Alexander McCall Smith: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

By JAN TRELIVING-BROWN

We've had the Indian wave and the Italian wave, even the Mexican wave. It's high time we had the African wave.

Move over Julia Hartley-Moore. Here comes a private detective Botswana-style and boy does she get results. Precious Ramotswe is the corpulent heroine of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and it's clear she did not begin her working life a vibrant and confident businesswoman.

Raised by a doting father, Precious is lured into a disastrous marriage. Tragedy tags along and only inner strength saves her from ruin. On a dual foundation of grief and hope, the detective agency is established in Gaborone, Botswana.

As agency madam, Ramotswe doesn't miss a trick. She's averse to police intervention and becomes both counsellor and friend to many. She's a strong force at a time and place begging for cogent female advocacy: "You see there are some people in this country, some men, who think that women are soft and can be twisted this way and that. Well I'm not. I can tell you, if you are interested, that I killed a cobra, a big one, on my way here this afternoon."

Before long Ramotswe is called upon to perform many miracles. Can she find the lost boy, the stolen car, proof of philandering husbands and a solution to teens rocking the authoritarian boat at home? And is it possible to achieve a balance to appease the man in her life?

Enter delightful suitor Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. "Oh, how he loves fat Precious: He looked at her in the darkness, at this woman who was everything to him - mother, Africa, wisdom, understanding, good things to eat, pumpkins, chicken, the smell of sweet cattle breath - O Botswana, my country, my place."

Seeking the missing boy turns out to be a rough ride, throwing Ramotswe smack into the evil face of African witchcraft. Had the boy been taken by a witchdoctor and killed for medicine? Can Precious Ramotswe solve the mystery? Yes she can.

Alexander McCall Smith exhibits a natural flow to his story-telling which has attracted the eye of Mirage and New Africa Media Films.

This is a poignant yet serene novel, it's evocative and just juicy enough to keep interest piqued. Great to see it's finally available in New Zealand, along with Nos 2 and 3 in the series, Tears of the Giraffe and Morality for Beautiful Girls, also starring Precious Ramotswe. No 4 is due out later this year, The Kalahari Typing School for Men.

* Published by Polygon, $39.95

* Jan Treliving-Brown is a freelance writer.