This is the 4th book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, which follows the life of Precious Ramotswe, private detective, as she tries to unravel the mysteries presented to her in her work, and deal with life outside of the office.
In this slice of Mma Ramotswe’s life, she attempts to track down two people from the past of one of her client’s life. He feels that he treated these people badly, and now wants to make amends, and Precious will have to use all of her tact and skills to find them. At the same time, she is also coping with the threat of competition, when a new detective agency is set up in the village and the manager, the brash Mr Buthelizi makes his presence known. And when Precious’s assistant, Mma Makutsi finds romance, the relationship brings all sorts of complications with it…
As always is the case with this series, this story is told gently and with plenty of wry humour. Throughout it all, Mma Ramotswe’s compassion and strong morals shine through, and her love for Botswana is clear.
Throughout the books, the characters are fully fleshed out and I found myself caring about what happened to them, and enjoying reading about their lives. Mma Makutsi is a great foil to Mma Ramotswe, being less tactful and more direct.
There is plenty of humour in the story, and I read it with a smile on my face. These books tell of a gentle way of life, of people who genuinely care about their country and their companions, and they have a wonderful cast of core characters. I look forward to reading the 5th book in this lovely set.
BCF Book Reviews 