoing skies, and an endless supply of soothing bush tea.

The one where Mma Makutsi meets a dancing partner Although Mma Ramotswe and Mr J. L. B. Matekoni have finally settled down, at the shared premises of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency and Speedy Motors the staff - especially Mma Makutsi and Charlie the garage apprentice - are not mixing in a perfectly peaceful manner. But in the course of investigating her latest case of a very unhappy young lady, Mma Ramotswe's tiny white van comes into contact with a man on a bicycle who might be able to restore harmony. And Mma Makutsi does at last seem to have found someone special . . . 'Gentle, rich' Sunday Times 'Appealing' Mail on Sunday Discover the world of Alexander McCall Smith and his other books at alexandermccallsmith.co.uk [Facebook logo] --This text refers to the Perfect Paperback edition.

McCall Smith is a Professor of Medical Law as well as an author who has written over 50 books on a wide range of subjects: from Forensic Aspects of Sleep to The Criminal Law of Botswana, The Perfect Hamburger (children's fiction) to Portuguese Irregular Verbs (short stories). --This text refers to the Perfect Paperback edition.