The House of Unexpected Sisters (The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency) by Alexander McCall Smith

Hardback:  Precious Ramotswe learns valuable lessons about first impressions and forgiveness in this latest instalment of the beloved and best-selling No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are approached by their part-time colleague, Mr. Polopetsi, with a troubling story:  a woman, accused of being rude to a valued customer, has been wrongly dismissed from her job at an office furniture store.  Never one to let an act of injustice go unanswered, Mma Ramotswe begins to investigate, but soon discovers unexpected information that causes her to reluctantly change her views about the case.

Other surprises await our intrepid proprietress in the course of her inquiries.  Mma Ramotswe is puzzled when she happens to hear of a local nurse named Mingie Ramotswe.  She thought she knew everybody by the name of Ramotswe, and that they were all related.

Who is this mystery lady?

Then, she is alerted by Mma Potokwani that an unpleasant figure from her past has recently been spotted in town.  Mma Ramotswe does her best to avoid the man, but it seems that he may have returned to Botswana specifically to seek her out.

What could he want from her?

With the generosity and good humour that guide all her endeavours, Mma Ramotswe will untangle these questions for herself and for her loved ones, ultimately bringing to light important truths about friendship and family - both the one you’re born with and the one you choose.

The House of Unexpected Sisters (2017) is the eighteenth and latest book in the cleverly written, thought-provoking and superbly witty No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series set in Botswana, Africa.

About the author:  Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world's most prolific and most popular authors.  For many years, he was a professor of medical law, then, after the publication of his highly successful No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty-five million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world.

These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in the Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the von Igelfeld series and the Corduroy Mansions novels.  His novel, Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party, was winner of the 2015 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction.

Alexander McCall Smith is Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and holds honorary doctorates from thirteen universities.  In 2017, he received the National Arts Club of America Medal of Honour for Achievement in Literature.

Rating:  5/5