Precious and Grace Book Review

I grabbed this book at the library when I was there because I saw it on the shelf!!  I love this series and I was excited to read this installment of the Ladies Detective Agency.  Precious and Grace: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (17) (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series) by Alexander McCall Smith was the 17th book in this great series!!  I can't believe that there are so many but I am sure that I have read them all now!!!

In this latest installment of the beloved and best-selling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi help a young woman on a quest to find someone from her past.

Changes are afoot at the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, where Mma Makutsi, who has recently been promoted to co-director, has been encouraging Mma Ramotswe to update to more modern office practices. However, an unusual case will require both of them to turn their attention firmly to the past. A young Canadian woman who spent her early childhood in Botswana requests the agency’s help in recovering important pieces of her life there. With only a faded photograph—and, of course, some good old-fashioned detective skills—to guide them, Precious and Grace set out to locate the house that the woman used to live in and the caretaker who looked after her many years ago. But when the journey takes an unexpected turn, they are forced to consider whether some lost things may be better off unfound.

Busy as she is with this challenging investigation, Mma Ramotswe can always be relied on to come to the aid of her friends—who seem to have a special knack for landing in hot water. Mr. Polopetsi, an occasional assistant at the agency, has made an ill-advised business decision that may lead to serious trouble. And next door at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Fanwell, the junior mechanic, has become helplessly attached to a stray dog who proves to be a bigger responsibility than he can handle. With Mma Makutsi by her side, Mma Ramotswe dispenses help and sympathy with the graciousness and warmth for which she is so well known, and everyone is led to surprising insights into the healing power of compassion, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

I have enjoyed all the books in the Ladies Detective series and this new book was no exception.  The books are listed under mystery but I think that they regular fiction and some people might miss them because of the category that they are listed under.  I like anything but Alexander McCall Smith but this is one of my favorite series because I love the characters.  There is always something interesting going on with Mma Ramotswe and all of her friends at the Ladies Detective Agency.  It was an interesting story of a lady that came back to Botswana to find where she grew up and her nanny from her childhood.  There was an investigation into the different people who might have been the lady who took care of her but the story was a little flat.  Although I would never miss an installment of this great series, I wouldn't say that this was the best in the series.  There were some ups and downs and lots of developments going on through out the novel.  Make sure you pick it up and see for yourself all the trouble Mma Ramotswe gets into!!