Customer Reviews

Morality for Beautiful Girls

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Oh, how I'm enjoying the continuing series in the story of Mma. Ramotswe, owner of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana, Africa! I love this strong African woman who is proud of who and what she is and where she is from and I'm highly entertained by the clients and other characters that she comes across.

"We help people with the problems in their lives. We are not here to solve crimes," Mma. Ramotswe tells one client. Not your average detective, she and her staff of one (Mma. Makutsi, her secretary turned-assistant detective) help people from different backgrounds with varied problems. Mma. Ramotswe even has a personal problem to resolve when her fiancée (Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors) starts acting in a strange manner without warning or reasoning.

I like the way the author brings out the close relationship between Mma. Ramotswe and Mr. Matekoni. The couple chooses to address each other formally but it is done in the context of respect, affection and love. The mannerisms and dialog between the other characters show the reader some of the cultural nuances in that part of the world.

The issue of morality -- how people treat each other, forgiveness, helping others -- comes up as the detectives work. On a job assignment, Mma. Makutsi goes in search of a beautiful girl with morals for a beauty pageant(hence the title). Mma. Ramotswe wrestles with the idea of whether some of her methods of detective work are moral.

Set to a vivid background of the dry but beautiful land of Botswana with its great Braham bulls and colorful people, Alexander McCall Smith describes scenes that remind me of the picturesque movies like OUT OF AFRICA and I DREAMED OF AFRICA.

MORALITY FOR BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is another fun book to read.

Fafa Demasio

Mma Makutsi rises to her own in this volume of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective" series books. As Mma Ramtoswe feels the pinch economically and emotionally, what with moneys tight in the agency and the illness of her fiance, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni,she comes to rely on the unexpected talents and strength of her secretary. Mma Makutsi, with her too dark complexion and too big glasses, a less than "beautiful" specimen, shows true beauty in her no nonsense approach to taking on the business managerial load of Tolkweng Road Speedy Motors and its "lazy, girl crazy apprentices", as well as landing a big paying client for the detective agency. Mma Ramotswe doesn't exactly take the back seat, but as she wrestles with the case of depression of her normally steady and reliable Motekoni, she is able to see her secretary's best qualities. In fact, I found the very modern issue of medical depression quite fascinating, along with Mma Ramotswe's recognition of the need to read about it, and get help from the other strong woman in the series, Mma Potokwane, the director of the children's orphanage who relies on Rra Matekoni for help.

This volume of the series was very touching to me, as Precious Ramotswe takes on the case of an obnoxious Governmental Official who wants his own family investigated. Her wisdom in using the cultural courtesies of Botswana to interview the would be "culprits" and find a solution are just good sense. Her strength of character reinforces the issue of morality in the story.

Most amusing of all is the big money customer that Mma Makutsi obtains who requires a quick investigation into the character of four Miss Beauty and Integrity of Botswana candidates, a rush job with an unusual need and surprising resolution.

Best of all, Mma Makutsi shines in her managerial skills with the mechanics and customers of Speedy Motors, more than succeeding in bringing things in line for the ill owner and his intended bride. Her personal joy in receiving the opportunity to succeed in the business world makes her unusal character round out into a fully amusing and "beautiful" woman.

Mr. J. L. B.'s recuperative visit to the orphanage and connection with a wild child there further enrich his gentleman's character.

This is a reassuringly enjoyable read. A comfort and joy for the fans of Alexander McCall Smith's series.

Morality for Beautiful Girls is third in a series about Precious Ramotswe, a lady detective in Botswana, Africa. For this Midwestern reader the landscape, weather, and daily life in Botswana were fascinating and clearly depicted.

This is not your typical mystery--there is no murder to be solved. Ramotswe and her assistant detective cleverly handle a couple of cases for clients, but her personal life is just as interesting: moving the office, caring for two foster children, and handling the auto repair shop belonging to her fiance who has suddenly begun acting strangely. Ramotswe deals with both the problems of her clients and her personal life in a thorough and straight-forward manner.

I had to buy the first two books in the series (The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, and Tears of the Giraffe) from Amazon.UK, so I was very happy to find this third book on Amazon.com.

For something just a little different--highly recommended.

Mma Ramotswe and her assistant, Mma Makutsi have a problem--or rather a series of problems. Thanks to her impending marriage to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe has a chance to move the office of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, saving money. But even so, the agency is losing too much--and Makutsi would hate to have to let her assistant go. When Mr. J.L.B. Makekoni loses interest in his auto repair shop, Ramotswe sets up Mma Makutsi as assistant manager--but that doesn't deal with the issue of why Makekoni has lost interest in his shop (problem one). Then there's the government man who's convinced that his sister-in-law is trying to poison his brother (problem two). Next, there's a child found with the scent of lion on him, speaking no known language (problem three). Finally, a beauty contest manager comes to the agency with the problem of deciding which of his contestants is least likely to be connected with vice, theft, or other sponsor-offending defects (problem four). Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi definitely have their hands full.

Author Alexander McCall Smith uses an almost fairy-tale touch to tell his story of families, culture clash, and ordinary people in Botswana, Africa. Smith emerges the reader in African urban culture immediately, letting the western reader come across differences and similarities to their own background in a natural and convincing way. His light touch (I especially liked Mma Ramotswe's description of herself as having a 'traditional' figure) adds frequent smiles to the journey.

MORALITY FOR BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is not a complex mystery. In particular, I would have liked to see a better integration of the lion-child into the story. It is, however, a charming story of Africa, women trying to make their way in a culture that is quickly changing yet that maintains many of the values of the past, and of simply getting along with one another as they gain deeper insights into people. MORALITY is a quick read--but if you're like me, you'll find yourself thinking about it again and again once you're done.

