Tears of the Giraffe (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #2) by Alexander McCall Smith

Following on the brilliant The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of the Giraffe charts the further adventures of Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's only - and finest - female private detective.

It's going to take all her intuition and eminent sensibility for Precious to crack her hardest cas yet: the decade-old disappearance of an American on the edge of the Kalahari. And if that wasn't enough, there are plenty of matters closer to home to concern her: her highly talented secretary, Mma Makutsi, eager to be promoted to detective; the unscrupulous maid of her husband-to-be, the wonderful Mr J. L. B. Matekoni; and the sudden - and unexpected increase to her family by not one, but two. 

The second book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is just as great as the first one. The characters stayed true to who they are and Botswana was shown in the same light. I can see why this book series is so popular. 

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

“Our heads may be small, but they are as full of memories as the sky may sometimes be full of swarming bees, thousands and thousands of memories, of smells, of places, of little things that happened to us and which come back, unexpectedly, to remind us who we are. And who am I?” 

Mma Ramotswe is the proud proprietor of the finest ladies detective agency in all Botswana (also the only one). When clients come along, whether it is to enquire after a missing spouse or establish the identity of a long-lost father, it is not The Principles of Private Detection that helps her to solve cases, but old-fashioned common sense and a warm-hearted understanding of human fallibility - especially that of men.

This book had a little bit of everything - humour, wit, smarts, mystery, love - and I loved it.

Despite the name and the blurb, it is a story that is as much about everyday life in Botswana as much as it is about solving mysteries. Each chapter offered insights in to life in Africa, both past and present.

Mia Ramotswe is a very endearing character who isn't easily fooled and isn't afraid to say it like it is. 

Easy to read but still intelligent.

Read my review on Goodreads