Introduction to the series

There are now nine volumes in the The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, a series which started life as a short story written for friends but which took hold of it’s author and grew first to one novel and then, over the space of ten years, to nine. The characters have won the hearts of readers around the globe and together, the nine volumes have become one of the world’s most successful series, with over 15 million copies sold in English language, and with translations into 45 foreign languages.

Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful woman of traditional build, is the founder of Gabarone's first ladies' detective agency. Since her first appearance in 1998 she has become established as one of the most famous private detectives in world-literature. Hers is a gentle interpretation of the detective role, solving her cases through her innate wisdom and her understanding of human nature, she 'helps people with the problems in their lives'.

The books are populated with a host of delightful characters who quickly become the reader’s friends: the patient and noble Mr JLB Matekoni, her long standing fiance; her loyal and enterprising assistant, Mma Makutsi; and the wily Mma Motokwani, matron of the nearby orphan farm.

‘McCall Smith’s saga is evolving into a tapestry of extraordinary nuance and richness.’ – Wall Street Journal

Against the background of Botswana, a country of empty spaces and echoing skies, a country so beautiful and entrancing that it breaks the heart, Mma Ramotswe has prepared the bush tea and is waiting for you to join her. She has much to tell...

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
SPECIAL COLLECTORS' EDITION

Precious sets out on the trail of a missing child, a case that tumbles our heroine into a hotbed of strange situations and more than a little danger . . .

A special limited edition of this first book in the series is now available from Polygon. This beautifully crafted book contains two-colour illustrations throughout and comes in a sumptuous hardback slip case taking McCall Smith’s best-selling novel to new heights of reading. Numbered and signed by both the author and illustrator.

Tears of the Giraffe

The second novel in the widely acclaimed No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, takes us further into the life of the engaging and sassy Precious Ramotswe, the owner and detective of Botswana's only ladies' detective agency. Among her cases this time are wayward wives and unscrupulous maids. Mma Ramotswe's own impending marriage to the most gentlemanly of men, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, the promotion of Mma's secretary to the dizzy heights of Assistant Detective, and the arrival of new members of the Matekoni family all brew up the most humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales.

'The most entertaining read of the year.' – The Guardian

'So elegant and understated is the author's style that the novel seems to transcend age... Delightful.' – Trevor Role

Morality for Beautiful Girls

Witty, warm and utterly charming, Precious Ramotswe make a welcome return in this, the third volume in the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Here we find her find her expanding her business to take in the world of car repair and a beauty pageant.

'Mma Ramotswe's methods – and her results – are as unusual as the novels they inhabit... All this activity is much less about whodunit than why.' – New York Times

The Kalahari Typing School for Men

The fourth novel in the widely acclaimed series find Precious Ramotswe running her agency from the garage of her fiance, Mr JLB Matekoni. Plans for their wedding need to be made – but when, if ever, will they wed?

‘The author’s prose has the merits of simplicity, euphony and precision. His descriptions leave one as if standing in the Botswana landscape. This is art that conceals art. I haven’t read anything with such unalloyed pleasure for a long time.’ – Anthony Daniels, The Sunday Telegraph

The Full Cupboard of Life

Once again we are transported to Botswana and enter the world of Mma Ramotswe and her friends. Precious, who beame engaged to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni at the end of the first volume, remains unmarried and she wonders when a day for the wedding will be named. But both she and Mr JLB Matekoni have weighty matters on their minds.

‘The author has an easy command of story-telling and a gift for describing dusty sun-baked Botswana. His books, ostensibly mysteries, are also gentle but incisive commentaries on Africa, men and women and life in general. They are not to be missed.’ – Seattle Times

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

Precious Ramotswe is finally married to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. But misfortune strikes as her tiny white van collides with a bicycle and her assistant, Mma Makutsi, has a spectacular disagreement with one of the garage apprentices.

‘There is something almost divinely appealing about the way Alexander McCall Smith writes about daily life in Botswana... It is hard to think of a contemporary writer most genuinely engaging.’
– Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

Blue Shoes and Happiness

Blue Shoes and Happiness brings more troublesome cases to the attention of the traditionally built Precious Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Makutsi, including an encounter with a cobra, a sinister blackmail plot, and a rather tight-fitting pair of shoes. But Mma Ramotswe can always find happiness in the small things such as a slice of cake and a cup of bush tea under Botswana skies.

‘Fans of the The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency will revel in the tricky new challenges the traditionally built Mma Ramotswe faces with her unique combination of common sense and kindness...Why can’t all the world be like this?’ – www.lovereading.co.uk

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

Mma Ramotswe is experiencing staffing difficulties. First Mr J.L.B. Matekoni asks to be put in charge of a case involving an errant husband. But can a man investigate such matters as successfully as the number one lady detective can? Then, Mma Makutsi, decides to leave the agency taking her near-perfect secretarial skills with her.

‘Nothing will dim the charm of McCall Smith's series, with its portraits of goodness, its sorrow over greed and its profound love of Africa. They are among the greatest comfort-reads of all time,’
– Amanda Craig, The Independent

The Miracle at Speedy Motors

Threatening letters have been received at the detective agency and the search for the author of these leads to a familiar suspect and in this volume, we see more of the young girl whom Mma Ramotswe and Mr J L B Matekoni have fostered. Mr J L B Matekoni believes that somebody may be able to work a miracle for her – Mma Ramotswe is not so sure. That is not to say that she does not believe in miracles – she believes that miracles are everywhere; in the kindness of friends, in the love of family, and in the very sun that shines upon her country, Botswana, the land that she loves so much.

‘No one could fail to warm to Precious Ramotswe, one of the most engaging leading characters to have emerged in popular contemporary fiction in the past decade. Compassionate, thoughtful and with a heart the size of the watermelons that grow in her native Botswana, she is a heroine for all times. The latest episode in her adventures is written with the gentleness of its predecessors and with a charm that is quite exceptional in modern detective fiction. There are no bullets, broads or booze in the world of the Ladies' Detective Agency - not so much hard-boiled as soft-boiled detective fiction you might say... With an emotional strength and honesty that is a great tribute to its author, this is a positive treat – like a single mouth-watering, soft-centred chocolate cream that seems to last forever, and that's far from faint praise.’
– Mail on Sunday