The Double Comfort Safari Club

Another winner in the Ladies Number One Detective Agency Series. Easy to read. Lovely characters. Engaging stories beautifully woven together. Definitely the best of all the Alexander McCall series.

Alexander McCall Smith never disappoints. Mma Ramotswe has only gotten better with age and this 11th installment of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is up to par with all the previous books. A throughly enjoyable story, characters, prose and the wisdom that Mma dispenses is always spot on and delightful. This is well known.

I love this series! Each book draws you in and slowly guides you through Botswana through the endearing characters.

I think this series may have jumped the proverbial shark, at least for me. The main mystery in this installment piqued my interest, but fell flat at the end. The characters are still great, and the final scene with Mma Potokwane was worth it. I think if the series is going to survive, we need some new characters or more intriguing plots and mysteries (e.g. Mr. JLB Matekoni's struggles in earlier...more

I think this series may have jumped the proverbial shark, at least for me. The main mystery in this installment piqued my interest, but fell flat at the end. The characters are still great, and the final scene with Mma Potokwane was worth it. I think if the series is going to survive, we need some new characters or more intriguing plots and mysteries (e.g. Mr. JLB Matekoni's struggles in earlier books, etc.).   hide

Smith has written a series of gentle bestsellers based in Botswana, where life is enjoyed most when sitting on the porch sipping red bush tea and watching people from the village stroll past. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in the books is run by Mma Ramotswe, a sensible woman of traditional size (translation – big woman), so no slinky, svelte types will be found between the pages, unless...more

Smith has written a series of gentle bestsellers based in Botswana, where life is enjoyed most when sitting on the porch sipping red bush tea and watching people from the village stroll past. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in the books is run by Mma Ramotswe, a sensible woman of traditional size (translation – big woman), so no slinky, svelte types will be found between the pages, unless they happen to be up to no good. Makeup is more or less dismissed as unnecessary (or mostly for those women who are up to no good). Smith writes from his experience of living in Botswana and his descriptions of the countryside make the reader feel that looking for the hippos around the next bend of the river is the natural order of things, where going to the next town is a really big deal and making a 97 on a final exam is cause for endless celebrity. One of the cases in “The Double Comfort Safari Club” (released in April, 2010) involved an inheritance to be delivered to the correct person. Unfortunately, the resolution seemed to be an odd stretch and made me question whether I could ever really trust Mma Ramotswe’s judgment. Perhaps it’s a cultural disconnect, but I kept re-reading that section of the book to see if I had somehow misunderstood the issues surrounding the choices. With that exception, the book is pleasant, with ordinary office politics being handled by Mma Ramotswe as she works hard to point out the best features of her employees and acquaintances. Another case, involving a trusted employee whose fiancé has a tragic accident and afterward becomes virtually imprisoned by an aunt, is resolved rather deliciously, so my faith in Mme R. (and Smith) was redeemed. No shoot-outs, no car chases, just a gentle summer read about a woman with common sense and a knack of understanding the quirky bits of human nature.   hide

No great surprises but I always feel kinder and more humane after reading one of the books in this series. Bravo Alexander McCall Smith! You gave me that same feeling once again

It's like meeting up with old friends: Mma (Percious) Ramotswe, Mr. JLB Matakoni, Mma (Grace) Makutsi - 97% from the Botswana Secretarial College, Phuti Radiphuti [The Double Comfort Furniture Store], Fanwell & Charlie - 'the apprentices', Mr. Polopetsi [Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors], and Mma. Potokwane [The Orphan farm] and let us not forget Violet Sephotho, Grace's prime antagonist. The...more

It's like meeting up with old friends: Mma (Percious) Ramotswe, Mr. JLB Matakoni, Mma (Grace) Makutsi - 97% from the Botswana Secretarial College, Phuti Radiphuti [The Double Comfort Furniture Store], Fanwell & Charlie - 'the apprentices', Mr. Polopetsi [Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors], and Mma. Potokwane [The Orphan farm] and let us not forget Violet Sephotho, Grace's prime antagonist. The mystery is almost second to finding out what is going on in their lives... I did like Mma. Romotswe & Mma. Makutsi's business trip to the Delta. Watch out for the hippos and crocs!   hide

If you are looking for beach books, the Ladies' No. 1 Detective series is just for you. Smith's writing style is not for everyone, but if you love a nice, slowly-paced story, you will love these books.

These stories by Alexander McCall Smith are so beautiful. Africa Africa Africa...