The Woman Who Walked In Sunshine (The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series) by Alexander McCall Smith

Hardback:  In this latest and sixteenth instalment (2015) of the beloved and best-selling series, Mma Ramotswe must contend with her greatest challenge yet - a vacation!

Business is slow at the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, so slow in fact that for the first time in her estimable career Precious Ramotswe has reluctantly agreed to take a holiday.  Her busy life gives her little time for relaxation apart from the drinking of tea, of course.

The promise of a week of uninterrupted peace is short-lived, however, when she meets a young boy named Samuel, a troublemaker who is himself in some trouble.

Once she learns more about Samuel's sad story, Mma Ramotswe feels compelled to step in and help him find his way out of a bad situation.  Despite this unexpected diversion, Mma Ramotswe still finds herself concerned about how the agency is faring in her absence.  Her worries grow when she hears that Mma Makutsi is handling a new and rather complicated case.

"I am going to bring my holiday to an end," she announced to Mr J L B Matekoni that evening.  "I have had enough."

A well-respected Botswanan politician is up for a major public honour, and his reputation is now being called into question by his rivals.  The man's daughter has contacted the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency to investigate these troubling claims, but, as in so many cases, all is not as it seems.  This leads Mma Ramotswe to join forces with a new assistant detective (and part-time science teacher), Mr Polopetsi.

Wherever the truth lay, there is an unresolved issue here - a mystery, so to speak - that needs to be resolved.  It is a fundamental article of faith in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency that one does one's best for the client.  If Mma Makutsi is not going to do that - for whatever reason - then it is incumbent upon Mma Ramotswe to take responsibility for the matter, holiday or no holiday.

And then of course there is the agency's arch-enemy, Violet Sephotho, scheming to set up a rival secretarial college.

In the end, the investigation will affect everyone at the agency.  Lessons must be learned, whether we are willing or not, and in the end, Mma Ramotswe finds that a little trust goes a long way, especially when it comes to having confidence in our dearest friends and colleagues.  Lessons will also serve as a reminder that ordinary human failings should be treated with a large helping of charity and compassion.

About the author:  Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors.  His career has been a varied one:  for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad.  Then, after the publication of his highly successful No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty languages and become bestsellers through the world.

The series include the Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Sunday Philosophy Club series starring Isabel Dalhousie, the von Igelfeld series, and the new Corduroy Mansions novels.

Alexander is also the author of collections of short stories, academic works, and over thirty books for children.  He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and a CBE for service to literature in 2007.  He holds honorary doctorates from nine universities in Europe and North America.  Alexander McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh.  He is married to a doctor and has two daughters.  Both he and his wife are members of an amateur orchestra, the Really Terrible Orchestra, in which he plays the contra-bassoon.

Discover the world of Alexander McCall Smith and his other books at AlexanderMcCallSmith.co.uk

Rating:  5/5