The Full Cupboard of Life

In the fifth book in the prodigiously successful series, traditionally built, eminently sensible Mma Precious Ramotswe continues her enterprise at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Gaborone, Botswana, a country that is indeed fortunate.

Still engaged to the estimable Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe understands that she should not put too much pressure on him, as he has other concerns, especially a hair-raising request from the ever persuasive Mma Potokwane, matron of the orphan farm. Besides Mma Ramotswe herself has weighty matters on her mind. She has been approached by a wealthy lady to check up on several suitors. Are these men interested in the lady or just her money? This may be a difficult case, but it's just the kind of problem Mma Ramotswe likes and she is, as we know, a very intuitive lady.

"Precious Ramotswe is on the case again in this delightful fifth installment in the bestselling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, this time assisting the self-made founder of a chain of hairdressing salons who wants to unearth the real intentions of her four suitors, each possibly more interested in her money than her heart. As fans know, though, sleuthing takes second place to folksy storytelling in McCall Smith's wry novels. This time around, Mma Ramotswe is distracted by her long-prolonged engagement to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, Gaborone's best mechanic; it seems she will never be married, despite her fiancé's honorable intentions. He installs an extra large seatbelt in her car to keep her safe (she is quite comfortable with her 'traditional build,' despite the new, slender fashion of modern woman), but an altercation with another mechanic and the prospect of a charity parachute jump keep his mind off matrimony. A drive for decency motivates Mma Ramotswe and her friends — among them Mma Potokwani, the imperious matron of the local orphan farm, and Mma Makutsi, assistant at the Ladies' Detective Agency and founder of the Kalahari Typing School for Men — and Smith's talent is in portraying this moral code in a manner that is always engaging. As readers will appreciate, Mma Ramotswe solves her cases — more questions of character, really, than of criminal behavior — in good time. Traditionally built ladies living in the African heat don't tend to hurry, and, at the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, there's always time for another cup of tea. Agent, Robin Straus. (Apr. 20) Forecast: Fans will love the surprise in store for Precious Ramotswe at the end of the novel, and should bump this on bestseller lists." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Utterly enchanting." Chicago Sun-Times

"The Full Cupboard of Life is by no means oppressively sweet, but it is committed to looking on life's sunny side. And its characters...have a primitivism that is as reductive as it is warm....[B]ig-hearted..." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"The tremendous appeal of this delightful series comes from the unique manner in which Smith mixes the charm of both traditional and contemporary village cozies...with a comical Runyonesque formality of language and a grasp of human relations that is very like Jane Austen." Bill Ott, Booklist

"Thankfully, Mma Precious Ramotswe is back in another delightful adventure....Sure to please both enduring fans and new readers, this is highly recommended for all fiction and mystery collections." Library Journal

"Another charmingly gossamer mystery for Botswana's premier detective....As usual in this enchanting series, Mma Ramotswe provides less detection than advice, and wise advice it turns out to be, even when her clients decline to take it." Kirkus Reviews

"The fifth installment of the best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series brims with the same old-fashioned charm as its lovely predecessors....Perfect for the bath." Karen Valby, Entertainment Weekly

The latest novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series continues the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to "help people with problems in their lives."

The fifth installment in the bestselling No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, set in Botswana, picks up with Mma Precious Ramotswe still engaged to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. She realizes that her fianc has other things on his mind--most notably a frightening request from the assertive matron of the orphan farm.

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the huge international phenomenon, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, and The Sunday Philosophy Club series. He is a professor of medical law at Edinburgh University. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland.