ABOUT THE BOOK: Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma Ramotswe—with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi—navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea.
HALL WAYS AUDIOBOOK REVIEW. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is my go-to happy place for when I want to escape an often overwhelming world and have a reliably pleasant, calm, violence-free, & stress-free reading experience. There's always a mystery afoot, though this time, Mma Ramotswe is supposed to be taking her first ever holiday and leaving Mma Makutsi in charge of investigations. Easier said than done!
I found The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine so relatable -- not only because Mma Ramotswe is a "traditionally built woman" like myself, but because I am having my own discomfort with being on a different kind of holiday: I sold my business and am retired (for the time being). Just like Mma Ramotswe, I am not quite sure what to do with my time and am unreasonably concerned that business can be handled without my being in the middle of it! Ha!
As usual, readers can look forward to Violet Sepotho (boooo, hissssss) rearing her ugly head, beautiful descriptions of Botswana, thought-provoking insights from many characters, and of course, some dialogue courtesy of Mma Makutsi's shoes. Oh -- and plenty of bush tea and cake.
There are now some twenty-four full novels in this series, and I've read (or read-with-my-ears) nineteen or so of them and loved them all. I think it's important to read the first ten or so in order so one is up-to-speed with the backgrounds and relationships of the regularly occurring characters. But I've been hopping around within the second dozen and had no issues figuring out what's what.
ABOUT THE NARRATION: Lisette Lesat, who has been the narrator on all of the audiobooks, again performs to perfection. She navigates the different characters, whether male or female, young or old, without a glitch and her pacing is excellent. My comfort spot is listening at 1.2x speed, and I listened straight through while wearing my domestic goddess cape at home for a day.
Action packed? Nope. Brain straining? Nope. Pure enjoyment? Every. Single. Time.
What a great review, and I think your Texas-gal card is safe. I was not familiar with these books at all but will check them out. Thanks for the introduction.
ReplyDeleteWhew! I hope you do check them out and report back (but not anonymously!). Some people find them dull, but I think the descriptions are so rich & beautiful and the main character is so introspective and wise. A nice break from most other books.
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