I first heard of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency when I was looking for books that could help me out a reading slump. I needed something light, which didn’t take too much to process, yet captivating enough that I wouldn’t want to put it down. This book almost checked off all of those boxes.
The No.1 Ladies’ detective agency follows Mmo. Precious Ramotswe as she solves the few mysteries brought to her by the people of Botswana. There are 21 books in this series written by Alexander McCall Smith, with the 22nd to be released later this year. The books are all around 240-250 pages long so they are fairly short and can be easily consumed over a weekend. I have just started the series, and the first book reads as a collection of stories, each representing a case that our protagonist has helped solve. There is an overarching plot that runs through the book representing the main case to be solved but each individual story has its own charm.
I found the book to be a bit of a mixed bag. even though the stories were simple and easy to follow, I found the writing to be a bit dry at times resulting in me setting the book down after every other chapter. Yet, never for very long. I found myself drawn back to these simple stories set in Botswana time and again. I’m not sure if, had I not been in a reading block, I’d critique the writing so. Maybe I was looking for something amazing that this book fell short of the high bar I’ve mentally set.
The audiobooks narrated by Adjoa Andoh do a very nice job of transporting the listener to Botswana. It made for a pleasant listening experience and was very helpful with the pronunciation of names and places set in the book. As mentioned the stories are easy to follow which makes this audiobook a nice place for people, who’d like to get into audiobooks, to start with. Remembering the names of people and places will take some getting used to though.
It has also come to my attention that there was also a tv show based on these books. Haven’t checked it out yet but will definitely be doing so when time permits,
All in all, this is a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a lazy cozy read. Links to the Goodreads page can be found below. Until next time.
Rating: 4/5
Cheers!
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P.S. Happy New Year everyone! This review has been in my drafts for a while now, so figured it would be a good time to start sharing some work again.