- ISBN13: 9780375424502
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Readers will agree that this touching and dramatic new installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved and best-selling series is the finest yet. In this story, Precious Ramotswe deals with issues of mistaken identity and great fortune against the beautiful backdrop of Botswana’s remote and striking Okavango Delta.
Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi head to a safari camp to carry out a delicate mission on behalf of a former guest who has left one of the guide… More >>
The Double Comfort Safari Club: The New No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Novel
Originally posted 2010-05-17 20:54:18.
This is a review, for the most part, of the retailer from which this item was received. When ordered, it was not made clear that this is the UK version, narrated by someone other than Lisette Lecat, who presents these wonderful stories so well. When received and the difference was painfully apparent, I contacted the retailer just to find out if anything could be done about exchanging the audiobook for the American version, with Lecat as narrator. That was several weeks ago and, as I write, I have not even had the courtesy of a response, negative or positive — apologetic or “kiss my foot” from the retailer; although I did receive a polite “so sorry” response from the publisher, that I had also contacted. Neither have I had any acknowledgement from Amazon regarding this complaint, other than to let me know it is aware that I contacted the seller. So I will have to buy this audiobook twice to get what I really want, and my satisfaction with the quality of service provided by Amazon and its partners has gone down several notches. I will be extra cautious in the future, if I order anything again through Amazon.
Rating: 1 / 5
It’s Good to get a Book just as it comes up for sale,A. McCAlls, # 1 Ladies Det Agency books are always eagerly anticipated!!
Rating: 5 / 5
I was disappointed that I hadn’t read carefully. When I got the CDs…it was only 5 CDs…abridged. I don’t generally ‘read’ abridged forms of books. It’s a great story, regardless!
Rating: 4 / 5
The books of the series, ‘The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency’, based in Botswana, are an absolute delight to read. Human relationships and interactions make up the mysteries. I have all of the books in my permanent library.
Mma Ramotswe, head of the agency, and Mma Makutsi, assistant detective, have received a letter asking them to find a guide in a safari camp named after an animal. The guide has been left $3000 dollars by a Mrs. Grant who had been treated very kindly by him. Unfortunately, she could not remember the guide’s name either! The executor of the will enclosed a picture of Mrs Grant and said that the Embassy had recommended Mma Ramotswe’s agency.
A priest, Mr. Mateleke, asks Mma Ramotswe to find out if his wife is being unfaithful. She is surprised, as Mma Mateleke had asked her to find out if the priest is being unfaithful!
Earlier, J.L.B. Matekoni, husband of Mma Ramotswe and owner of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, was called out by Mma Mateleke to rescue her as her car had stopped dead. When he arrived, he is surprised to discover another driver, who had been speeding, had stopped to help her. When Mr Matekoni showed up, the driver saw that Mma Mateleke had help, turned his car around and went back the way he had come! Mr Matekoni was puzzled, as the driver had seemed to be in such a hurry to get down the road!
Mma Makutsi’s fiance, Phuti Radiphuti, has had his leg crushed and he is in the hospital. His foot must be amputated. His aunt is trying to keep Mma Makutse from seeing him, telling her that she surely won’t want to marry a man with only one leg. The aunt is very jealous of Mma Makutsi.
Mma Makutsi sits with him every day and he is happy to see her. She finds that he has been discharged into the aunt’s care, and the aunt refuses to let her come into the house to see him!
Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi must solve all these problems.
I recommend this book very highly.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve enjoyed every one of the gentle and witty books in Alexander McCall-Smith’s wonderful “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series, but this new one–”The Double Comfort Safari Club”–is something really special. The story is chockfull of the usual common sense and humanity that marks all of these novels, but in this latest episode, Mma Ramotswe takes on some tougher tasks that pit her once again up against Botswana’s meanest “Mean Girl”, Violet Sephotho; helping her assistant Grace Makutsi through a crisis with her fiance; sorting out a friend’s marital shenanigans; and tracking down the legatee of an American visitor to one of Botswana’s wildlife areas. With the latter chore, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi go on safari, armed only with stylish new boots, to protect them from hippos and crocs that must be dealt with in order find the lucky heir to some U.S. dollars.
So there are a bit more meat and potatoes in “The Double Comfort…”, giving the novel interesting heft and zip. But, in the end, it’s still the wonderful insights into human nature and the non-stop promotion of better angels that make the story so enjoyable. Mma Ramotswe’s uncompromisable moral compass, her love of her country and her understanding of human behavior provide comfort and a good does of optimism for the lucky reader who picks up this book and spends a few hours with it. Wonderful and highly recommended.
Rating: 5 / 5