Mma Ramotswe's detective work takes a backseat in this book, leaving the focus on Mr J.L.B. Matekoni as he grapples with some serious decisions. The main characters in this series range from being wise, humorous, and generous, to occasionally being self-absorbed and insensitive. For the latter, of course I am referring to the two apprentice assistants working at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, but even those characters grow on the reader after a while. This is a great series to read when one needs a dose of comfort and reassurance, even if it is just for a short period during the literary journey with the fictional Mma Ramotswe. ( )

Sabriel by Garth Nix.
Sabriel Is a good fantasy book that explores a world of magic and necromancy, Sabriel is a girl who is pushed into a place that she is not ready yet, she accepts the role so she can find her father and save the Old Kingdom, Sabriel is my first Garth Nix book ( )

These books are pure and simple joy. It's lines like this that keep me coming back for more: "Mma Ramotswe nodded vaguely. She was not particularly interested in the affairs of the Botswana Secretarial College, although she always listened politely when Mma Makutsi sounded off about such matters. Most people had something in their lives that was particularly important to them, and she supposed that the Botswana Secretarial College was as good a cause as any. What was it in her own case, she wondered? Tea? Surely she had something more important than that; but what? She looked at Mma Makutsi, as if for inspiration, but none came, and she decided to return to the subject later, in an idle moment, when one had time for this sort of unsettling philosophical speculation." Those lines, and the clear, honest portraits of the people, both the recurring characters and the individuals involved in each new mystery. ( )

While McCall Smith has an easy if wordy writing style, his generalizations about gender relations in Botswana grate after a while. Not a lot happens in this installment of a The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency as Mma Ramotswe only has one case so we hear a lot about the usual things: the stupidity of the apprentices; Mma Matkusa's 97%; and what a good man Mr Maketone is. ( )

MMa Ronotswe investigates suitors for wealthy woman and is finally married