The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (audiobook) by Alexander McCall Smith

Thoroughly enjoyable

Alexander McCall Smith

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency started out pretty slowly and I nearly stopped listening about 45 minutes into it. Suddenly, the story "clicked" for me and I gladly listened to the whole 8 hours and 15 minutes.

Narrated wonderfully by Lisette Lecat, a native South African who injects a touch of authenticity with her lovely accent and voice rhythms, this book is much more than a series of detective stories. It is also the story of Botswana and its culture and the complex interactions between traditional and modern, male and female, rich and poor, and white, black and Indian.

A lovely book and a real joy to listen to. Sometimes laugh out loud funny, sometimes deeply moving.

Well done.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on February 13, 2009.