The Joy and Light Bus Company (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Book 22)

Product Information

Yet another wonderful entry in this series. But there was an outstanding question: How did T.K. Molefi know who Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi were? (There is one other related loose end, but it would be a spoiler.) Smith usually explains everything and ties up all loose ends, so I found this a bit disconcerting. Mma Makutski huffily declares she's no secretary, she's the co-managing director - a new title she's bestowed on herself. Over time Mma Makutsi has promoted herself from secretary, to assistant detective, to associate detective, to co-detective, to co-partner.....and up the ladder to co-managing director. 😄 to people who are unhappy inside themselves. There is room for everyone. Everyone should be able to find somewhere on this earth to sit down.” The rub is that Mr. Matekoni has to borrow thousands of dollars for the start-up enterprise, and plans to use his business - Tloweng Road Speedy Motors - as collateral. Mma Ramotswe, who fears the bus company will fail, is VERY troubled by the plan and hopes to nip it in the bud.

Whenever Mma Ramotswe is worried, she visits her old friend Mma Potokwane - the director of the Gabarone orphan farm - for advice.

Become a Member

In Smith’s leisurely 21st No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency novel (after 2019’s To the Land of Long Lost Friends), Blessing Mompati, a distant cousin of Precious Ramotse, the agency’s head, Continue reading »

There are several parallel stories running in this twenty second book in the series, but the most significant is that of Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni's sudden wish to be Director of a bus company which leads him to try to borrow money for the first time ever in his life. Since it will be a mortgage against their family home Mma Ramotswe is horrified and feels she has to resort to slightly underhand methods to prevent it happening. The important thing is to carry on doing what you’re doing,’ she said. ‘And not to do what you think other people think you should do. You should do what you do as well as you possibly can.” But even as she puzzles over mysteries on the domestic front, Mma Ramotswe’s professional duties must take precedence. When a concerned son learns that his aging father’s nurse now stands to inherit the family home, he begins to doubt her intentions and takes his case to Botswana’s premier detective agency. Fortunately, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi, committed agents of justice, agree to investigate. In spite of her limited stature, Mma Pula-Pula had about her a strong confident air of authority. But it was not authority of the sort that one would encounter in a school principal or a magistrate or somebody of that sort: this was the authority of the bully.”In this installment, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni attends a seminar on business and gets an offer he seemingly can't refuse. But this offer could affect Mma Ramotswe and their financial well being. So naturally Mma Makutsi springs into action. What worries Precious Ramotswe most about the scheme is that the necessary bank loan will be taken against the garage and the premises of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Failure of such a risky business venture will impact on them all. (Self-appointed) senior co-managing director of the Agency, Mma Grace Makutsi can see the problem, but understands that “male menopausal behaviour was beyond rational argument”. She promises to enlist Phuti Radiphuti’s help in talking sense into Mr JLB Matekoni. All of us, Mma Ramotswe thought, wanted something, even if we were unable to tell anybody exactly what it was that we wanted.” In the end, Mma Ramotswe’s patience and common-sense will win out, and, without a doubt, all will be the better for it. Love was the answer, of course, to this, as it was to so many other problems. Love the people who did not love you; treat with courtesy those who did not show that courtesy to you, and they would realise what wrong they were doing. That was what she did, and she had found that in almost every case those who showed arrogance, or unkindness, or sheer malice, could be shamed into regret, and through regret came change. Of course, it did not always work. There were some occasions in which confrontation was necessary, and harsh words had to be spoken because some people seemed impervious to the pain they caused. But it was better to avoid such showdowns if one possibly could. There was always more than one way of bringing in a harvest.”

My great thanks go to Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for the review copy. This charming tale will be for sale November 16, 2021. Wise people had been replaced in the public estimation by that curious category of people—celebrities—who were, for the most part, shallow people not known for their wisdom. Where were the Nelson Mandelas of this world of celebrity?” The detective agency gets a client called Mr. Baboloki Mophephu, who calls for an appointment. When Mr. Mophephu arrives for his consultation, he makes the mistake of calling Mma Makutski a secretary. Mma Ramotswe is horrified by this modern slavery, but the rich family is powerful, so Mma Ramotswe must be creative to deal with them. A new client wants Agency to investigate the nurse looking after his elderly father when it emerges that his father has willed her his farm, alleging that the woman has exercised undue influence on the old man. When Precious and Mma Potokwani visit the farm, they tend towards a different conclusion but, heeding Clovis Anderson’s best advice, they reserve judgement. A meeting with the daughters of the family reveals that thinThe Joy and Light Bus Company by Alexander McCall Smith is the latest addition to the wonderful No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Once again, we are transported to Botswana where Mma Ramotswe is peacefully going about her business of bringing justice to those in her community. This time around, Precious and Mma Makutsi follow up on a complaint from a son who is concerned that his father is planning to leave a large inheritance to the woman who has cared for him for the past decade. While the team investigate the complaint, Precious must also deal with Mr J.L.B. Matekoni's plans to pursue a new business venture with an old friend. While there, Precious is disturbed by what she learns about one of the newest orphans: there is a suggestion that a well-off family is engaging in a practice long out-lawed. Acting on impulse, she later manages get important information from very close to the source, and cleverly uses a certain woman’s susceptibility to superstition to ensure things are set to rights. AMS, may God continue to bless your mind, your pen, your typewriter, laptop, tablet and any other devices you use to concoct these tales. The whole world loves you, and your wonderful stories. Catch up on the latest from Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi and other favourites in this new instalment of Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.