This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to "help people with problems in their lives." Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs...

Worrying about her upcoming marriage to J.L.B. Matekoni, Precious Ramotswe is confronted by the challenges of running her No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a terrifying request from the matron of the Orphan Farm, and a case involving an investigation into the would-be suitors of a wealthy woman to determine if any are fortune hunters.

Handling a busy case load at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and contending with an intruder in her home, Mma Ramotswe has plenty on her mind. So when her unfortunate past returns to haunt her, she is happy her husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, is distracted as well. It seems one of his apprentices at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors has raced off with an older, wealthy woman.

Things go badly awry for Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni when he sets out to do something special for their adopted daughter, Motholeli, and it is up to his wife, Mma Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, to extricate him from his problems.

Full cupboard of life: Mma Ramotswe has been engaged to Mr. J.L.B Matekoni for quite some time, and still they have no wedding date. But she doesn't want to be too pushy, for Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has much on his mind. Mma Potokwani, who runs the orphan farm, has tricked him into a parachute jump to benefit charity. In the company of cheerful ladies: Handling a busy case load at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and contending with an intruder in...

Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma  Ramotswe—with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi—navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea.

Under the endless skies of Botswana, there is always something

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The Okavango makes Precious appreciate once again the beauty of her homeland. However, it is also home to rival safari operators, fearsome crocodiles and disgruntled hippopotamuses. Mma Makutdi still does not have a date for her wedding but Precious knows a wide river will make its way round any obstacle, things will work out for the best.

Hoping to reclaim a van that was featured in a possible prophetic dream, Precious and Grace find themselves helping an apprentice of Phuti Radiphuti, investigating a cattle poisoning, and considering Grace's possible marriage to Phuti.

Before becoming the first female private investigator in Botswana, eight-year-old Precious Ramotswe tracks down a thief who has been stealing her classmates' snacks.

"In the latest book in the beloved best-selling series of mysteries set in Botswana, Mma Ramotswe is asked to help the proprietor of the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, who is having trouble with her business. The salon has suffered some unfortunate events, including face cream that burns the skin. Could someone be trying to put the salon out of business? Meanwhile, on the home front, Mma Makutsi is going to have a baby. But in Botswana--a land where...