In the latest installment of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, How To Raise An Elephant (#984), you know you're in for a cozy story of ordinary Botswana folks' problems, and Precious Ramotswe's commonsensical solutions.
Leave it to part time mechanic/part time detective Charlie to borrow Mma Ramotswe's beloved tiny white van and return it with a damaged rear bumper, strange smell and no explanation about either. Precious is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. But she and Mma Makutsi have had a visitor to their office. A distant cousin of Precious has come to ask her for a favor, a favor that both women feel needs further investigation.
In the meantime, Precious and Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni have new neighbors next door. Judging by the raised voices, all is not well over there. Precious would never pry, but she is a detective, so she's noticed a few odd things about them...
Reading this story makes me even sorrier that we missed our trip to Botswana last year. It is evident in his writing how much McCall Smith loves this country. He can write effectively about the need for elephant conservation without belaboring his readers. His approach to getting people to do the right thing comes across in Precious' warm moral compass. A treat, as always.
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