The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith *****

For those not familiar with the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, it is in Gaborone Botswana. These books are the coziest cozy mysteries. For instance, in The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith, the lady detectives investigate four suitors perusing a rich lady entrepreneur, while also dealing with an incompetent auto repair shop and a high-pressure charity fundraiser. Note that these description sound more dangerous than the actual events.

Mma Precious Ramotswe, a “traditionally built” woman, owns the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Mma Makutsi, who received a 97% at Botswana Secretarial College, the highest ever, is her assistant. The office is adjacent to Rra J. L. B. Maketoni’s business: Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. He is soft hearted and a great mechanic, as well as Mma Ramotswe’s fiancé. Mma Holonga fills out the list of major players. She runs the local orphan farm.

The book is full of folksy humor and advice.

“The more books that Botswana had…the better. It would be on books that the future would be based; books and the people who knew how to use them."

“…and there was nothing better than a cake to facilitate agreement.”

“It is good just to sit sometimes. I like to do that, if I get a chance. I just sit.”

The most serious situation in the book, aside from the time Mma Ramotswe was not offered tea, is the treatment and rehabilitation of teen girls who ran away from the countryside to the big city, Gaborone, and became “bad girls.”

As a cozy mystery, the resolutions are always non-violent in the extreme. For example, when the owner of the incompetent auto repair shop confronts Rra J. L. B. Maketoni to “sort him out” for disclosing his shoddy work, the bully is put in his place when Mma Holonga threatens to tell his mother.

If you are looking for a pleasant sojourn away from the stress and challenges of the world, I can highly recommend a delightful vacation to Botswana where the biggest concern is finding the next cup of bush tea.