A refreshing change

If I found the last novel anti-climatic, this book was a welcome change. This is one of those books I picked because I was intrigued by the cover. I wasn't really sure what to expect, and this was a really refreshing, lighthearted read.

In a snapshot, this novel is a departure from other traditional mystery/detective novels in that it takes place in Botswana, and the lead character, Mma Precious Ramotswe, is not your traditional detective with a police background/career. This novel follows some of her early history, and weaves different threads in to a pleasurable whole. A bit of African flavour is mixed in, and McCall Smith relays a sense of place quite successfully.

I found this book to be charming, and I will read more in the series if I can get them at a used book store. Even for me, I read this over the weekend and it made me smile - a gentle sense of humour, characters that were engaging, and some nice resolutions. Not earth shattering literature that is going to change your perception of life as we know it, but well worth a dive between the covers.