The Kalahari Typing School for Men (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 4)

THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY - Book 4

Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, the basis of the HBO TV show, and its proprietor Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma Ramotswe navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, and good humor—not to mention help from her loyal assistant, Grace Makutsi, and the occasional cup of tea.

Mma Precious Ramotswe is content. Her business is well established with many satisfied customers, and in her mid-thirties (“the finest age to be”) she has a house, two adopted children, a fine fiancé. But, as always, there are troubles. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has not set the date for their marriage. Her able assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband. And worse, a rival detective agency has opened in town—an agency that does not have the gentle approach to business that Mma Ramotswe’s does. But, of course, Precious will manage these things, as she always does, with her uncanny insight and her good heart.

Customer Reviews:

Three cheers for McCall Smith and his fabulous book!

By Bookreporter - June 28, 2003

Western writers usually enter Africa by way of a protagonist who belongs to their own culture (missionary, functionary, explorer, soldier, mail-order bride) and is venturing into unknown territory. So it is one of the mysteries --- and miracles --- of recent fiction that a Scotsman named Alexander McCall Smith should have created a character like Precious Ramotswe, the full-bodied, clear-headed, absolutely captivating investigator who inhabits all four of his Botswana novels: THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY, TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE, MORALITY FOR BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, and now, THE KALAHARI TYPING SCHOOL FOR MEN.Mma Ramotswe (in traditional Botswana culture, honorifics are always used; it seems rude not to do so in the review as well) has had a tough life: married to an abusive jazz musician, she loses her baby and then her beloved father. But she finds her vocation: she sets up the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and is soon attracting clients. She also acquires a fiancé, garage... read more

I love these books: Great writing not bound by genre

By bensmomma "bensmomma" - January 1, 2004

"The Kalahari Typing School for Men" continues the story of "lady detective" Precious Ramotswe, her fiance, Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni, and the assistant detective/secretary, Mma Makutsi.McCall Smith is an outstanding writer, not bound by genre. His descriptions of the Botswana countryside are as evocative as any "nature" writer's, and his ability to create interesting, entertaining, and complex characters is unparalleled. Precious, Mr. Maketoni, and Mma Makutsi are so clearly drawn that you would know them instantly if you met them on the street. In "Kalahari," we particularly get to know the plain, bespectacled, but utterly self-reliant Mma Makutsi better, when she starts her own typing school.My one caveat for series neophytes is that there is very little detecting going on in these books; in fact, McCall Smith appears to have given up clues, discovery, and the like entirely in favor of more character development. But he's so very very... read more

Fortunately, NOT the Last in the Series! MORE! MORE!

By H. Row "in1ear" - July 12, 2003

Alexander McCall Smith has written over 50 books from specialized works as The Criminal Law of Botswana, Forensic
Aspects of Sleep to Children's books. He currently is a Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh University The Kalahari Typing School For Men
Now that The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (UNTIL NOW, the only detective agency for ladies and others in Botswana) is established, its founder, Precious Ramotswe, can look upon her life with pride: she's reached her late thirties ("the finest age to be"), has a house, two children, a good fiancé -- Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni -- and many satisfied customers. But life is never without its problems. It turns out that her adopted son is responsible for the dead hoopoe bird in the garden; her assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband and needs help with her idea to open the Kalahari Typing School for Men; yet Mma Ramotswe's sexist rival has no trouble opening his Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency across town. Will... read more