Mma Ramotswe’s first client, Happy Bapetsi, is worried that the man who claims to be her father is a fraud taking advantage of her generosity.

What is surprising about the nature of the cases Mma Ramotswe is hired to solve? By what means does Alexander McCall Smith sustain the reader’s interest, in the absence of the kind of tension, violence, and suspense that drive most mysteries?Ĥ. What makes Precious Ramotswe such a charming protagonist? What kind of woman is she? How is she different from the usual detective? Why does she feel “called” to help her fellow Africans “solve the mysteries of their lives” ?ģ. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency from the conventional mystery novel?Ģ. How does this affect the narrative pacing of the novel? What other unique features distinguish The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Mma Ramotswe solves a number of small crimes, rather than a single major one. Unlike in most other mysteries, in The No. Some people would agonize over minor slips or mistakes on their part, while others would feel quite unmoved by their own gross acts of betrayal or dishonesty” –as well as her trenchant and often humorous assessments of the failings of men, her unflinching struggle for gender equity, her keen love for her country and its people, and the warmth, generosity, and intelligence of her expansive spirit.ġ. Throughout, readers are treated to Mma Ramotswe’s penetrating observations on human behavior–“It was curious how some people had a highly developed sense of guilt, she thought, while others had none. This crime will bring Mma Ramotswe face-to-face with one of Africa’s most frightful traditions–the use of human bones in the making of muti (medicine). The threat of something more violent, more sinister, appears when a young boy goes missing and Mma Ramotswe suspects he has fallen victim to witch doctors. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency lies in just this quality of ordinariness–the problems that ordinary people confront in the course of their everyday lives. Mundane concerns, by the standards of most American mysteries, but much of the charm of The No. Mma Ramotswe’s cases range from exposing a freeloader posing as a father, to discovering whether or not a young Indian girl has a boyfriend, to determining the legitimacy of a worker’s injury claim, to revealing the real reason behind a doctor’s inconsistent performance. There are no bludgeoned millionaires or murdered sexpots in The No. These mysteries aren’t the standard stuff of detective novels. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries of their lives. “They are my people, my brothers and sisters. What she also has is a deep love for Africa generally and for Botswana and its people especially. These she has in great supply, along with perseverance, a keen knowledge of the human mind and heart, a steadfast sense of right and wrong, and a personality that inspires trust and loquaciousness in nearly all who meet her. But she does possess the intangible assets of intuition and intelligence. After all, her only assets are a tiny white van, two desks, two chairs, a telephone, an old typewriter, a teapot, and three teacups. Mma Ramotswe herself feels unsure of her success. “Can women be detectives?” asks the bank’s lawyer. Introduction: When Precious Ramotswe decides to use the money her beloved father left her to open the first ever Ladies’ Detective Agency in Botswana, everyone is skeptical.

First ladies detective agency