Alexander McCall Smith

Wayward daughters. Missing Husbands. Philandering partners. Curious conmen. If you''ve got a problem, and no one else can help you, then pay a visit to Precious Ramotswe, Botswana''s only - and finest - female private detective. Her methods may not be conventional, and her manner not exactly Miss Marple, but she''s got warmth, wit and canny intuition on her side, not to mention Mr J. L. B. Matekoni, the charming proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. And Precious is going to need them all as she sets out on the trail of a missing child, a case that tumbles our heroine into a hotbed of strange situations and more than a little danger ...Delightfully different, THE NO.1 LADIES'' DETECTIVE AGENCY offers a captivating glimpse of an unusual world.

Recently distracted by the arrival of her and Jamie's second son, Magnus, Isabel Dalhousie - philanthropic editor of the Review of Applied Ethics - is anxious. The next issue of the Review is far from ready, her eldest, Charlie, is jealous, and their housekeeper, Grace, has an officious approach to childcare. With some relief, Isabel returns to helping out at her niece Cat's delicatessen, where surely the most taxing duty is the preparation of sandwiches.It's not long before Isabel's helpful, philosophical nature draws her into customers' problems, specifically that of ambitious, self-proclaimed matchmaker, Bea Shandon. Bea has staged a potentially dangerous liaison involving enigmatic plastic surgeon, Tony MacUspaig, who may not be quite who he claims to be - and Isabel's help is required in getting to the truth of the matter.

In Pianos and Flowers we are invited to glimpse a world long departed. In these stories, inspired by long-lost photographs, the lives of the people in the frame are imagined and then explored, layer by layer. Three sisters brought up in Penang, caught in the tide of war.A group of small boys in a Glasgow slum - their childhood blighted by poverty, their adult lives taking very different paths. A young woman's search for love in the unlikely realm of Egyptian antiquities. And through all of these photographs, and all of these stories, there runs the same refrain: the possibilities of love, of friendship, of happiness lie before us.

The twenty-third book in the perennially adored The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, the basis of the HBO TV show, and its proprietor Precious Ramotswe, Botswanas premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma Ramotswe navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, and good humornot to mention help from her loyal assistant, Grace Makutsi, and the occasional cup of tea. Have you ever said to yourself, Wouldnt it be nice to be a detective? This is the story of an African girl who says just that. Her name is Precious. When a piece of cake goes missing from her classroom, a traditionally built young boy is tagged as the culprit. Precious, however, is not convinced. She sets out to find the real thief. Along the way she learns that your first guess isnt always right. She also learns how to be a detective.

As Botswana awaits the familiar blessing of the rains and the resumption of the eternal cycle, seismic upheaval is taking place at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Not only is Mr J. L. B. Matekoni attempting to reform himself into a modern husband, but after her marriage to Phuti Radiphuti, Mma Ramotswe's challenging but irreplaceable associate Mma Makutsi has joyful news. With the arrival of an heir to the Double Comfort furniture empire and Mma Makutsi busy with motherhood, Mma Ramotswe must tackle tea-making and detective work alone. Well-known troublemaker Violet Sephotho may or not be behind a smear campaign against the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, and a dispute over the will of a local dignitary points to a shocking family secret. But the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is resilient and adaptable, and change brings salutary lessons: that our enemies are not always obvious, that a snake under the bed may be an ally, and that a mother's love conquers all.

Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have always relied on the advice of the classic guide to their trade, The Principles of Private Detection. But who is the eminent author, Mr Clovis Andersen, and what if he were to come to Botswana? That seems a very unlikely possibility, and yet ...When Mr Andersen visits Botswana on holiday, he is delighted and intrigued to stumble across a roadside sign that reveals...

Adventure stories full of the sights, sounds and smells of Africa from best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith. There''s a hungry lion stealing cattle, and Akimbo''s father has to catch it! But instead, he traps a cub. The cub won''t survive for long without its mother. Can Akimbo help save it? Alexander McCall Smith''s animal stories have earned their place as truly classic children''s stories.

The ninth book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series; Little, Brown are publishing in hardback for the first time. La novena entrega de la serie "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", que ahora están siendo publicadas en tapa dura por 'Little, Brown'.

