The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 8) (Hardcover)

by Alexander McCall Smith (Author)
Key Phrases: detective agency, tiny white van, orphan farm, Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi, Tati Monyena (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Smith once again combines a loving depiction of ordinary life in modern Botswana with memorable characters and an engaging mystery in the eighth installment in his beloved No. 1 Ladies Detective series (after Blue Shoes and Happiness). Dr. Cronje, who's half Xhosa and half Afrikaner, consults Smith's sleuth, the gentle and insightful Precious Ramotswe, because patients at his hospital who have occupied a particular bed have been dying mysteriously at the same time of day. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe's recently engaged assistant, Grace Makutsi, threatens to break their longstanding association. Mma Ramotswe must adjust their relationship in order to retain Mma Makutsi's services. The author's subtlety of touch and humane portrayal of figures at all levels of society will continue to win him new readers even as his deepening of the ties binding the main figures will satisfy those who have followed the lady detectives from their first recorded case. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Scotsman McCall Smith's best-selling novels featuring "traditionally built" Botswana sleuth Precious Ramotswe continue to resonate with poignancy, wisdom, and wit. Fans of the series will appreciate the deeper characterizations in this eighth entry, particularly that of Mma Ramotswe's bespectacled assistant, Mma Makutsi, whose professional priorities seem to shift after her engagement to a wealthy man. McCall Smith (whose vast opus includes the Isabel Dalhousie, 44 Scotland Street, and Portuguese Irregular Verb series) serves up a compelling mystery, too, involving a series of patients who have died at the same time of the week in the same hospital bed. This time around, Mma Ramotswe's devoted husband (and first-class mechanic) J. L. B. Matekoni also tries his hand at the detective business, catering to a rude client who suspects her husband of infidelity. The case prompts Mr. Matekoni to wonder whether he's exciting enough for his cherished wife. Of course, no matter what dramas the day brings, Mma Ramotswe always has time to enjoy a cup of red bush tea and revel in the beauty of her native land. Peace and prosperity prevail in Botswana, where McCall Smith, who was born in Zimbabwe, spent time as a professor of law. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is his love letter to a country whose salubrious climate is matched by the warmth and humanity of its people. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; First Edition edition (April 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375422730
• ISBN-13: 978-0375422737
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (138 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,254 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 8 in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great visit with Mma Ramotswe and her crew , March 25, 2007

By	Terry Mathews (a small town in east Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Today's publishing world seems to be dominated by writers who produce violent crime/thrillers. These books are usually driven by bleak plotlines and blood spills off nearly every page. The crooks/evil ones are usually caught in the end, but there's nothing positive to take away from the experience.

While a good adrenaline rush gets the blood pumping, it's nice to slow down with sweet, uplifting fiction. With the release of his 8th book in the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, Alexander McCall Smith is establishing himself as one of the preeminent writers of sweet, gentle fiction.

As with previous books, "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive" gives the reader a glimpse into the life of Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of a detective agency in Gaborone, Botswana.

Mma Ramotswe's agency is located adjacent to Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, a garage owned by her husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni.

Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, the real husband of Zebra Drive, is about to investigate his first case, but is troubled about how to tell his wife about the assignment.

Mma Ramotswe's capable assistant, Grace Makutsi is troubled about several things, including a date for her wedding to Phuti Radiphuti, owner of the Double Comfort Furniture Store. Miss Makutsi is also concerned about her future. She's been working for Mma Ramotswe for sometime, without a promotion. She should be doing better. After all, she is a 97-percent graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College.

The agency investigates a wayward husband and three unexpected, mysterious deaths at a hospital. The puzzles are always solved in McCall Smith's books, but what keeps readers coming back for each book are the main characters and their rich, human relationships.

At the heart of soul of the stories is Mma Ramotswe, `a traditionally built' middle-aged woman who loves her family, her work and her country.

Supporting Mma Ramotswe is the solid, dependable Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. He's a good mechanic, a kind employer and a devoted husband.

Grace Makutsi, young and a bit vain, provides color in this volume. Grace provides drama in Mma Ramotswe's world, especially when she suddenly decides to leave the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency one day, stunning everyone.

Providing comic relief this time around is Charlie, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's oldest apprentice. The naïve Charlie is determined to set out on his own. His brief foray into the real world provides some funny and poignant moments.

Spending time with these gracious people is like finding a calming and soothing oasis after a parched trip through the barren desert. Time spent in Precious Ramotswe's world is never wasted. You'll leave feeling happy, contented and lucky.

Enjoy!

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Purchase the Audio CD and Hear an African Voice, May 27, 2007

By	Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"The Good Husband of Zebra Drive" is the latest work in Alexander McCall Smith's Number One Ladies Detective Agency series. If you have not had a chance to purchase the Audio CD, do so for the opportunity to listen to Lisette Lecat narrate the book. She is a talented actor from South Africa. As an African, Lecat is able to bring the sound of Botswana to the listener. Hearing the accent and having the places and names pronounced correctly adds an additional layer of pleasure to this well written book.

49 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Darker Side of Botswana is Depicted, April 17, 2007

By	Miami Bob "Resurgent Reading" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews

It has been some time since I read my last novel of the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series, and I was originally displeased with this book. I thought about giving it 4 stars. Then I thought, I opened the book after dinner and finished it before bedtime: how bad can a book be if you don't put it down?

What I disliked was the reality of the characters, the reality of the issues, the reality that Botswana is modernizing. Mma Makutsi, like my teenager at home, too often chides other people, in a rude and in-your-face fashion. The new cases walking through their doors are not cow thieves or simple questions of trust. Clients seek to discover employees who steal - even though the employers are generous. Stock trading scandals are discovered. What next: pollution violations? Botswana now has modern day issues. Botswana is an uglier place.

McCall Smith seems less enchanted by the "Leave It To Beaver" simplicity of many of its gloriously gentle citizens. "There were all those unkindnesses, palpable, daily; so easily avoidable; but one could not think of those, thought Mma Ramotswe, or one would spend one's time in tears - and the unkindness would continue. So the small things came into their own: small acts of helping others, if one could; small ways of making one's own life better; acts of love, acts of tea, acts of laughter. Clever people might laugh at such simplicity, but, she asked herself, what was their solution?"

Botswana is changing, but it is not dead. McCall Smith reminds us, "That fine country, with its good people, was still there. . . "

Reading these books is like getting out of the rat race and flying off to where life is simpler, better. Social standards seem so good in Botswana. Maybe the "good old days" were better in Botswana than they are today; but, the present days still have a lot of good.

After engaging the characters in numerous "new vocations" whether from malaise or midlife crisis, the author has our beloved J.L.B. Matekoni return to his auto mechanic's life as Matekoni realizes that, "The things that we do best. . . are the things that we have always done best."

Among all of the series written by McCall Smith, this is his best. And we can only hope that he realizes this fact and continues to do his best by delivering more novels for this series.