Review: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Title: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Book 1)
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Released: January 1, 1998
Publisher: Anchor Books
Pages/format: 235 (Trade Paperback)
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Cultural Fiction
Source: I purchased my copy.

The first novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series tells the story Precious Ramotswe who is drawn to her profession to “help people with the problems in their lives.” immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gabarone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is that of a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors.

Quick Review: Try as I might to enjoy it, I found The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency stale and disjointed, with a protagonist that I did not find particularly likable.

In-Depth Review:

I love cozy mysteries and cultural fiction, so when I discovered The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series at my local book exchange, I was beside myself with excitement. Set in Botswana, a small country in South Africa, the series follows the escapades of Precious Ramotswe, a strong woman with a penchant for solving mysteries. Having recently opened a detective agency with the inheritance from her beloved father, Mma Ramotswe sets out to solve her first few cases using the only tools she has––a little white van and her sharp wit.

Unfortunately, my expectations were dashed within the first few pages. I found it very difficult to lose myself in the story for a couple reasons. First, Smith writes as one whose first language is not English. Some may find this endearing, but I thought it came across as just plain awkward. It made it difficult to connect to Mma Ramotswe and made the narrative feel stale and dry. Second, much of the book reads like a collection of short stories with the same main character, rather that a story with a single primary plot line running through it. Ramotswe’s search for a missing boy spans about two thirds of the book, but this is not connected to any of the shorter mysteries related in the book.

One thing that irritated me throughout the novel was the recurring theme of men being animals, barbarians, untrustworthy, and generally uncouth. Perhaps this is a common perception of men held by African woman, but I personally found it distasteful. The fact that Ramotswe holds this view of most men (J.L.B. Matekoni, her local mechanic, and her father being the only exceptions found in the story) made it hard for me to like her.

I tried to enjoy The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, but it was not to be. It was excruciatingly difficult to push through the first half of the book, and even though the second half moved a bit faster, I will not be reading any more books in this series.

About Alexander McCall Smith:

Alexander McCall Smith is a professor of medical law at Edinburgh University. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and taught at the University of Botswana. He is the author of over fifty books on a wide range of topics, including children’s books such as The Perfect Hamburger and a collection of short stories called Portuguese Irregular Verbs.