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Review
The books possess a beguiling simplicity that is hard to convey without making them seem fey, when in fact they are direct, vivid and down-to-earth ... what he achieves in his No.1 Ladies (Detective Agency novels is the depiction in the lives of his main characters of a benign system of morality - derived by Mma Ramotswe from the old-fashioned ways of doing things’ )
DAILY TELEGRAPH (‘Nothing spoils [McCall Smith’s] vision of Botswana as a place where decent people triumph over mischief-makers’ )
SUNDAY TIMES (** 'The writing is as fluent and gracious as ever, and charmingly conveys the practical wisdom of much of African life’ )
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (** 'Written with the gentleness of its predecessors and with a charm that is quite exceptional in modern detective fiction’ )
DAILY TELEGRAPH (‘Nothing spoils [McCall Smith’s] vision of Botswana as a place where decent people triumph over mischief-makers’ )
SUNDAY TIMES (** 'The writing is as fluent and gracious as ever, and charmingly conveys the practical wisdom of much of African life’ )
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (** 'Written with the gentleness of its predecessors and with a charm that is quite exceptional in modern detective fiction’ )
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'The writing is as fluent and gracious as ever, and charmingly conveys the practical wisdom of much of African life'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 96 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Fans of Alexander McCall Smith's 'Ladies Detective Agency' series are sure to enjoy this latest offering. I just love the series. The author has a talent for making you feel right at home in Gabarone, Botswana, with Mma Ramotswe, Mr J.L.P. Matekoni, Mma Makutsi and the other colourful characters in the novels. Crossing continents is not a problem as McCall Smith brings these characters to life in a wonderfully vivid way.
With touches of understated comic irony, this series are just a delightful light-hearted read. Watch out for the moral elements - Mma Ramotswe spends a lot of her time philosophising on life, and the good old days in particular when morals were better, young people were more polite, there was more respect in society and, of course, there were more 'traditionally built' women too!... but her moments of reflection just add to the charm of this series!
In 'The Miracle at Speedy Motors', Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi (newly promoted to 'Associate' Detective (!) have some detective work to deal with, including a nasty piece of malicious mail and a lady who has requested that the detectives find her some relatives... Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is hoping for a miracle; Mma Makutsi has some life crises of her own; Will Mma Makutsi and young Charlie, the apprentice finally see eye-to-eye?!; and we hear a bit more about Mma Ramotswe and Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's fostered children, Motholeli and Puso, in this book too. All-in-all you'll find here a few delightful hours of pure light-hearted entertainment.
With touches of understated comic irony, this series are just a delightful light-hearted read. Watch out for the moral elements - Mma Ramotswe spends a lot of her time philosophising on life, and the good old days in particular when morals were better, young people were more polite, there was more respect in society and, of course, there were more 'traditionally built' women too!... but her moments of reflection just add to the charm of this series!
In 'The Miracle at Speedy Motors', Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi (newly promoted to 'Associate' Detective (!) have some detective work to deal with, including a nasty piece of malicious mail and a lady who has requested that the detectives find her some relatives... Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is hoping for a miracle; Mma Makutsi has some life crises of her own; Will Mma Makutsi and young Charlie, the apprentice finally see eye-to-eye?!; and we hear a bit more about Mma Ramotswe and Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's fostered children, Motholeli and Puso, in this book too. All-in-all you'll find here a few delightful hours of pure light-hearted entertainment.
45 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In the ninth instalment of Alexander McCall Smith's excellent series, The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Mma Precious Ramotswe, owner of the only ladies' detective agency in Botswana (indeed, the only private detective agency there at all) continues, as she puts it, to solve the problems in people's lives. As ever, not so very much has changed in her world at the end of the book, but, on balance, people's lives have been made better, and often not in quite the way that Mma Ramotswe and the reader might have expected.
In "The Miracle at Speedy Motors" Mma Ramotswe, her associate detective Mma Makutsi and their occasional assistants deal with threatening letters, missing relatives and the good and bad consequences of the rainy season. Answering hatred with love is one of the themes that McCall Smith explores in the book. Initial results are mixed, but in the end Mma Ramotswe and McCall Smith convince us that it is a better strategy than the normal one. The miracles achieved are not the big one hoped for, but they make a difference all the same.
This is a gentle, life-affirming commentary on the human condition, written in a light and entertaining way. It's not crime fiction, it's not a thriller, but this book, the others in the series and indeed those other of McCall Smith's books that I have read are a welcome break from faster paced, or more overtly serious, reading. If you haven't read it yet, give it a try (though I'd start with the first in the series). If you have, then this is as good as any. Thoroughly recommended.
In "The Miracle at Speedy Motors" Mma Ramotswe, her associate detective Mma Makutsi and their occasional assistants deal with threatening letters, missing relatives and the good and bad consequences of the rainy season. Answering hatred with love is one of the themes that McCall Smith explores in the book. Initial results are mixed, but in the end Mma Ramotswe and McCall Smith convince us that it is a better strategy than the normal one. The miracles achieved are not the big one hoped for, but they make a difference all the same.
This is a gentle, life-affirming commentary on the human condition, written in a light and entertaining way. It's not crime fiction, it's not a thriller, but this book, the others in the series and indeed those other of McCall Smith's books that I have read are a welcome break from faster paced, or more overtly serious, reading. If you haven't read it yet, give it a try (though I'd start with the first in the series). If you have, then this is as good as any. Thoroughly recommended.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In this ninth novel in the Alexander McCall Smith series, Precious Ramotswe, the "traditionally built" proprietor of the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Gaborone, Botswana, receives a threatening letter: "Fat lady: you watch out! And you too, the one with the big glasses." Mma Ramotswe and her assistant, Grace Makutsi, of the big glasses, are startled by this letter, and Mma Ramotswe even begins to believe that she is being followed. As the two women deal with their business and their lives, the letter haunts them--it is so uncharacteristic of the gentle, sweet-spirited life of Botswana, a place where, in Mma Ramotswe's experience, almost any problem can be worked out over a cup of bush tea.
