The Joy and Light Bus Company (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Book 22)

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As the story unfolds we also hear from Mma Makutski's 'talking shoes' which are always good for a laugh. Whenever Mma Ramotswe is worried, she visits her old friend Mma Potokwane - the director of the Gabarone orphan farm - for advice. What is the alchemy that makes this series so successful? Certainly at the start, there was the novelty. It’s unusual for an English-language series to be set in Botswana, or at least, it was when this one began. But it takes a lot more than that to sustain a series over so many years. she sipped at her 1st cup of red bush tea, not in any hurry to do whatever it was that she had to do next. That, of course, is always a good time to think - when you know that you are going to have to do something, but you know that you do not have to do it just yet.”

My 2021 installment of this series. I love being able to reconnect with these kind and gentle people, even Mma Makutsi, who can be snippy a lot of the time, even though she has a good heart. I especially love this series because these books require nothing of me but enjoyment of the story. No matter what the problem or situation, it will be resolved in the end. That's particularly important in the month of December. In Smith’s meandering 13th 44 Scotland Street novel (after 2017’s A Time of Love and Tartan), the latest personal developments among the residents of the Edinburgh street will strike many as Continue reading »She had that greatest of all things, wisdom, and that was a very important thing to possess in a world that seemed to be losing the respect it had always had for wise people. Wise people had been replaced in the public estimation by that curious category of people—celebrities—who were, for the most part, shallow people not known for their wisdom. Where were the Nelson Mandelas of this world of celebrity? Where were the Gandhis” Alexander McCall Smith writes with wit, wisdom, and a quiet philosophy of life and friendship. Set in present-day Botswana, MMA. Precious Ramotswe still runs the detective agency along with her good friend Mma. Makutsi. Grace Makutsi was originally hired as a secretary, but she keeps promoting herself under new impressive titles over the years. She now refers to herself as 'Senior co-Managing Director.' As always, the setting of this latest in the #1 Ladies Detective series in Botswana is an escape for all non-Botswana readers. Seldom has an author made a foreign country and its people sound so attractive. After the ladies converse over tea and fruit cake, Mma Ramotswe learns that a new orphan girl, who arrived with a broken wrist, was forced to work for a wealthy family without pay.

Smith focuses more attention on Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, owner of Tlokweng Speedy Motors, in this 22nd offering in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni attends a business seminar in Gabarone, connects with T.K. Molefi, a former schoolmate, and the two of them decide to go into business together. However, this would require putting up his garage and Precious Ramotswe’s detective agency as collateral. Yikes! Meanwhile, Grace Makutsi, accepts a case from Mr. Baboloki Mophephu, who suspects that his elderly father’s nurse has manipulated his father into leaving her his house in his will.Catch up on the latest from Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi and other favourites in this new instalment of Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. In the end, Mma Ramotswe’s patience and common-sense will win out, and, without a doubt, all will be the better for it. On visiting her friend at the orphanage, Precious learns about two orphaned children, cruelly treated and working as unpaid slaves for a wealthy woman. How she handles this amounts to sheer genius. I think the title says it all. Who other than Alexander McCall Smith would dream up the name "The Joy and Light Bus Company" which is just so fitting for the atmosphere of this lovely series set in beautiful Botswana. There was rarely anything new in life, she thought—but it was not just human failings that repeated themselves: so too did those things that were positive. They recurred, which was a good thing, in a way, as familiarity brought with it a certain comfort. So it was reassuring when people followed routines that you had seen them follow countless times: without pattern the world could be a perplexing and frightening place. That was why Mma Ramotswe liked the old ways; that was why she appreciated it when people greeted you in the traditional manner, or enquired after your health, or made mention of things that had happened a long time ago and that people liked to hear about. These things reminded you of who you were, where you were, and how, even after you had gone, there would still be this place, this earth, this happiness—all still there for those who came after you.”

Mma Ramotswe, I don’t want to give too many clues away on the story but do want to congratulate Mma Adjoa Andoh for narrating the book. Goodness me Mma! I felt like I was in the room with her while she read the story and she is so clever – she could imitate you, Mma Makutsi, Rra Maketoni and all the other people exactly so that I felt like I was right there. She is brilliant! Especially with Mma Makutsi. Explaining about her shoes and flashing glasses. I could see them Mma – all the way here in England. Even as she puzzles over mysteries on the domestic front, Mma Ramotswe’s professional duties must take precedence. When a concerned son learns that his aging father’s nurse now stands to inherit the family home, he begins to doubt her intentions and takes his case to Botswana’s premier detective agency. Fortunately, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are committed agents of justice and agree to investigate. I enjoy this series and this particular volume provided a pleasant interlude at what can be a very hectic time of year. It was fun to dip into the lives of characters that I have grown fond of and I always enjoy the descriptions of teatime with cake. and the vestiges of that early feeling were still there, as she could not bring herself to punish the snails or caterpillars for their depredations. They were her fellow creatures, after all. They had not asked to be snails or caterpillars, and they needed to eat, as we all did.” We shall change all that...because it is possible to change the world, if one is determined enough, and if one sees with sufficient clarity just what has to be changed.I wish to express my sincere thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada. I was delighted to receive this ARC in return for an honest review. It is astounding that this is the 22nd book in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and they always remain fresh and enjoyable and provide food for thought.