Tears of the Giraffe

I'm an American woman who has spent 12 years living in Africa, and traveled to almost every part of the African continent. When I discovered the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, I could hardly wait to read Tears of the Giraffe. I was not disappointed. I can hardly wait to get to the next books in the series. After saying she would never, ever remarry (in the first book), Precious does get engaged in this book, but continues to pursue investigating her cases while engaged. There are a lot of interesting developments that I don't want to give away. She hasn't gotten married by the end of the book, that is left to us in the third book to find out about.....!I found it interesting that the author is a Professor of Medical law, living in Scotland, but having been born and raised in Zimbabwe. He has published many varied books on many subjects. I think these are his "fun" books! I also think that part of the reason he has written these books is to show non-Africans what traditional African society is like, especially how it is managing to move into the modern age. By setting it in Botswana, he neatly sidesteps many of the problems found in other parts of Africa, and is able to concentrate both on his story, and on showing us how traditional Africans THINK and act. I found this especially interesting, having lived in several African cultures, myself. I also find the series very uplifting and rewarding to read, in addition to being a good story. I think some of the critical reviews are from people who have never lived or traveled in Africa, and they just don't realize how true-to-life are so many of the episodes-I do not find these books at ALL condescending toward blacks. On the contrary, they are a celebration of the traditional GOOD values found in black African culture (a nice change from what we usually see in the news).There were several things I especially enjoyed about this book. I don't particularly enjoy first-person, male-oriented police detective novels. This is about a woman detective, who had no more qualifications than you or I, but who just hung out a sign, and used her common sense. She ordered a text book from London, from which she learned some investigative procedures. She's very clever. The book is not written as a first person, blow-by-blow account. On the contrary, it is written in third person, and is more about her LIFE, going through her becoming a detective, the cases she meets along the way (which we watch her solve), and what we learn about the society as we go along. I would highly recommend this book to anyone planning to travel to any southern African country. It is a light, humorous book, from which you can learn a lot while enjoying a great story. I found it difficult to put down. I have now read the first two books in the series, and plan to order every single one. I can hardly wait until they arrive in the mail!

Alexander McCall Smith has written over 50 books, from specialized works as The Criminal Law of Botswana, ForensicAspects of Sleep to Children's books. He currently is a Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh University.Tears of the Giraffe takes us further into the life of the interesting and confident Precious Ramotswe, the owner and detective of Botswana's only Ladies' detective agency. Among her cases in Tears of The Giraffe are wandering wives, the devious and dangerous maid of Mma Ramotswe's fiance and a challenge to resolve a mother's pain for her missing son, who is long lost on the African plains. Mma Ramotswe's own impending marriage to the best mechanic and gentleman, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, the promotion of her secretary to the dizzy heights of Assistant Detective and new additions to the Matekoni family, all come together again to produce the second humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales in Smith's series. A enchanting view of life as it is in today's Africa. This mystery is enhanced by the belief and charm of the lifestyle of the characters and the plot. A totally fun read for the many fans who wish to escape to a simpler lifestyle, whether you've traveled to Africa or not!I thoroughly enjoyed this book for it's unique and likable characters and exotic setting. The uniqueness of the mysteriesreflect a simpler lifestyle than many of us live and especially expect in a "mystery". TOTAL ENJOYMENT!John Row

This second entry in Smith's Botswana-set series picks up right where the wonderful The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency left off. Indeed, the two books are utterly seamless, and it'd be a real shame to read this without reading its predecessor first. The book picks up with the engagement of "traditionally built" Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's sole woman detective, to local master mechanic Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. While the structure is the same as the first book?a missing son as the central running mystery, and some smaller cases interspersed?the new couple's relationship is the real focus.So, while Precious is asked by an American woman to find out what happened to her son, who disappeared from a commune ten years previously, she must also negotiate the pitfalls of setting up house with Mr. Matekoni, the acquisition of an engagement ring, and the dastardly schemes of Mr. Matekoni's nasty housekeeper, and the unexpected addition of two foster children to her household. All of which she does with her keen sense of human nature and wisdom. Her secretary/typist is also given increased attention, allowed to take on the case of a cheating wife all by herself.Built into the stories are ruminations of the tensions between modernity and traditional values. There are a number of passages that attempt to capture the essence of Africa, and how that noble vision is under constant assault by greed, corruption, and power. The adventures of Precious and her cohort are a warm antidote to the often depressing news that dominates coverage of Africa in the West. Smith writes in a delightfully fluid and simple prose with pacing that makes the book quite difficult to put down. The series thankfully continues with Morality for Beautiful Girls and The Kalahari Typing School For Men, with further volumes to follow, one hopes.

In the 2nd novel of his series on Precious Ramotswe, the only lady detective in Botswana, Alexander McCall Smith continues to turn the detective genre inside out with some of the best writing you'll see in any genre. Precious is African, female, of "traditional build," open-hearted, optimistic, and wise, in opposition to the classic hard-boiled cynical American wiseguy."Tears of the Giraffe" develops the metaphor of a detective as a kind of mother who, by observing the people around her carefully, is at the same time taking care of them. The maternal theme is explicit in this story: the primary mystery involves an American mother looking for a long-lost son. At the same time Precious must cope with the sudden adoption of two winsome orphans by her fiancee, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Watching out for people, watching out for Africa itself, is a way of respecting it.The style of the book mirrors Precious herself: simple, too-the-point, a fine sense of humor, and very observant. There are some really eloquent even lyrical passages as Precious drives across her belowed Botswana. I again caution that readers with a taste for complex who-dun-it thickly plotted detective novels will find this VERY different. And if you are new to the Ramotswe series, start with the first book (The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency), which will give you important details of Precious' and Matekoni's history.But please read it eventually - you will find no better-written book this year.

After stumbling upon "The # 1 Ladies Detective Agency," I was so eager to read the sequels that I managed, at great travail, to track them down even before their publication dates in the U.S. Never before have I searched out books so vigilantly, and never before have I written a review. "Tears of the Giraffe" and "Morality for Beautiful Girls" are even less strictly mysteries that the first in the series, but they are just as wonderful as "#1...". Light reading but with a literary bent, the books contain rich characters, uniquely African and clearly depicted. The ones we know well are big-hearted, kind, well-meaning. The main character, Precious, solves the few actual mysteries in the sequels in creative ways that surprise the reader. These sequels, particularly "Giraffe," are a bit more about Precious' relationship with J.L.B. Matekoni, a bit less about the detective agency. But they follow smoothly from "#1 Ladies..." and are equally good. Set in Botswana, the books give such a clear and beautiful picture of that country today that now I would like to learn more about it. If the books are realistic, Botswanians fiercely love their home. Nothing raunchy in any of the 3 books. Terrific "reads."