The fourth book in the multi-million copy bestselling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series

The one with the rival detective

Mma Ramotswe faces the unexpected and unwelcome appearance in town of a new private detective, Mr Cephas Buthelezi. To ensure she does not lose clients to him, she takes on several cases at once, including those of an errant husband and of a man targeted by ostrich rustlers. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi has decided to set up a typing school to teach men some useful skills - but Mma Ramotswe fears her secretary is falling under the spell of a man who does not have her best interests at heart...

'A glorious creation' Mail on Sunday

'Happiness and quiet wisdom' Daily Telegraph

'Sparkles with African sunshine and Mma Ramotswe's wit' Dallas Morning News

'It's hard to find fault with such good-natured and pleasurable optimism' Observer

In this fourth volume of the bestselling series - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, the ever-popular Precious Ramotswe - Botswana's leading, and only, female private detective - faces a new and unwanted problem: competition.

About the Author
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of over one hundred books on a wide array of subjects, including the award-winning The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. He is also the author of the Isabel Dalhousie novels and the world's longest-running serial novel, 44 Scotland Street. His books have been translated into forty-six languages. Alexander McCall Smith is Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and holds honorary doctorates from thirteen universities.

Reviews
Mma Ramotswe's methods - and her results - are as unusual as the novels they inhabit... All this activity is much less about whodunnit than why * New York Times *
McCall Smith is a careful, emblematic writer who is beyond gifted... he is a natural storyteller * The List *
The hypnotic ease of McCall Smith's style makes everything clear almost instantly... Throughout the Botswana landscape is richly evoked... Happiness and quiet wisdom prevail * Daily Telegraph *
Mma Ramotswe is a glorious creation, a character likely to prove every bit as enduring as Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. * Mail on Sunday *
Sparkles with African sunshine and Mma Ramotswe's wit * Dallas Morning News *
It's hard to find fault with such good-natured and pleasurable optimism * Observer *
I can think of no author writing today so deserving of an enormous audience * New Statesman *
This series' huge appeal lies in its mannerly folk wisdom and wry, gentle humor, full of wit, nuance and caring... It's an oasis in a genre that too often seems a desert of violence and inhumanity * Chicago Sun Times *
As beguiling as Alexader McCall Smith's earlier books about the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency... His prose is deceptively simple, with a gift for evoking the earth and sky of Africa * Seattle Times *
Get your hands on one of the mysteries from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series... Each book is a thinly disguised love letter to the people and culture of Southern Africa... A great escape * Elle *
Mma Ramotswe's methods - and her results - are as unusual as the novels they inhabit . . . All this activity is much less about whodunnit than why * NEW YORK TIMES *
McCall Smith is a careful, emblematic writer who is beyond gifted, he is a natural storyteller. McCall Smith has once again charmed the sarongs off us * THE LIST *
The hypnotic ease of McCall Smith's style makes everything clear almost instantly . . . Throughout the Botswana landscape is richly evoked. Happiness and quiet wisdom prevail. * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
Mma Ramotswe is a glorious creation, a character likely to prove every bit as enduring as Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. * MAIL ON SUNDAY *



Book Information
ISBN 9780349117041
Author Alexander McCall Smith
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Abacus
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 181g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 14mm