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Zusatztext Praise for The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series: “Wise and lovely.” — USA Today “Mma Ramotswe’s observations not only inevitably expose her suspects! but also reveal much about humanity as a whole . . . [McCall Smith] is a master . . . There’s beauty and revelation of one kind or another woven expertly into every line.” — The Christian Science Monitor “These novels . . . lift the spirits. They make the reader feel good—about life! the world! the basic decency of people . . . They are wise.” — Winston-Salem Journal “McCall Smith is a vivid observer and an elegant writer! honoring Botswanan customs and culture . . . Like the best traditions! this series is one we hope will endure.” — The Plain Dealer “Alexander McCall Smith has been delighting audiences for years with his charming! gentle novels.” — The Grand Rapids Press “As pleasing as a cup of red bush tea.” — Entertainment Weekly Informationen zum Autor Alexander McCall Smith Klappentext Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma Ramotswe-with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi-navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea. In this story, Precious Ramotswe deals with issues of mistaken identity and great fortune against the beautiful backdrop of Botswana's remote and striking Okavango Delta. Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi head to a safari camp to carry out a delicate mission on behalf of a former guest who has left one of the guides a large sum of money. But once they find their man, Precious begins to sense that something is not right. To make matters worse, shortly before their departure Mma Makutsi's fiancé, Phuti Radiphuti, suffers a debilitating accident, and when his aunt moves in to take care of him, she also pushes Mma Makutsi out of the picture. Could she be trying to break up the relationship? Finally, a local priest and his wife independently approach Mma Ramotswe with concerns of infidelity, creating a rather unusual and tricky situation. Nevertheless, Precious is confident that with a little patience, kindness and good sense things will work out for the best, something that will delight her many fans. Chapter One YOU DO NOT CHANGE PEOPLE BY SHOUTING AT THEM No car, thought Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, that great mechanic, and good man. No car . . . He paused. It was necessary, he felt, to order the mind when one was about to think something profound. And Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni was at that moment on the verge of an exceptionally important thought, even though its final shape had yet to reveal itself. How much easier it was for Mma Ramotswe—she put things so well, so succinctly, so profoundly, and appeared to do this with such little effort. It was very different if one was a mechanic, and therefore not used to telling people—in the nicest possible way, of course—how to run their lives. Then one had to think quite hard to find just the right words that would make people sit up and say, “But that is very true, Rra!” Or, especially if you were Mma Ramotswe, “But surely that is well known!” He had very few criticisms to make of Precious Ramotswe, his wife and founder of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, but if one were to make a list of her faults—which would be a minuscule document, barely visible, indeed, to the naked eye—one would perhaps have to include a tendency (only a slight tendency, of course) to claim that things that she happened to believe were well known. This phrase gave these beliefs a sort of unassailable authority, the status that went with facts that all right-thinking people would readily acknowledge—such as the fact that the sun rose in t...
