What do You think about The Miracle At Speedy Motors (2008)?
In this ninth novel in the Alexander McCall Smith series, Precious Ramotswe, the "traditionally built" proprietor of the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Gaborone, Botswana, receives a threatening letter: "Fat lady: you watch out! And you too, the one with the big glasses." Mma Ramotswe and her assistant, Grace Makutsi, of the big glasses, are startled by this letter, and Mma Ramotswe even begins to believe that she is being followed. As the two women deal with their business and their lives, the letter haunts them--it is so uncharacteristic of the gentle, sweet-spirited life of Botswana, a place where, in Mma Ramotswe's experience, almost any problem can be worked out over a cup of bush tea. This novel is more a series of short episodes in the life of Mma Ramotswe than a mystery in the traditional sense. The novel creates a warm, feel-good atmosphere from the contemporary detective stories, and ultimately, the "miracle" of Speedy Motors becomes obvious.The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series features characters who feel familiar, make us love them, and inspire us.
—Larisha
The world slows to a snail's pace.. conversations, explanations, observations and thoughts are all carefully considered. This is the world of Mma Ramotswe and her friends. To us who live in a fast-paced world, we sigh at this as our conversations and words tumble out easily and often without too much thought. We move quickly and are so easily bored. We do not consider for too long the precious things, but long for them when they are gone. We chase painful thoughts from our mind and go on to the next bright thing as we skim through our days. Perhaps a life more closely examined is the antidote to apathy.
—Margaret
This is another wonderful book by Alexander McCall Smith. I feel like I know the characters and every new book is a visit home to find out how things are with my "family" in Botswana. Again, the books are not about solving a mystery. I think the mystery is a philosophical vehicle for the author's ideas and people with the children of his heart. Although some find these to be lightweight, I have a different take on them. Throughout literature, characters have been created that transcend their books and become real. Take, for instance, Dickins' wonderful characters such as Scrooge, the Artful Dodger, Oliver, Barkas, Mr. Micawber and a host of others. Then there are the fiends such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and Mephistopheles. And who doesn't have a picture in their mind of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn? I feel the same way about Precious Ramotswe, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni and Mma Makutsi. They have become more than characters in a book and I look forward to spending time with them.
—Anne Hawn Smith
