The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Quiz

Answer: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

The title of a successful book often becomes the title used to refer to a subsequent series developed around the same characters or situation. Such is the case for Alexander McCall Smith's books, set primarily in the Botswana capital of Gabarone, featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe. In this first book the tone of focusing on the people and their lives, with the cases she investigates, that makes them qualify as detective fiction, playing a secondary role. Over time (and there are nearly 30 books in the series as I write this), we come to share the characters' love of Botswana, both the city and the countryside, and its cultural heritage. The cover image for this quiz shows the type of house in which Mma Ramotswe grew up.

In this first book, Mma Ramotswe has inherited enough money from her father to move to Gabarone and set up a detective agency. It is just getting off the ground (but she does have a secretary), and most of the novel consists of exploring her background, including being raised by her father's cousin following her mother's death when she was young, her failed marriage and her decision to move to the city at the age of 34. We learn that she had uncovered wrongdoing in the business run by her father's cousin's second husband (family relations can be complicated) while she was working for him, and fancies applying her knowledge of human behavior in a professional capacity.

Two of the characters who are going to provide the backbone of the series are also introduced in this novel: Mma Grace Makutsi, her secretary, will prove to be far more important than her job description implies; Mr JLB Matekoni, a longtime friend of her father who operates a nearby garage, is already enamoured of Precious, and they become engaged before the end of this first book.

Answer: Tears of the Giraffe

I could also have noted that Mr JLB Matekoni fosters two children from the orphan farm run by Mma Potokwane, or that Precious foils an attempt by her fiancé's maid to frame her and avoid dismissal, but this particular case relates to the book's title. In one of the three main cases of the novel, Mma Ramotswe takes on the case of an American woman who had lost her son in Africa ten years earlier, and wanted to locate him. Unfortunately, her suspicion that he has died is confirmed, but Mma Ramotswe locates the son's lover, now living in Zimbabwe, and arranges to have her bring their child to meet his grandmother.

Near the end of the novel, Mma Ramotswe gives the American woman, Mrs Curtin, a small basket whose design she describes as the tears of a giraffe. This idiom is intended to convey that everyone has something valuable to give others, even if it is only tears of empathy.

Answer: Morality for Beautiful Girls

This combining of businesses allows Mma Makutsi to help Mr JLB Matekoni organise the paperwork which he detests. In fact, she takes over running the whole business (as acting assistant manager) while he deals with his recently-diagnosed depression. The apprentices, who do the actual mechanical work, are impressed by her ability to solve problems, and step up the efficiency of their work under her supervision.

While Mma Ramotswe is away on a case, Mma Makutsi takes on the case of a man running a beauty contest who wants to know which, if any, of the contestants is most suited to the award of Miss Beauty and Integrity.

They are all beautiful, of course, but only one proves to have the desired high moral character.

Answer: The Kalahari Typing School for Men

Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is having problems with his foster children, Mma Makutsi is having trouble finding a suitable romantic partner, and Mma Ramotswe has a business rival. Of course, it all gets solved, with some patience, love and resilience.

Mma Makutsi, who graduated from Botswana Secretarial College with the highest marks in her class, decides to set up a typing school for men, because men do not find it appropriate to attend the Secretarial College where they may find that the women in the class as better at it than they are. Classes fill almost instantly, as she has identified a real need! Unfortunately, the relationship she develops with one of her students does not turn out well - she discovers that he was not divorced when his wife consults Mma Ramotswe about her cheating husband. The wife mentions that she had first tried the Satisfaction Guaranteed Agency, but had not been satisfied. The rival agency's advertising, suggesting that you need a male detective for success, comes unravelled, and they close down.

Answer: The Full Cupboard of Life

Romance is the core of this book, in which the central investigation is an effort to help Mma Holonga, a wealthy businesswoman, determine which of the men with whom she is contemplating marriage actually love her, and which are only interested in her money. Meanwhile, Mr JLB. Matekoni is 'persuaded' by Mma Potokwani to do a parachute jump to raise money for the orphans she supports on her farm, despite his absolute terror at the prospect. That gets sorted when his apprentice Charlie agrees to take his place, and everyone goes to the farm to watch the successful event.

Mma Potokwani, aware that Mma Ramotswe was getting a bit sad because Mr JLB Matekoni was hesitating to set a date for their wedding, took things in hand, in a manner typical of her. Having made the necessary preparations in advance (including arranging to have a priest on hand), she announced that the gathering was going to morph into a wedding to complete the day's celebrations.

Answer: In The Company of Cheerful Ladies

Married life gets off to a bit of a rocky start, with a number of trivial incidents reaching a climax when Precious's ex-husband arrives, and turns out not to be so much an ex- as she had thought. Fortunately, it turns out that their marriage had actually not been lawful, because he hadn't divorced his first wife; this knowledge gives her the courage to stand up to him when he arrives in her office again demanding money.

One of the disturbing incidents involved Precious knocking a bicyclist over; this turns out to be a stroke of fortune, as Mr Polopetsi, who she gets her husband to take on as an employee, turns out to be a good friend in later books.

Answer: Blue Shoes and Happiness

The blue shoes of the title are actually bought by Mma Grace Makutsi, near the end of the book, as she decides that sometimes one needs to indulge in something that takes your fancy, even if it is not necessarily the best thing for you - the shoes didn't fit properly, but their color made her happy. And that is the running theme in the personal lives of the ongoing characters, including Mr Polopetsi expanding his role as mechanic to also include assisting in solving detective cases. It's not often that an automotive garage and a detective agency share staff!

Mma Ramotswe's investigations include the case of a cook who is being blackmailed. It turns out that she is not the only victim of a newspaper columnist who has taken advantage of the messages sent in by people seeking advice to extort money from people who have something in their lives that they would rather keep private. She also stops a doctor from cheating his patients by giving them generic medicines while charging the full price for the expensive versions.

Answer: The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

The agency is expanding again, with both her husband and her secretary undertaking investigative roles for Mma Ramotswe. This is a first for Mr JLB Matekoni, and she was a bit reluctant to let him get involved, as she felt that her female perspective was an important part of the detective agency. He is ultimately successful, despite originally getting things quite wrong. Grace, however, first resigns and seeks employment elsewhere. the experience makes her appreciate her original job, and return. Precious is so happy so have her back that she promotes her to associate detective (meaning that she can officially handle an entire case on her own, not just undertake investigations as directed). Her first case is less than successful, as her ploy backfires and the guilty party disappears.

Meanwhile Mr JLB Matekoni also spent some time down an employee, as Charlie quit to set himself up as a taxi driver. An accident before he actually had a permit sent him back to his apprenticeship.

Answer: The Miracle at Speedy Motors

The receipt of this letter triggers a surprising response - we are so familiar with her resilience and optimism that her reflection that she might be wrong in believing that people are fundamentally good is rather shocking. This, added to her natural ability to detect fraud, makes her suspicious when her husband comes under the influence of a doctor who promises to be able to provide a seemingly-miraculous cure for his adoptive daughter Motholeli, who has had to use a wheelchair following a childhood illness (before she appeared in the books). Fear not, by the end of the book these problems, and more, have been resolved by the application of Mma Ramotswe's powerful listening and empathy skills.

Answer: Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

Violet Sephotho is familiar from her earlier appearances, starting with 'In the Company of Cheerful Ladies'. Not only was she Grace Makutsi's rival when they attended Botswana Secretarial College together, but she also has designs on Rra Phuti Radiphu, her fiancé - who appears totally unaware of the way she is making a play for him. The ladies agree that some things men just don't understand, but it also becomes clear to them, as they wrestle with a case involving the local football club, that there are some things women don't understand. This is raised in another way when Precious has to recognise that her auto mechanic husband feels that her beloved white van can no longer be repaired, and should be sold for scrap.

A recurring theme in Mma Ramotswe's musings in this book is the importance of learning to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, and building bridges based on common ground.

Answer: The Double Comfort Safari Club

For a change, we leave Gabarone as the ladies are hired to investigate a case at a safari camp located on the Okavango Delta, giving us a chance to enjoy some almost-ecstatic descriptions of the beauty of the countryside. One of the guides has been left a large sum of money by a guest - but something is not quite right about the affair.

Grace finds it difficult to focus on the case, because she is worried about her fiancé, who had just been involved in a serious accident, and was being cared for by an aunt who seemed to be trying to push Grace out of the picture. Is this why he has been so reluctant to set a date for their wedding?

Answer: The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party

The van that was sold for scrap in an earlier book reappears - it has been repaired, and Precious aims to get it back. Or is this just an illusory return? Let's hope not - the replacement her husband gave her simply didn't have the character! This is only one of the plot lines, as usual.

The main story is the leadup to Grace Makutsi's long-awaited wedding, which is finally accomplished despite all disturbances along the way. Precious is called away to investigate some stolen cattle, Charlie (the older apprentice in the auto shop) has girlfriend issues, Mma Silvia Potokwane is intent on organising the wedding, Grace can't seem to find the perfect pair of shoes - and we all know how important they are to her, so the wedding cannot proceed without them.

Answer: The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection

Clovis Andersen is the American author of 'The Principles of Private Detection', the book which has been the constant guide to Precious and Grace in their work. When he comes to Gabarone to visit a friend, he is introduced to the only female private detectives in town, and is amazed to learn that they have not only read his book, they can recite relevant bits at the drop of a hat. When they are discussing the concept of setting up a school to train detectives, Grace suggests the book's title as a possible name for the school.

Clovis Andersen helps the ladies in the investigations that are underway while he is visiting. These include helping Mma Potokwane regain her position running the orphanage farm (and in the process foiling Violet Sephoto and her brother) and helping Fanwell, the younger apprentice at the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors garage, clear his name of involvement in a stolen car ring.

Answer: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon

The beauty shop of the title is the victim of a smear campaign, as Mma Ramotswe discovers when she visits its new location while shopping for a gift for Grace's slightly-premature infant. Is the campaign coming from Mma Soleti's husband's first wife, or is Violet Sephoto trying to drive them out of a prime piece of real estate?

Then there is the question of Edgar Molapo's estate. His will left the farm to his nephew, but there is some question as to whether the young man who turned up is in fact the nephew. In a typically pragmatic result, Precious concludes that he may not be the actual nephew, but he is the intended recipient of the farm, and nobody needs to learn about the convoluted family history.

Since Grace did not tell people about her pregnancy until she was well along, and then the birth came early, Mma Ramotswe does not have any plans in place for replacing her in the agency. After struggling on her own, she is grateful that Grace started coming in for a few hours each day, and decides that, despite their differences of character, Grace is an indispensable part of the team, and makes her a partner.

Answer: The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café

As usual, the actual investigations are almost secondary to the developments in the personal lives of the ongoing characters. Mma Ramotswe does help a mysterious Indian woman get her problems sorted out, with the help of Mma Potokwani who has a friend in a relevant high place.

Mma Potokwani is also responsible for sorting out Mma Makutsi's problems with her attempt to set up a café for the elite gentlemen of Gabarone. Not only does it prove to be a poor business model, but she is also undermined by good old Violet Sephotho, who is now a food critic and gives the café a scathing review.

Mr JLB Matekoni is also facing business problems, and has to fire his apprentice Charlie because he can no longer afford to keep paying him. Fortunately, Mma Ramotswe can find him a place working for her as a Junior Assistant Detective.