Books by Alexander McCall Smith
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review 1: Precious Ramotswe finally gets to meet her idol and mentor, Clovis Anderson, and they become fast friends when he comes to Botswana for a visit to a friend and visits her office. Precious and Grace jump at the opportunity to learn from the master. They have several cases: Her fr...
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review 1: I am not usually a fan of short stories, but this little book provided a pot pourri of stories for a quick read. It was a clever ruse to attract readers in by having, as the first short story, one of the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency stories with the now famous Mma Ramotswe. The o...
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review 1: I've read that the demographic for these books is middle-aged women. OK, I may not agree, but that describes me, so guilty as charged. I don't think you have to be a middle-aged woman to appreciate the kindness, the tenderness of this series and, specifically, of this book. I ...
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review 1: Quite chuckle-inducing if somewhat manic. Alexander McCall Smith warms to the episodic nature of internet publishing by employing an old-time radio play writer's penchant for plot twists and cliffhangers. Unfortunately this waters down the characters or, in Berthea Snark's case, ...
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review 1: As an adult reader, I have greatly enjoyed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that children could also meet Precious Ramotswe, just as she begins her detective work as a mere child. In this story, Precious befriends a brother and sis...
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review 1: Sheer delight! I was first introduced to these whimsical but discerning stories of Edinburgh life through listening to an audio book "Love Over Scotland" whilst driving to Edinburgh for a holiday this summer. My favourite character then was 6 year old Bertie and his wry observati...
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review 1: I highly recommend this 73 page chapter book for elementary students. It is a prequel to The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, an adult mystery series. Like the original books, this book is set in Botswana and the main character is Precious Ramotswe. The mystery is simple but appr...
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review 1: My two-star rating doesn't mean there's anything wrong with this collection. The writing is as professional as one would expect from this auspicious group of authors. My lower rating, however, has to do with the stories themselves, which I found rather dull -- sort of second-draw...
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review 1: The second book in the mystery series about a young Precious Ramotswe. In this book, Precious and her friends have to track down a missing cow. I love how the setting contributes to the mystery (these are not mysteries that could take place here in America, for example). I also a...
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review 1: Charming and bordering on cutesy, which seems to be McCall Smith's calling card. He's one of those authors that has such a distinct writing style (Neil Gaiman is another one that comes to mind) that I think I'd be able to identify it just by reading any random passage.**Fun side...
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review 1: Another great story about Precious Ramotswe's childhood following The Great Cake Mystery! This book would be a grand introduction to life in Botwana for kids (about 30 years ago when Precious was a child). This book would pair well with the Anna Hibiscus series set in modern Nige...
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review 1: This is about four people on the train from Edinburgh to London. It was bought for me as a gift just as I was about to undertake that same journey, so it was a sweet and thoughtful present. But that's all I liked about it. It has the feel of a 5pm boxing day ITV drama, and the or...
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review 1: While "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" was too fluffy of a book for me personally, this children's series about Precious as a young girl in Botswana is great. The plot is simple enough for 5-year-olds to enjoy, yet the cultural aspect and stories of life in Botswana even ente...
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review 1: Precious is a school girl who lives in Botswana in Africa. At her school there are thefts of cake. Precious decides to investigate. I loved the plot line and the fact that it had a Moral to the story. The characters were well explained. I found the character of Precious to be ...
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review 1: What a joy to read more of the delightful adventures of the residence and their lives! Mathew has an amazing turn of events and we find Bertie in challenging situations once again attempting to get out of his mother's plans for him, Angus is making new discoveries and Domenica is...
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review 1: They say there is a first time for everything, and this is the first time I read a book by this author that did not delight me. I thought, Hey, I love trains, this should be right up my alley. But alas, it was not enough. Don't get me wrong, the book was not bad, but this is an a...
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review 1: Young Precious Ramotswe is back in a new adventure. Usually set in her hometown of Botswana, she gets to spend some time with her Aunt who runs a safari camp. There, exciting things are happening as a movie is being filmed featuring a lion actor. It's up to Precious to help when ...