Kirkus
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The latest caseload for the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency includes a crime whose detective is more surprising than the crime itself. When Boago Poloko, the co-founder of Elephant Havens, asks Mma Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s preeminent detective, to identify the party who’s turning public sentiment against his sanctuary, she decides to travel from Gaborone to Maun with her junior partner, Grace Makutsi. Her only reservation, especially once her husband, esteemed auto mechanic Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, offers to accompany them, is the fear that apprentice mechanic/apprentice detective Charlie Mangope may not be the ideal person to leave in charge of the agency in her absence. Her fears are all too well founded. While Mma Ramotswe and her husband and partner are questioning the locals in Maun, Charlie decides to handle a new client’s case on his own. Laurence Moepi, who’s expanded from the laundry business to a chain of car washes with his new partner, System Kuba, is disturbed that the Gaborone branch of Botswana Auto Clean is raking in far more money than any other. Charlie solves this mystery quickly with a little help from his colleague Fanwell, a fully qualified mechanic who turns out to be a much better detective than Charlie. In the meantime, though, Charlie’s unwisely signed an agency contract to guarantee the cost of a concert by his new friend Leopard “Dixie” Phiri and his jazz collaborator, Lion “Big Time” Moloi. As the day of the Big Cats Dance Party approaches, Charlie frets that he’s seen virtually no publicity for the event. What will the boss who trusted him say if it all goes south? Fans will trust that all will be well in this entry—as essayistic, reflective, and humane as any in this beloved franchise. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.