Continuing the stories of Mma Ramotswe and those around her, this novel, like its predecessors, contains a mystery or two, along with many episodes of daily life which develop the characters further, quietly teach a few lessons, and show how humor and polite behavior can improve even the worst of situations. The central mystery of the novel is uncomplicated. A woman has come to Mma Ramotswe because she believes that she is not the daughter of her late "mother," and she wants Mma Ramotswe to find her birth family.
Subplots galore keep the stories flowing. The fuss-budget-y Grace Makutsi, who is engaged to marry a wealthy furniture seller, picks out an elaborate bed which she and her husband will occupy after they are married. When she has it delivered to her house, the bed precipitates a disaster. At the same time, Mma Ramotswe begins to suspect that one of the employees of Speedy Motors, the auto repair shop run by her honest and honorable husband, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, is the author of the threatening letter. When Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni meets a doctor who convinces him that their wheelchair-bound daughter Motholeli might be able to walk again, he will to stop at nothing--not even the doctor's enormous fee--to help her.
More a series of short episodes in the life of Mma Ramotswe than a mystery in the traditional sense, the novel creates a warm, feel-good atmosphere which provides a respite from the insistent realism of other contemporary detective stories. Ultimately, the "miracle" of Speedy Motors--and the "miracle" of this series--reveals itself, the ability to face whatever life dishes out with kindness and love. Escape reading of the highest order, the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series features characters who feel familiar, make us love them, and inspire us to obey our best instincts. Mary Whipple
Continuing the stories of Mma Ramotswe and those around her, this novel, like its predecessors, contains a mystery or two, along with many episodes of daily life which develop the characters further, quietly teach a few lessons, and show how humor and polite behavior can improve even the worst of situations. The central mystery of the novel is uncomplicated. A woman has come to Mma Ramotswe because she believes that she is not the daughter of her late "mother," and she wants Mma Ramotswe to find her birth family.
Subplots galore keep the stories flowing. The fuss-budget-y Grace Makutsi, who is engaged to marry a wealthy furniture seller, picks out an elaborate bed which she and her husband will occupy after they are married. When she has it delivered to her house, the bed precipitates a disaster. At the same time, Mma Ramotswe begins to suspect that one of the employees of Speedy Motors, the auto repair shop run by her honest and honorable husband, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, is the author of the threatening letter. When Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni meets a doctor who convinces him that their wheelchair-bound daughter Motholeli might be able to walk again, he will to stop at nothing--not even the doctor's enormous fee--to help her.
More a series of short episodes in the life of Mma Ramotswe than a mystery in the traditional sense, the novel creates a warm, feel-good atmosphere which provides a respite from the insistent realism of other contemporary detective stories. Ultimately, the "miracle" of Speedy Motors--and the "miracle" of this series--reveals itself, the ability to face whatever life dishes out with kindness and love. Escape reading of the highest order, the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series features characters who feel familiar, make us love them, and inspire us to obey our best instincts. Mary Whipple
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Volume Nine is the best yet?
The author is known for his gentle style, to say the least, and I was concerned that this delightfully gentle series would be running out of steam altogether. Not a bit of it! Read more
Published 15 days ago by Dr. Richard W. Gray
The Miracle at Speedy Motors
Another lovely, slow-paced story about the No 1 Ladies's Detective Agency. Reading the series is always a pleasure, putting a smile on my face
Published 2 months ago by Gry Kristiansen
Highly recommended
More thrilling and heartening stories from Botswana. It's impossible not to adore these characters as they develop. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Daniel Park
THE MIRACLE AT SPEEDY MOTORS
EXCELLENT EXCELLENT, I FEEL I CAN SMELL AFRICA THROUGH THE PAGES OF EVERY BOOK IN THIS SERIES, I'M ADDICTED, WISH THE WHOLE WORLD COULD BE AS FRIENDLY & POLITE AS ALEXANDER MC'CALL... Read more
Published 5 months ago by CHRISSIE M
Excellent transaction
Excellent transaction - The hardback book was in excellent condition (although second hand it was as good as new). After ordering the book it arrived within a couple of days. Read more
Published 5 months ago by JohnBC
LONG SUFFERING Mr J.L.B. MERCATONI
yet another delightful tale of Precious Ramotse and her team and all the misunderstandings around her outspoken and strongly judgemental assistant. A feel-good novel once again.
Published 7 months ago by Stewart
Out of Africa - Gentle Wisdom
The traditionally built Mma Precious Ramotswe finds a role for her No 1 Ladies Detective Agency in righting small wrongs. Read more
Published 9 months ago by G. M. Sinstadt
Infectious writing
McCall Smith style is full of human drama and the Ladies Detective Agency is no excepetion. Once started reading, you want to finish it. Absorbing
Published 14 months ago by Mr. M. A. R. Dasan
Can miracles happen in Botswana?
We are back in the company of Mma Ramotswe and her husband Mr J L B Matekoni. Mma Ramotswe is still the No 1 Ladies detective and receiving spiteful letters as well as a puzzling... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Joanne D'Arcy
The Miracle at Speedy Motors No.1Ladies'Detective Agency 09
The book takes you right into the city and country. The characters are a mixture of traditional, and modern life. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Betty Louise
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