Book Reviews: Ladies #1 Detective Series

June 23, 2006

I have finished three more books in The Ladies' No. 1 Detective Series by Alexander McCall Smith, and I have to say I just love these books. I asked a friend of mine recently if she'd read these, and she said she'd read the first one and it was "Cute." Wow. That had to have been a surface-level read, because this series is so far from being "cute." There is wonderful language in each novel, and this beautiful river of tradition flows through every chapter. To only read this as a plot book--a fun summer beach novel--is a shame. So much is missed by skimming. Mma Ramotswe is a wonderful character, and Botswana comes to life under McCall's Smith poetic writing. Read it as "cute" if you wish, or read deeper and be mesmerized by the theme of people, family, and country.