Handling a busy case load at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and contending with an intruder in her home, Mma Ramotswe has plenty on her mind. So when her unfortunate past returns to haunt her, she is happy her husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, is distracted as well. It seems one of his apprentices at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors has raced off with an older, wealthy woman.

In contemporary Botswana, sleuth Precious Ramotswe decides to go against tradition and start her own business--a detective agency. Soon she is in the thick of several perplexing cases.

"From the author of the best-selling and universally adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series--a stand-alone, big-hearted, and often heartbreaking novel about unrequited love and the unexpected places it takes us. At age 4, Thursday chooses her own name. At age 6, she falls in love with her best friend, James, with whom she happily spends all her time. But in the adult world, things are not so simple: at the same time that Thursday's mother finds...

In this latest installment in the beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Grace Makutsi encounters a pair of quandaries that will require all of her and Mma Ramotswe’s cleverness and generosity to resolve.
“An escape from life’s woes as well as a suggestion for how to make the whole deal more palatable—fragility, fruit cake, and all.” —The Boston Globe
Grace Makutsi’s husband,...

Precious Ramotswe learns valuable lessons about first impressions and forgiveness in this latest installment of the beloved and best-selling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.
 
Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are approached by their part-time colleague, Mr. Polopetsi, with a troubling story: a woman, accused of being rude to a valued customer, has been wrongly dismissed from her job at an office furniture store. Never one to let...

Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma  Ramotswe—with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi—navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea.
Over the years Mma Ramotswe has found many lost things, but never before...

In this Isabel Dalhousie original short story, available exclusively in electronic format, our intrepid heroine—accused by a distraught wife of being the "other woman"—makes a surprising discovery as she attempts to defend her reputation.

Summer in Edinburgh is a season of delicate sunshine and showers, picnics with loved ones in blossoming gardens, and genteel celebrations of art and music. But Isabel Dalhousie’s

...

An all-new, never-before-published original short novel by the bestselling author of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, about a hapless American tourist’s larger-than-life comical trip to Ireland.
Shortlisted for the 2015 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for comic fiction

Cornelius P. “Fatty” O'Leary and his wife, Betty, plan a vacation in Ireland for his fortieth birthday, where they will tour his...

"In the latest book in the widely beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe takes on a case for a childhood acquaintance but her inquiries will require an even more delicate touch than usual. Mma Ramotswe reconnects with an old friend who has been having problems with her daughter. Though Precious feels compelled to lend a hand, she discovers that getting involved in family affairs is always a delicate proposion. Mr. J.L.B....

From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a new short story collection: half spy stories, half tales of revenge, all highlight the kinder, funnier, and gentler side of espionage and retribution. In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself—quite...