A Song of Comfortable Chairs (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency)

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Charlie continues as a part-time detective in training and half-time as a mechanic in Precious's husband's car repair shop. He is still subject to taunts and insults from Grace, who contends this is sarcastic joking. The two ladies put their heads together and come up with clever and successful solutions to both issues. All the familiar characters are here lending audience and support to the good hearted ladies. And, yes, the talking shoes do make a cameo appearance! Throughout it all, the ladies (and their men) muse on many topics: unheeded parental wisdom, the benefits of occasional consumption of unhealthy food, the proliferation of extra features on any saleable item, the demise of dining tables and plates, and the curse of phased redundancy and planned obsolescence. Tea and fruit cake often accompany these musings. and a firm called Twenty-First Century Chairs is selling new-age, adjustable seats at reduced prices. Unfortunately, Phuti can't compete. EXCERPT: Mma Ramotswe sighed. There was so much wrong with the world. There were so many cases of people behaving badly in one way or another, of people doing things that they should not do, and the more we scrutinised what was going on around us, the more we discovered of just this sort of thing. Under every stone, she sometimes thought, there is bound to be a scorpion.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Knopf Doubleday via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. In a world where there aren’t always answers and at a time when we are all looking for answers, this is a fabulous read. I know any book in this series will end well and that Precious and Grace will solve the cases. For a few hours, all is right with the world and my worries are set aside. We could all do with a little Botswana wisdom in our life.

This time, Mma Makutsi's husband's business, the Double Comfort Furniture Store, is in trouble. There is new competition that always seems to know what is happening in time to undercut and underprice their merchandise, especially chairs, so that the business is losing money and may have to declare bankruptcy. It's up to Mma Ramotswe to find out what is happening and devise a solution, as, of course, she will. (Not a spoiler for fans of the series.) Alexander McCall Smith has managed once again to write another wonderful tale where our leading lady, Precious, encourages us to slow down and express gratitude. To many it might seem simplistic, yet truly speaking, it is the superb craftsmanship of Alexander that provides devoted readers with a gentle reminder to be more open minded and extend warmth to those around us.

The novels of Alexander McCall Smith aren't yet prescribed on the NHS, but it might not be a bad idea' Daily Telegraph 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 Over the years Mma Makutsi has promoted herself from secretary, to assistant detective, to co-detective, to co-director....and Mma Makutsi seems on the verge of upgrading herself once again. This is demonstrated by Mma Makutsi making her name more conspicuous on the firm's letterhead; buying a brass nameplate for herself; hiring a carpenter to enlarge her desk; and referring to herself as managing director.I read No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels for philosophical asides such as this: It was a curious thing, she thought, that a person's eyes should tell you so much about what was going on inside them. There were so many ways in which people might reveal their thoughts and emotions — gestures of the hands, smiles, shrugs. The repertoire of human body language was an extensive one.