While having to face the condescending competition, Precious has to tackle a series of cases. There is the man who wants to make amends for his past sins, and who hires Botswana's leading female detective to help him do so. Then there is the wife who is convinced that her husband is cheating on her, which leads to a discovery that shocks the kindhearted Precious.
Amidst this detective work, Mma Makutsi, the earnest and bright assistant of Precious, conceives of the idea of opening up a typing school for men, where businessmen can learn the "secretarial" skill of typing (which is very useful for those who work with computers) while in the safe company of other men. With this entrepreneurial spirit, Mma Makutsi is able to overcome some of her financial hardships.
This is the fourth installment in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, and like the previous three books I enjoyed this story a lot. That being said, if I had one complaint with this novel it is that it starts off fairly slow. In fact, by around page 40, I was starting to get bored. Soon after, however, I was drawn into the story, and was reminded why I enjoy this series so much. With simple (though clever) writing, McCall Smith discusses serious themes -- e.g. sexism, orphans, an indirect reference to the AIDS epidemic -- while presenting warm, intelligent and honest characters.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars
