Book Log 2021 #8: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

And here we have what might be the exact opposite of Charles Lenox: Precious Ramotswe, a woman in present-day Botswana who leaves school at 16 and comes into detective work after discovering that a fellow employee is stealing from the bus company they both work for. Her agency mostly handles domestic issues - missing husbands and children, settling disputes between family members, and the like.

This first installment in the series tells the full story of how Precious became a detective and the difficulties in her personal life that helped shape that decision. We also see her work through her first three cases, using her common sense and innate intelligence to solve the cases - though perhaps not alway in the way her client might expect.

I did like this book and the way it combined its unique setting with a plot that managed to stay positive even though there's a lot of heartache in it. It's the start of a long series, which I expect I'll continue reading.