'The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency' is a book written by Alexander Smith. It is a short read - around 220 pages that could be read in a few hours.
Like my last book, the main character of the book is a women - Mme Ramotswe, which is a pure coincidence. As the title goes, it is about a detective and how she uses her instincts and her unique skills to solve several cases. It is a very light read and the cases themselves are very shallow - unlike other detective stories (oh no- comparing with Sherlock Holmes is injustice), there are no major twists or turns, and Mme Ramotswe solves majority of the cases within 1-2 trips to the spot. There are no fight scenes or heated arguments and Mme Ramotswe solves all of the cases, all by herself including the trips to meet the convicts across the country and in one case all the way to South Africa.
The story is set-up in Botswana, Africa and one would learn a few things about history, geography and culture of Botswana, Rhodesia and South Africa. It is ironical that the African story was written by a white British author.There are also brief references about how Botswana was fortunate to be led by good men, who helped it shape as one of the wealthiest nations of Africa, when it was relatively poor at the time of independence in 1966. It also touches upon the culture and life-style of African men.
Overall, it is a short read and a feel-good story. I would rate it 3 (out of 5).
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