Blue Shoes and Happiness (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 7) | Alexander Mccall Smith

Blue Shoes and Happiness (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 7) | Alexander Mccall Smith | Warm, witty, and wise

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Blue Shoes and Hap...

	Blue Shoes and Happiness (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 7) Alexander Mccall Smith Anchor, 2007 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 102 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

From universally beloved author Alexander McCall Smith, comes this seventh installment in the bestselling No. 1 Ladies? Detective Agency series featuring Botswana?s best-loved detective.
Life is good for Mma Ramotswe as she sets out with her usual resolve to solve people?s problems, heal their misfortunes, and untangle the mysteries that make life interesting. And life is never dull on Tlokweng Road. A new and rather too brusque advice columnist is appearing in the local paper. Then, a cobra is found in the offices of the No. 1 Ladies? Detective Agency. Recently, the Mokolodi Game Preserve manager feels an infectious fear spreading among his workers, and a local doctor may be falsifying blood pressure readings. To further complicate matters, Grace Makutsi may have scared off her own fiancé. Mma Ramotswe, however, is always up to the challenge. And Blue Shoes and Happiness will not fail to entertain Alexander McCall Smith?s oldest fans and newest converts with its great wit, charm, and great good will.

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No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

This entire set of books was a delight to read. They showed that people are the same, regardless of ethnicity or culture. During the course of reading these books, I learned a great deal about Botswana and its culture, history and people. The books were well written, interesting, and easy reading. Once I got started, I read the entire set in a few days. I can hardly wait for the movie to be released. I would certainly recommend the entire set to anyone wanting to learn about people in general, Botswana in particular, and African culture.

Warm, witty, and wise

The seventh book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

The main mystery is a potentially dangerous blackmail plot, but the real meat of the book, once again, is the ebb and flow of life in Botswana and the relationships of Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi. Grace Makutsi's weakness for faashionable (and impractical, uncomfortable) shoes is something I can so relate to!

A wonderful addition to the series.

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Why hasn't Alexander Mccall Smith won awards for these books?

A reader, who is unfamiliar with the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, to his own detriment, may pick up one of these books and dismiss it based on its marketing or cover. After all, it is natural to judge books by their covers. It is sold as a mystery book but I am not sure if that is the best categorization for these delightful books. Blue Shoes and Happiness, like the rest of the books in the series, will not disappoint readers. It is simple, yet filled with wisdom and author's wit and humor.

Blue Shoes deals with many issues from black mail to dieting and shopping. I am amazed how much is packed in this fairly short book that can be read in one day. Blue Shoes, like the rest, is delightful. If you are new to this series, you could certainly start with any of these books since the author fills the readers with important events that happened to the main characters. However, I recommend starting in the beginning. What is amazing is that despite the setting of the book in Botswana, a country that few in the US are familiar with, the issues are incredibly familiar and are universal.

Whether you are interested in philosophy, psychology, traveling or are merely looking for an entertaining read, you will not be disappointed with Blue Shoes or any of the other books in this series (I have not read the "Husband" one yet). Having raved about this book, I must admit that the series is getting repetitive and perhaps it is time for Smith to move on. I understand he needs to refresh readers' memories by repeating what happened in the past but as the books keep getting added on (he has written 8 so far), this gets more and more tedious. Smith is such an outstanding author that he appears to do this effortlessly but still I wish he would get done with the series.

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"To feel happiness and then to remember it"

Title notwithstanding, this series from Alexander McCall Smith doesn't make its living in the detective genre. Precious Ramotswe does indeed run the only ladies' detective agency in Botswana, but her investigations are incidental to the easy-going interactions of her daily life.

We find Mma Ramotswe musing over letters to a newspaper agony aunt and considering how wrongdoings affect those around us. Oh yes, she does investigate, armed with common sense and a copy of Clive Anderson's "Principles of Private Detection" and assisted by Grace Makutsi, star graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College. The ladies investigate blackmail, medical fraud, and a vague "something wrong" at a game preserve. The resolution of these cases further highlights the human foibles of greed and superstition.

The real charm of these books is in the gentle good nature they display. Grace is afraid of scaring her fiance away with feminist opinions; Precious worries about being "traditionally built" and considers the utility of dieting; new employee Mr. Polopetsi deals with prejudice due to his prison record; and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni craves comfort and buys an expensive chair without mentioning it to his wife, Precious. These everyday concerns invite the reader into the story.

Mma Makutsi's impractical "blue shoes," along with Mma Ramotswe's poorly considered diet, do not in the end contribute to the enjoyment of life and so they are hastily retired. Friendship, bush tea and fruit cake, kindness, family and tradition, the lush countryside after a refreshing rain -- these are the currency of Blue Shoes and Happiness (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 7). If you like thoughtful books and don't require a lot of action, this one's for you.

This review is based on the unabridged CD presentation, beautifully read by native South African Lisette Lecat.

Linda Bulger, 2008

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