Welcome to Corduroy Mansions in Pimlico: a temple of Arts and Crafts architecture, with comforting, weathered brickwork and frankly frivolous dormer windows, it is home to a delightfully eccentric cast of Londoners. In the top flat lives William, with a faithful ex-vegetarian dog named Freddie de la Hay and a freeloading son who he hopes will soon fly the nest. Four lively young women share the first-floor flat, including twinset-and-pearls Caroline from Cheltenham, Dee, vitamin addict and avid subscriber to Anti-oxidant News, and Jenny, a put-upon PA. And round the corner lives Oedipus Snark MP, possibly the worlds only loathsome Lib Dem, who has succeeded in offending everyone he knows, and many others besides. But what dark revenge is being plotted by his mother, Berthea Snark, and by his girlfriend, Barbara Ragg...?

Continúan las aventuras de la Primera Agencia de Mujeres Detectives en el corazón de África.Ahora que por fin se ha casado y además felizmente, con su pretendiente de toda la vida el señor J. L. B. Matekoni, la señora Ramotswe de la Primera Agencia de Mujeres Detectives de Botsuana, esperaba que su vida se desarrollara de manera mas tranquila. Pero los muchos problemas que tienen los clientes que esperan a su puerta parecen multiplicarse por momentos, y tan pronto como cree que ha asentado su perfectamente construida personalidad dentro del estado matrimonial, se encuentra metida de lleno en asuntos problematicos. Aunque los problemas son menos problemas para Precious Ramotswe ante una taza de te roiboos.

Adjoa Andoh is the reader for all five Mma Ramotswe audiobooks.

Precious Ramotswe, traditionally built proprietor of the famous No. 1 Ladies'' Detective Agency, is finally married to Mr J. L. B. Matekoni of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, the agency is busy and life couldn''t be better. Or could it ...? With mishaps on the road and personality clashes at work, it seems Mma Ramotswe still has her work cut out.

Contemporary / British English (Available February 2008) Precious Ramotswe is a kind, warm-hearted and large African lady. She is also the only female private detective in Botswana. Her agency the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency is the best in the country. With help of her secretary, Mma Makutsi, and her best friend, Mr JLB Matekoni, she solves a number of difficult problems. A missing husband, a missing finger and a missing child she will solve these mysteries in her own special way.

Isabel Dalhousie is a new mother and a connoisseur of philosophy; she'd rather not be a sleuth. But when a chance conversation at a dinner party draws Isabel into the case of a doctor whose career has been ruined, she cannot ignore what may be a miscarriage of justice. Because for Isabel ethics are not theoretical at all, but an everyday matter of life and death. As she attempts to unravel the truth behind Dr Thompson's disgrace, Isabel's patient intelligence is also required to deal with challenges in her own life. There is her baby son Charlie; Cat's deli to look after, not to mention her vulnerable assistant Eddie; and a mysterious and unlikeable composer who has latched on to Jamie, making Isabel fear for the future of her new family. Isabel treads a difficult path between trust and gullibility, philanthropy and interference, while keeping in her sights the small but certain comforts of family, philosophy and a fine Saturday morning.

It is a troublesome fact on which even Mma Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Makutsi agree: there are things that men know and ladies do not, and vice versa. It is unfortunate, for example, when Mma Ramotswe''s newest client is the big-shot owner of the ailing Kalahari Swoopers, that one thing lady detectives know very little about is football. And when the glamorous Violet Sephotho sets her sights on Mma Makutsi''s unsuspecting fiance, it becomes exasperatingly clear that some men do not know how to recognise a ruthless Jezebel even when she is bouncing up and down on the best bed in the Double Comfort Furniture Shop. In her attempt to foster understanding between the sexes and find the traitor on Mr Football''s team, Mma Ramotswe ventures into new territory, drinks tea in unfamiliar kitchens and learns to trust in the observational powers of small boys. And, as wise and warm-hearted as his heroine, Alexander McCall Smith reminds us that we must dig deep to uncover the goodness of the human heart.

In the latest installment of this infinitely enjoyable and best-selling series, Precious Ramotswe is doing what she does best--helping people with their problems and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Mma Ramotswe is busy investigating her latest case: a woman who is looking for her family. The problem is, the woman doesn''t know her real name of whether any members of her family are now living. Meanwhile, Phuti Radiphuti has bought Mma Makutsi a glorious new bed. Unfortunately, it will inadvertently cause her several sleepless nights. And life is no less complicated at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni--Mma Ramotswe''s estimable husband--has fallen under the sway of a doctor who has promised a miracle cure for his daughter''s medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to believe. But Precious Ramotswe deals with these difficulties with her usual grace and good humor, and in the end discovers that the biggest miracles in life are often the small ones.