This book is featured on the Exclusive Books' 2003 Publishers' Choice list.

If you enjoyed 'The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency', then you can look forward to savouring the first line of Alexander McCall Smith's sequel, 'Tears of the Giraffe', because that's all it takes to be wonderfully transported back into the world of Mma Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s most accomplished Ladies' detective, and her husband-to-be, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors.

It was just recently that I finished the first instalment with that strange, sad satisfaction that comes with the end of a thoroughly good book. And with that memory still fresh in my mind, 'Tears of the Giraffe' had a lot of measuring up to do. But it certainly didn't disappoint: it was as delightful as the first — from the very first heartwarming sentence.

It's the simplicity of his style that is so enchanting as McCall Smith transports you right into the heart of Botswana and the culture of its people, to create an endearing, enlightening, at times amusing and thoroughly refreshing read.

Mma Ramotswe faces her toughest case yet — a type of case that the eminent Clovis Andersen, author of Mma Ramotswe’s professional bible The Principles of Private Detection, has some sound advice on, but advice that Mma Ramotswe nevertheless throws to the wind as she decides to find the truth behind the decade-old disappearance of an American boy on the edge of the Kalahari.

But, she is also finding that running her business poses its own set of personnel challenges as her secretary, Mma Makutsi, is eager to be promoted.

The challenges aren't all professional… Mma Ramotswe's engagement and impending marriage to Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni puts into play a whole host of tricky situations: Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's nasty maid feels gravely threatened by Mma Ramotswe and sets out to thwart the marriage; there's the matter of which house the married couple should inhabit; the buying of a diamond ring and the kind Mr J. L. B. Matekoni is also finding it difficult to turn a blind eye to the suffering of two young orphans, putting Mma Ramotswe not only in the position of wife-to-be but mother-to-be too.

All of this makes for an engaging read and I wolfed it down in an afternoon. The personal dramas slightly overshadow the detective work though and I found that I could have done with a few more mysteries that needed solving.

For those who haven't yet enjoyed a McCall Smith, don't waste any time on getting yourself a copy of 'The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency'. His eloquent evocations create a charming read that comes highly recommended by those who've sampled it. And the good news is that you can chase it down with the sequel 'Tears of the Giraffe'.