Intended AudienceTrade
Reviews"Utterly enchanting."-- Chicago Sun-Times "Beguiling. . . . The author's deceptively simple prose . . . is as supple as ever. His gift for effortless description of dusty, sun-baked Africa is undiminished." -The Seattle Times "Smith's big-hearted Botswana stories...[allow] his readers to escape into a world of simple, picturesque pleasures and upstanding virtues." --The New York Times Book Review "Brims with the same old-fashioned charm as its lovely predecessors.... An engaging read." --Entertainment Weekly "The Full Cupboard of Lifeis a treasure of wit and wisdom. Read it and you will find yourself very much like Botswanans on happy occasions: ululating with pleasure." -Dallas Morning News "Delightful. . . . The warm humanity . . . is what brings readers back. . . . There is a simplicity and lyricism in [the] language that brings out the profound importance of . . . everyday revelations." --San Francisco Chronicle "Enthralling. . . . [Mma Ramotswe] is someone readers can't help but love. . . . A well-told story." --USA Today "The greatest mystery in this witty and charming book is whether Mma Ramotswe will succeed in getting her fiance to name a date for their long-anticipated wedding. It's hard to conceive of any reader not being just as eager to find out as she is." --The Wall Street Journal "Soothing. . . . Full of authentic African touches. New readers can start here . . . and enjoy a plot even more inventive than the earlier ones." --People "[McCall Smith's] accomplished novels . . . [are] dependent on small gestures redolent with meaning and main characters blessed with pleasing personalities. . . . Not so much conventional mysteries, these novels are gentle probes into the mysteries of human nature." --Newsday "[The] prose is gentle, easing the reader through Ramotswe's world of crimes of virtue and social misdemeanors." --Time "Beguiling. . . . The author's deceptively simple prose . . . is as supple as ever. His gift for effortless description of dusty, sun-baked Africa is undiminished." --The Seattle Times "Today, when most books about Africa describe hardship, Alexander McCall Smith brings us further glimpses of Mma Precious Ramotswe and her friends that refresh our souls. . . . . We become caught up in the lives of these gentle Botswanans. We share a mug of bush tea with them, and sit together under the shade of a jacaranda." --The Christian Science-Monitor "Witty, elegant, compassionate and exotic. . . . [McCall Smith is] a treasure of a writer whose books deserve immediate devouring." --The Guardian(London) "Delightful. . . . Up to the high standard established with the first book and each succeeding one. . . . The relentless warmth, generosity, cheerfulness, and simple wisdom of the heroine are guaranteed to charm you." --The New York Sun "The Full Cupboard of Lifedelivers . . . the perfect journey to a faraway place. . . . Mma Ramotswe, her able assistant Mma Makutsi and her fianc?, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, are brilliant creations. . . . McCall Smith's unique voice, with its African rhythms, elegant, formal turns of phrase and subtle humor . . . is remarkable." --Toronto Globe and Mail "Warm, witty and filled with cultural aphorisms, a good-hearted book. . . . It is, all told, a book about the rich stock of experiences that make a full life, and the human vagaries involved in living." --Houston Chronicle "What makes the stories so ch, "Utterly enchanting."-- Chicago Sun-Times "Beguiling. . . . The author's deceptively simple prose . . . is as supple as ever. His gift for effortless description of dusty, sun-baked Africa is undiminished." -The Seattle Times "Smith's big-hearted Botswana stories...[allow] his readers to escape into a world of simple, picturesque pleasures and upstanding virtues." --The New York Times Book Review "Brims with the same old-fashioned charm as its lovely predecessors.... An engaging read." --Entertainment Weekly "The Full Cupboard of Lifeis a treasure of wit and wisdom. Read it and you will find yourself very much like Botswanans on happy occasions: ululating with pleasure." -Dallas Morning News "Delightful. . . . The warm humanity . . . is what brings readers back. . . . There is a simplicity and lyricism in [the] language that brings out the profound importance of . . . everyday revelations." --San Francisco Chronicle "Enthralling. . . . [Mma Ramotswe] is someone readers can't help but love. . . . A well-told story." --USA Today "The greatest mystery in this witty and charming book is whether Mma Ramotswe will succeed in getting her fiance to name a date for their long-anticipated wedding. It's hard to conceive of any reader not being just as eager to find out as she is." --The Wall Street Journal "Soothing. . . . Full of authentic African touches. New readers can start here . . . and enjoy a plot even more inventive than the earlier ones." --People "[McCall Smith's] accomplished novels . . . [are] dependent on small gestures redolent with meaning and main characters blessed with pleasing personalities. . . . Not so much conventional mysteries, these novels are gentle probes into the mysteries of human nature." --Newsday "[The] prose is gentle, easing the reader through Ramotswe's world of crimes of virtue and social misdemeanors." --Time "Beguiling. . . . The author's deceptively simple prose . . . is as supple as ever. His gift for effortless description of dusty, sun-baked Africa is undiminished." --The Seattle Times "Today, when most books about Africa describe hardship, Alexander McCall Smith brings us further glimpses of Mma Precious Ramotswe and her friends that refresh our souls. . . . . We become caught up in the lives of these gentle Botswanans. We share a mug of bush tea with them, and sit together under the shade of a jacaranda." --The Christian Science-Monitor "Witty, elegant, compassionate and exotic. . . . [McCall Smith is] a treasure of a writer whose books deserve immediate devouring." --The Guardian(London) "Delightful. . . . Up to the high standard established with the first book and each succeeding one. . . . The relentless warmth, generosity, cheerfulness, and simple wisdom of the heroine are guaranteed to charm you." --The New York Sun "The Full Cupboard of Lifedelivers . . . the perfect journey to a faraway place. . . . Mma Ramotswe, her able assistant Mma Makutsi and her fianc?, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, are brilliant creations. . . . McCall Smith's unique voice, with its African rhythms, elegant, formal turns of phrase and subtle humor . . . is remarkable." --Toronto Globe and Mail "Warm, witty and filled with cultural aphorisms, a good-hearted book. . . . It is, all told, a book about the rich stock of experiences that make a full life, and the human vagaries involved in living." --Houston Chronic
SynopsisTHE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY - Book 5 Fans around the world adore the best-selling 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. Still engaged to the estimable Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe understands that she should not put too much pressure on him, as he has other concerns, especially a hair-raising request from the ever persuasive Mma Potokwane, matron of the orphan farm. Besides Mma Ramotswe herself has weighty matters on her mind. She has been approached by a wealthy lady to check up on several suitors. Are these men interested in the lady or just her money? This may be a difficult case, but it's just the kind of problem Mma Ramotswe likes and she is, as we know, a very intuitive lady.