No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency: African Sleuthing

The first novel in a series of  15

Just finished this light novel that's been on my bookshelf for some time. Here's a short description courtesy of Wikipedia:

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a series of novels by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith. The agency is located in Gaborone, capital of Botswana. Its founder is a Motswana woman, Mma Precious Ramotswe, who features as the stories' protagonist and main detective. The episodic novels are as much about the adventures and foibles of different characters as they are about solving mysteries. The series belongs to the subgenre of anthropological detective fiction, in which the culture of its characters plays a major role in the story. Mma Ramotswe always has multiple small cases to pursue, with only a few involving crime and even fewer involving violence. This deemphasizes sensationalism and focuses on detective fiction being morality tales.

A few of the light weight crimes included finding missing (and suspected wayward) husbands, following a teen daughter who is suspected by her father of dating boys, figuring out why a local doctor is not working up to par (turns out he has an identical twin brother who fills in for him on the odd day).

The novels have been made into a TV series

The novel is series of little mysteries that she pursues and gently solves. There is no violence, or huge conflict. Mma Ramotswe takes her time and easily sorts out the truth from deception. It is an easy read and provides a little insight into the culture of Botswana.

I would suggest that this is a good book to have sitting on your cottage bookshelf. Can be read by anyone and put down without trouble when it's time for a swim or the fish are biting! I'm not going to read the other 14 in the series, but I'm sure others enjoy them for their gentle charm.