Morality for Beautiful Girls, the third book of the series, just continues to please. Mma Precious Mamotswe and Mr JLB Matekoni, as are all the characters in this novel are such complete, carefully drawn people that is wonderful to be with them once again. Mma Mamotswe runs a detective agency but what she really does is help people with problems in their lives. She looks at life in a balanced and faithful way, and she lives a good life, expecting others not always to do the same. In this book we see her give her secretary more responsibility and authority and it does nothing but good. I love the way Alexander McCall Smith describes Africa, and I feel like I am there. This is a wonderful, fabulous book--read it, read the series! After this, it is to The Kalarai Typing School for Men for me.

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

Morality For Beautiful Girls
Life has become complicated for Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Bostwana. She has a great deal to think about. Mr. J.L.B.Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe's fiance and the owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, has been acting strangely of late. He is unusually listless and he seems uninterested either in his business or in her. What can be wrong with him? Precious determines her man is suffering from DEPRESSION! He too has lot's on his mind!

Being the only Detective Agency in town, and even though her business continues to grow, Mma Ramotswe's detective agency is not exactly prospering. But she has a lot of clients all demanding her services, and she has the repair shop to worry about This is where Ramotswe's assistant, Mma Makutsi, (who happened to achieve the highest score on record at her vocational school with a 97%!) shines and proves to be an invaluable asset. She not only becomes the acting manager of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, but she even takes on a lucrative case of her own. While Makutsi investigates the moral character of four contestants in the Miss Beauty and Integrity Contest, Mma Ramotswe looks into a possible poisoning for an important "Government Man".
Mma Ramotswe's sweet nature, unerring instincts and inherent common sense make her both a wonderful friend and a
superb detective. Mma Makutsi comes into her own in this novel, as she shows herself to be both an excellent investigator
and a shrewd manager. Another winning read from the author with excellent and interesting character development as both the characters and the reader become involved with the plot. Relax and enjoy another entry in this wonderful series!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book for it's unique and likable characters and exotic setting. The uniqueness of the mysteries
reflect a simpler lifestyle than many of us live and especially expect in a "mystery". TOTAL ENJOYMENT!
John Row

The beauty about this intelligent and funny series is that you can read them in any order, once you've finished Book One, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency".

Undoubtedly, a meticulous mind would prefer to read them in the order in which they were written, and I would have chosen this option if the second book hadn't gone astray in the mail.

Unable to wait another minute, I dived into book three, and was not disappointed. What's not mentioned in the blurb is that Mma Ramotswe has far too much on her plate, and is forced to share the spotlight with the efficient and intelligent Mma Makutsi, now promoted to Assistant Detective of the agency, with the added responsibility of managing Mr. Matekoni's auto repair business.

While her boss is out of town sorting out the worries of a rich Government man whose concern for his younger brother and inheritance has poisoned his mind, Mma Makutsi takes over the story completely, devising methods to select a deserving and scandal-free beauty queen, while at the same time anchoring two businesses, and trying to keep them both afloat.

This is really the story of the quiet and homely secretary who matured into a feisty, albeit plain swan.

Amanda Richards November 14, 2004

Precious Ramotswe has more than her clients' problems to solve in the third book of this series. Her detective agency is not doing well financially, and her fiance, Mr. Matekoni, has two lazy apprentices who are not helping him much with his car repair business. Added to this, Mr. Matekoni himself is behaving in a very strange manner. Rather than fire her secretary, Precious instead promotes her and puts her in charge of running both the car repair business and the detective agency. For some reason, which is not well explained in the book, Mma Makutsi is wildly successful in running the businesses and motivating the apprentices. Mr. Matekoni is shuffled off to the local orphanage (which makes no sense) to try to recover from his problem. His absence is keenly felt in the book and part of the interest is lost because he and Precious have very little interaction in this installment. Also there are some subplots which are weak or which go nowhere (such as Mma Makutsi's ill brother and the strange boy who is found in the wilderness.) The book is at its best when Mma Ramotswe is trying to solve the mystery of a Government Man's relative who is being poisoned, and Mma Makutsi investigates the moral character of four beauty pageant contestants. These plot lines show the delightful tongue-in-cheek spirit which have made these books so popular.

I loved every minute of the third book in THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY series.

Precious Ramotswe is solving problems, including some of her own, moving to a new location and handling life as it comes to her.

There are three 'cases' in this book, but they're pretty much secondary to the true story of life in Mma Ramotswe's beloved hometown of Gaborone, Botswana.

Mma Ramotswe's secretary - now assistant - Mma Makutsi gets to work on a case in this book...and she handles other chores as well, all with apparent ease as expected from someone who scored 97% at the Botswana Secretarial College.

A word of advice: read the books in order of publication. You'll be glad you did.

Enjoy!

Well, since Mma Ramotske is unlikely to leave her beloved Botswana, maybe she could be an Advisor to Presidents There and Abroad (as in the United States). Her common sense approach to detective work and life in general is not only effective but refreshing and satisfying. In this third edition of her "investigation of confidential matters and inquiries" Mma Makutsi, her assistant and graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College with 97% in the final examination, exhibits her take-charge attitude. Mma Makutsi assumes the title of Assistant Manger of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, the repair shop of Mma Ramotske's fiance who is suffering from depression and ignoring his once well-run garage. Then, too, Mma Makutsi uses her initiative to solve a lucrative case to determine the moral character of the four finalists of the Miss Beauty and Integrity Contest.

And Mma Ramotswe's firm handling of an arrogant "Government Man" could be a textbook lesson in the the fine art of assertive behavior that results in Satisfaction for all Parties.

I discovered that one of my favorite tea makers sells African Red Bush tea--now my preferred drink while reading about The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.