This is book 24 in the series so obviously I enjoy them. These books on audio are the audio version of comfort food for me. The characters feel like old friends and the stories continue to be enjoyable listening. This is very much due to the excellent narration by Lisette Lecat. She also feels like an old friend at this point because she's told me so many stories over the years.

These are light and charming. There is often not a lot that happens but the observations and conversations among the cast are just a nice way to spend time.

The mysteries are always fairly light and often the minor parts of the books because so much ot the ongoing story in the series is the lives of the cast of characters.

Go with the audio editions (except for the one they stupidly had narrated by someone other than Lisette Lecat - read that one in print) and pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy the stories. ( )

It was nice to see another of this series on the new book shelves in the library. It's always a treat to see what Mma Ramotswe and her husband, friends, and colleagues are doing. In this case she puts Charlie on a case with almost dire consequences, and has an American lady looking for any relative she can find. There is more, but you'll have to read it to find out. ( )

This is the most recently published book in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. It contains the same familiar endearing characters, a couple of cases that need to be solved, wisdom and compassion, caring and humor all set in Gaborone, Botswana. You can read this as a stand-alone, but you’ll enjoy it more if you’ve read at least the first few books which define the characters’ relationships and personalities.

The qualities that make this series stand out from other mysteries is the calm, relaxed pace of the story; the style of speech which is almost poetic in its rhythm; and the thoughtfulness of Mma Ramotswe, the wise and loveable No. 1 lady detective.

It's a charming, feel-good, relaxing novel that’s the perfect break from a tense thriller, stressful family drama, tell-all memoir, or your own life situation. ( )

It's quite hard to write about these books as there are so many (24) in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

The key elements are who do we blame for a problem or who is responsible for fixing it? In the first instance this is based around a red dress that Mma Makutsi bought as present for Mma Ramotswe. Mma Ramotswe tried it on in the shop before Mma Makutsi could give it to her. Unfortunately it ripped. So who should pay for it - whose fault was it? Was it Mma Ramotswe's fault because she ripped it trying it on when she knew it was a bit too small for her? Was it Mma Makutsi's fault because she should have known her friend's size and not ordered something too small? Or should the shop owner foot the bill?

The same conundrum is then repeated with the central problem of the story: should a man lose his day job and pension because he was working for a dubious evening business and having an affair with its owner. What if this man was a pillar of society, the deputy principal of the local secondary school? Would that affect the decision? Whose fault was this? The man who made the rules? The deputy Principal for losing money on cattle and having his head turned by a woman? The woman?

Another thing that I really enjoy in this series is the way that McCall Smith can show a way of thinking that seems to make sense and then contrasts it with a way that the same thinking won't work. At one point Mma Ramotswe thinks that the world would all be so much better if men just did everything that women wanted and were led by them. We then move over straight away to the main problem of the story where a man had his head turned by a woman and followed her only to end up having an affair with her and running her dubious business.

As usual, a fun read. ( )

For some time now I’ve wondered if there’s some ghost writing going on in this series and the latest entry just strengthened my suspicions. It had less of the gentle humor and wisdom I’ve come to expect and the characters were stale composites of traits from previous books. I hate the thought of giving up on these but I can’t say I’m looking forward to reading the next one. ( )