So my last semester of college is winding down and senioritis coupled with a light workload in general has left me with a lot of free time to read apparently.
Anyway, I don't remember where I heard about this book and I didn't even really know what it was about before I borrowed it from the library, but I've always been a fan of detective stories so I thought I might like it. And I was definitely right! It's about a single woman in Botswana who opens a detective agency. Mma Ramotswe solves mysteries brought to her by the townspeople: missing children, cheating husbands, strange behavior from employees...anything that people don't necessarily want to bring to the police. They're all relatively small cases, definitely not as complex as Agatha Christies (which I also love and Mma Ramotswe mentions on several occasions), but the solutions are clever and tidy, and have more to do with just human nature rather than devious crimes.
The mystery part isn't the best part of this book though. First of all the characterizations are perfect. You can tell what kind of woman Mma Ramotswe is instantly and you can't help but like her. And the writing is really wonderful. Each case is told simply but with humor, whimsy, wistfulness...just all the right touches. I don't think I've ever read a non-historical book about Africa, and the descriptions of the landscapes and just the general culture and lifestyle there were really interesting. The author grew up in Africa but is Scottish, I think, so there's a definite British feel to the writing too.
This book has actually spawned a series (6 books now) so hopefully I get to read those soon too!
1 comment:
I'm going to have to check out this book too! Ahh, my ever expanding reading list!
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