Blue Shoes and Happiness The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (7)

From universally beloved author Alexander McCall Smith, comes this seventh installment in the bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series featuring Botswana’s best-loved detective. Life is good for Mma Ramotswe as she sets out with her usual resolve to solve people’s problems, heal their misfortunes, and untangle the mysteries that make life interesting. And life is never dull on Tlokweng Road. A new and rather too brusque advice columnist is appearing in the local paper. Then, a cobra is found in the offices of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Recently, the Mokolodi Game Preserve manager feels an infectious fear spreading among his workers, and a local doctor may be falsifying blood pressure readings. To further complicate matters, Grace Makutsi may have scared off her own fianc?. Mma Ramotswe, however, is always up to the challenge. And Blue Shoes and Happiness will not fail to entertain Alexander McCall Smith’s oldest fans and newest converts with its great wit, charm, and great good will. From Publishers Weekly The seventh entry in the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series (after 2005's In the Company of Cheerful Ladies) reaffirms Smith's considerable gifts as a writer. His familiar characters offer further facets of their personalities, and their gentle, tolerant approach to life remains a refreshing contrast to most fictional figures, let alone those populating most mysteries. The author's love for his creations and for his Botswana setting are evident on every page. While the plot will be of secondary importance to fans of Precious Ramotswe, the "traditionally-built," self-taught private detective, and her assistant, Grace Makutsi, Smith presents them with several mysteries, including the search for the identity of a blackmailer and the source of malaise at a nearby game reserve. Ramotswe's intuition and understanding enable her to find the truth, while dispensing justice according to her own personal dictates. Even newcomers will be charmed by this wonderful novel, with its skillful blend of humor and pathos, and will doubtless rush to catch up with the earlier books. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks Magazine Scotsman author Alexander McCall Smith's series has enchanted readers all over the world with its warmth, simple truths, dry humor, and depictions of life in Botswana. This newest addition doesn't disappoint. Penelope Lively, a neophyte to the series, praised the book for an "Africa made accessible" and for "beguiling" characters. If the plot moves a little slowly and the mysteries seem somewhat odd, it's because the novel focuses on human relations (this time we come to know Mma Makutsi intimately) and daily life at the agency. A few critics noted that Smith embarked into uncharted territory by exploring modern themes and gender relations. They concluded, however, that this slant did nothing to harm the novel. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. In This Seventh Installment In The Internationally Bestselling, Universally Beloved Series, There Is Considerable Excitement At The Shared Premises Of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency And Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. A Cobra Has Been Found In Precious Ramotswe’s Office. Then A Nurse From A Local Medical Clinic Reveals To Mma Ramotswe That Faulty Blood-pressure Readings Are Being Recorded There. And It Looks As Though Aunty Emang, The Advice Columnist In The Local Newspaper, May Not Be What She Seems. It All Means A Lot Of Work For Mma Ramotswe And Her Inestimable Assistant, Grace Makutsi, And They Are, Of Course, Up To The Challenge. But There’s Trouble Brewing In Mma Makutsi’s Own Life. Her Greedy Uncles Are Demanding An Extra-large Bride Price From Her Well-to-do Fiancé, A Man Of Substance, Phuti Radiphuti, And Though Money May Buy Her That Fashionably Narrow (and Uncomfortable) Pair Of Blue Shoes, It Won’t Buy Her The Happiness That Mma Ramotswe Promises Her She’ll Find In Simpler Things – In Contentment With The World And Enough Tea To Smooth Over The Occasional Bumps In The Road. From The Hardcover Edition.