The book is very engaging and captivating. I could not put this book down. The book is comforting and makes you feel as if you have traveled there yourself! I would suggest this book to anyone looking for an engaging and comforting read.

Reading an Alexander McCall Smith's book about the Ladies Detective Agency is about visiting with an old friend. Having read all the books in this series, I have such a handle on the personalities as well as the beautiful setting of Botswana. This book like the others tackles several cases that are solved in the best possible ways. I love these books and this one is no exception. Indeed, this book is From a Far and Lovely Country.

A standout in the series. I love these quiet, gentle reads from McCall Smith and it was wonderful to visit with Mma Ramotswe again. I wish we could get more of a glimpse into Mma Makutsi's mind sometimes.

How can you not love these books? Sweet story, familiar characters and mysteries to be solved. Plus you get a true sense of being in Botswana. Alexander has another hit.

It's always a pleasure to revisit Mma. Ramotswe and her friends in Botswana. She can solve almost any problem, usually with the help of friends. An American woman is looking for some distant relatives, there's a sleazy dating club, which of course is tied to the infamous Violet Sephoto, and there's the small matter of a damaged dress. Mercy and kindness are found in abundance--I know everything will be resolved when I read one of these books, and that is very comforting. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this advance copy.

This visit to the charming world of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency gets off to a somewhat downbeat start: everyone seems to have forgotten Mma Ramotswe's birthday! Although dismayed, she decides she has much to be grateful for anyway and goes about her business of running the most successful detective agency in Botswana. It might be the only detective agency in that country, but that doesn't diminish the fact that she and her colleagues are well-respected and know how to get results. The cases that the agency takes up this time are typically not the sort that might be seen in bigger, more cosmopolitan cities. One of the new house mothers at the Orphan Farm has a distressing story to tell about a "singles club" being run that involves single ladies but married men. Of course, the single ladies think they are going to the club to meet potential husbands, not men who are already husbands. Since she has no idea how to tackle the problem herself, Mma Ramotswe decides this might be a chance for her apprentice part-time detective Charlie to get involved. Charlie has a great deal of enthusiasm but not much experience so this will be an opportunity for him to apply the many important things he's learned from that great instruction manual for their profession, The Principles of Modern Detection. Unfortunately, Charlie lacks the calm and reasonable oversight of Mma Ramotswe, so the case doesn't turn out as well as she had hoped. Then there is an American lady who comes with the request to meet some relatives of her beloved late grandfather. As a young man, he had unwillingly been sent to fight in WWII in Europe and had never made it back to Botswana. Mma Ramotswe is happy to help, but she knows that "relatives" can be hard to track down in a country where everyone is a cousin to everyone else (or at least claims a closer relationship that might be true). Then there is the problem of the belated birthday present that Mma Makutsi arranages for her boss which ends up being quite a bit more trouble than anticipated. And of course the No. 1 Husband Stealer Violet Sephotho once again has her highly manicured fingers in all the nefarious things going on in town.

As always, it is wonderful to get a chance to spend some time with the lovely characters in the book! This time there were many poignant moments as well as laugh-out-loud funny ones. There is plenty of red bush tea consumed as Mma Ramotswe and her friends set out to make their little corner of the world a better place one case at a time. The only downside is that now we must wait a while to find out about their next adventures!