In this 19th book in the 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' series, Mma Ramotswe runs for public office. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is advantageous.
*****
Mma Ramotswe, owner of the 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' in Gaborone, Botswana has a good mind, a generous heart, and strong sense of right and wrong. Thus Mma Ramotswe is against the plan to build a hostelry called 'The Big Fun Hotel' right next to the town's cemetery.
After all, people who are late (deceased) should not be disrespected with noise and revelry.
Mma Ramotswe's good friend Mma Potokwane, director of the local orphan farm, has a plan to stop the building project. She wants Mma Ramotswe to run for a vacant seat on the city council....so she can vote against The Big Fun Hotel.
Mma Ramotswe resists mightily, but Mma Potokwane is a formidable woman, and she has a trump card. Violet Sephotho, the glamorous vamp, is running for the council seat - and she'll certainly vote YES for The Big Fun Hotel.
Thus Mma Ramotswe reluctantly agrees to be a nominee, and her election team consists of Mma Makutski - the co-managing director of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (a promotion she gave herself); Mr. Polopetsi - a chemistry teacher who works as a part time detective; Charlie - a half-time mechanic's apprentice/half-time detective-in-training; and Mma Potokwane - who's organizing the entire business.
Mma Makutsi's talking shoes warn her not to get involved in politics, but she does, with rather amusing results. Mma Makutsi's 'undercover' visit to the man proposing The Big Fun Hotel has unexpected results and her 'manifesto' for Mma Ramotswe's campaign is hilarious.
The manifesto goes on and on about Violet Sephotho's sub-par performance at the Botswana Secretarial College, her use of fluttering eyelashes to get jobs, and her attempts to steal other women's husbands. Mma Ramotswe decides not to use this document, but to emphasize her own honesty instead.
While the political campaign is proceeding, Mma Ramotswe is also working on a case. Dr. Marang, from Mma Ramotswe's hometown of Mochudi, was badly injured in a hit-and-run accident. Needing compensation for his large medical bills, Dr. Marang has hired the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency to find the driver who hurt him.
Part-time detective Charlie is put on the case and manages to get into trouble before Mma Ramotswe (as always) makes things right. There's a big element of luck here, as often happens with Mma Ramotswe's detective work.
Charlie is also dating a woman named Queenie-Queenie, not realizing that she comes from a very wealthy family. Charlie's dates with Queenie-Queenie usually amount to a cup of coffee or the rare inexpensive dinner because of his penurious circumstances and lack of transportation.
Will this romance work out? We'll have to stay tuned. (There's a disconnect here with previous books in the series. Formerly, Charlie had plenty of cash for a car, flashy clothes, and chasing girls. I wonder if the author forgot.....or what.)
As always, the characters drink many cups of tea and Mma Ramotswe indulges in numerous slices of Mma Potokwane's excellent fruit cake. And, as before, we hear about Botswana's 'old ways', which Mma Ramotswe prefers to some irreverent 'new' ideas.
The recurring characters make an appearance in the story, including Mma Makutsi's husband Phuti Radiphuti - who has a disagreement with his wife; Mma Ramotswe's husband Mr. JLB Matekoni - who sees automobiles and car maintenance as a metaphor for life; Mma Ramotswe's foster children Motholele and Puso - who are growing up; and Fanwell - the former apprentice who's now a skilled mechanic.
I always enjoy a visit with Mma Ramotswe and her associates, and it was fun to see the detective get embroiled in politics. Good book for relaxing with a cup of tea and a snack.
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