The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (16) (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series)

Uplifting and thought provoking as usual, and certainly a pleasure to read. The story brings a distant land that much closer, and it helps me feel centered again.

Time for another visit with my friend Precious Ramotswe. Time spent with her always makes me feel as if I am walking in sunshine.Mma Ramotswe/Alexander McCall Smith has a particularly generous and benevolent view of human nature. Slow to condemn even the most seemingly egregious behavior, Precious always looks for that kernel of goodness in every human being with whom she comes in contact. This is remarkable because she is the proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana - the only detective agency in Botswana - and that profession often brings her in contact with some rather shady characters.Precious Ramotswe has never had a holiday, but in The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, the people who love her are conspiring to convince her that it is time she took one. Chief among the conspirators is her assistant Grace Makutsi who is eager to be in sole charge of the detective agency while Precious is away.Mma Ramotswe is unconvinced that she needs a holiday. She's not sure what she would do on one, but inevitably she is persuaded and begins a two-week vacation.It's more of a staycation. She spends her time at home tidying her cupboards and closets, but that only takes her so far and soon she is bored.On a shopping trip in town, she has an encounter with a young boy who tries to get her to pay him protection money to guard her van. She refuses and when she comes out she finds that her beloved tiny white van has a new and ugly scratch on its side. She confronts the little boy and dresses him down, threatening to spank him, but soon her heart is overflowing with sympathy as she realizes the young child is on his own and only trying to survive. Anyone who knows Precious can guess how this is going to end.Moreover, things seem to be heating up at the detective agency in her absence. A part-timer who had been hired to help out while she was on holiday contacts Mma Ramotswe and tells her that Mma Makutsi has assigned him a case that has overwhelmed him and he doesn't know where to turn next. Of course, Precious makes plans to help him out, suspecting that Grace may have bungled things. Perhaps she should have had more faith in her training of her assistant.These books are deceptively simple. While reading, one feels that they are just talk, talk, talk, and nothing is really happening. Then at the end you look back and realize that actually quite a bit of consequence happened.It's great fun to tootle around the potholed roads of Botswana with Mma Ramotswe in her little white van, listening to her ruminations on human nature, the beauty of the landscape, Nature's gifts, the history of her country, and her memories of her beloved daddy and growing up on his farm. One comes to the end of such a trip with a much lighter and hopeful and more peaceful view of the world. It's a wonderful antidote to some of the darker material I've been reading lately.

A little harder for me to get through this one. Longer passages of main character’s thoughts and descriptions. Set it aside more than once but always returned , like a comforting cup of bush tea.

Book was in perfect condition & shipping was quick. Thank you!

4 stars for another pleasant book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, set in Botswana, Africa. This is book 16 in the series and I have read them in order. There are developments throughout the series, so they are best read in order, although this would work as a stand alone. This book has Grace Makutsi persuading Precious Ramotswe into taking a vacation from her duties at the agency. It is her first vacation since she founded the agency. Grace takes over in Precious' absence. A complicated comes up and Precious is drawn back in, w/o Grace's knowledge. There are misunderstandings, but everything is resolved with a satisfactory ending. If you like cozy mysteries with no violence or profanity, then you will love this series.Both my wife and I read this series.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is experiencing a slump in business. And Mma Makutsi, now partner of the business but always second in command, convinces owner Precious Ramotswe that she is due for a holiday. This would leave Mma Makutsi at the helm of the business. Feeling pressured by those around her Mma Ramotswe decides to spend a few days away from the office, but she is full of misgivings. The business is like her child whom she must set loose from her apron strings for the first time. So she does what many of us do when we have several days of unscheduled time on our hands - she chips away at chores that she's put off. In doing so, however, she does more detective work than she expects. Meanwhile Mma Makutsi is handling things in her own unique way although it seems that she doesn't have a handle on a very tricky case. But looks can be deceiving!This sixteenth book in the series delivers on the promise of an intriguing mystery told in a relaxing narrative. The characters stay true to their origins and are exactly what the reader expects them to be. The descriptions of Botswana are evocative of a country rooted in the past but sensing the challenges of the present. It is how our favorite characters deal with them while imparting life lessons that make this story, and this series, so endearing. Here's hoping that there are at least several more books forthcoming in this series.

As usual , Alexander McCall Smith has written an uplifting story with loveable characters. The detectives find every-day solutions to their cases and everything turns out well. I read this series when I want something positive to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

I was missing several books in this wonderful series so wanted to add this book. It fills a gap.

Another cracking story from this series, the boss goes or is coerced into going on a break.Suspicions arise as she has never taken a moments pause for time for herself.The result is a great tale with the normal good feel factor

As always the best stories

Mma Ramotswe aux enquêtes aussi exotiques que furent celles , en leur temps, d'Hercules Poirot... Tout paraît si simple dans la façon directe d'enquêter de Mma Ramotswe: elle pose directement les questions aux personnes concernées. La complexité qu'elle dénoue subtilement ce sont les liens entre les protagonismes, dans le respect des usages , des traditions et des statuts contemporains. Le calme de la meilleure détective du pays de feu le Dr Seretse Khama, peut sembler de la naïveté, c'est sa sagesse. Son humour vous fera sourire, sa profonde générosité vous tirera une larme ou deux .

Alexander McCall usually makes me cry at some point or other in his books in this series and this time the tears came in the last chapter. I have read all the other books in this series and been charmed and seduced each time. One might wonder how Alexander McCall Smith can find material for this small group of characters in a small city in Botswana but his stories are all character driven and ring wonderfully true and genuine and one cannot stop reading. For each new book I have been prepared that this might be an attempt to cash in on the previous success with double spaced lines. But no, there are always some new twists and turns and solutions that warm, charm and sometimes make you cry. And the double spaced lines, I welcome them actually - they make it easier to read. Thanks!I have a feeling that many readers are the same age as the author and share his moral/ethical outlook. Don’t we all miss and long for good manners and the civility of yesterday. The author is always true to his characters and his sense of humour and style - he writes like a primitive painter paints - accounts for the success of these books. When you look at the reviews, a majority of the reviewers are very favourable. A very small percentage give unfavourable reviews. I will certainly keep buying Alexander McCall Smith's books as long as he keeps writing them.

Tutto mi piace. Fosofia di vita semplice ma profonda