The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith is the first book in The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, featuring a middle-aged female detective, whose prime concern is helping people solve their day-to-day problems. Summary Of The Book Precious Ramotswe is the protagonist of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. She is portrayed by Smith as a divorced and overweight woman, who is keen on setting up a detective agency so that she could help the people in her community with their problems. Becoming the first lady detective in Botswana is no small feat, considering Precious lives in a society where there are clear rules about what women can and cannot do. After her father passes away, Precious sells the cattle she acquires in her inheritance and buys a house. She also manages to afford a room and a sign, from where she intends on doing her “detective work”. Unlike the murder and bloodshed that readers are so accustomed to in typical detective novels, the focus of Smith’s novel is on character development. It is not to say that mystery and suspense are void from this story. In fact, there are many edge-of-the-chair moments during the course of the story, especially when she is hiding in a van awaiting a killer. The witty and intuitive Mma Ramotswe is able to solve mysteries within two chapters of the novel, but it is her outlook on serious matters and her sense of humour which Smith focuses on in his novels. Apart from Mma Ramotswe, readers will encounter other memorable characters such as Mma Matsuki, the assistant, and Mr. Matekoni, the talented mechanic. Through her unconventional methods and uncanny intuition, Mma Ramotswe will take readers along as she attempts to find a child who has been kidnapped by witchdoctors. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was the recipient of two Special Recommendations from Booker Prize judges. The Times Literary Supplement voted this novel as the International Book of the Millenium and Year.