Customer Reviews

Morality for Beautiful Girls: A No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel (3)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book goes to bolster my initial opinion that McCall Smith is a sensational writer to look out for. The book goes to make the series a worthy read. I am particularly drawn to the way the author wrote about the way of life this African country especially its remarkable values. What is more, the characters are real and warm-hearted , and they give the story the humor that is necessary for an interesting life.

Other fun books to read are: The usurper and Other stories, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, Disciples of Fortune

Morality for Beautiful Girls is third in a series about Precious Ramotswe, a lady detective in Botswana, Africa. For this Midwestern reader the landscape, weather, and daily life in Botswana were fascinating and clearly depicted.

This is not your typical mystery--there is no murder to be solved. Ramotswe and her assistant detective cleverly handle a couple of cases for clients, but her personal life is just as interesting: moving the office, caring for two foster children, and handling the auto repair shop belonging to her fiance who has suddenly begun acting strangely. Ramotswe deals with both the problems of her clients and her personal life in a thorough and straight-forward manner.

I had to buy the first two books in the series (The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, and Tears of the Giraffe) from Amazon.UK, so I was very happy to find this third book on Amazon.com.

For something just a little different--highly recommended.

It is really a great series! The changes in this book makes it fresh and gives it a new twist. Not only does she have an assistant who proves to be as wise and intelligent, but Mma's new approach to solving problems and understanding people's behavior is the main issue in this book. It shifts a little from the route of culture, and emphasizes on everyday issues just like in any other place. We don't see Mma explaining traditions and their meaning, but trying to understand human nature, whether it was depression or revenge, she finds a way to show reality and truth, even her assistant found her own way of facing truth.

I can't wait to find out what is going to happen to Mr. Matekoni, and what happened to the ring?!!

In the third installment of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Mma Ramotswe faces new challenges that give this book a slightly different twist. In this story the focus seems to be more on the ever changing quality of Precious Ramotswe's life and the people in it rather than the cases that come into the agency. I missed Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni and his quiet gentleness in this book, as he was indisposed throughout most of the story with a mysterious illness. Mma Makutsi and her new job as the manager of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors and assistant detective figure prominently in the storyline. The reader learns more about her personal life, what drives her and her unique thoughts on the state of society especially the status of women. The mysteries are less obvious and a little less satisfying when resolved. What the reader is given is some beautiful philosophicial prose on the nature of the human condition as Mme Ramtoswe and Mme Matkusi each ponder the intricacies of their cases. I enjoyed this book, although somewhat different. Perhaps, as a reader I must come to expect that each book in the series is unique in its own way. McCall Smith has again created a wonderful story that quietly interweaves the African culture, traditions and communities into a story that touches us no matter where we live.

If you've read the first two of the series (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Tears of the Giraffe), then you will want to read this one...it's a continuation of the stories in the lives of the main characters. I got so involved in the stories of these people and the descriptions of African landscape, that I didn't want it to end. I'm glad there's a fourth book to look forward to.

I am a huge fan of Alexander McCall Smith and I find the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series overall to be extremely heartfelt and compelling. The characters are so unique and each chapter seems to bring a smile to my face. No sex. No violence. No profanity. Yet I find myself wanting more. How amazing.

Yet Morality for Beautiful Girls is a noticeably weaker effort than the first two. The title is bland and hard to remember. You get well past page 100 before the beauty contest contestants are even introduced and there is only one chapter involving the poisoning case early on. So there isn't much detecting going on. Honestly, there isn't much of anything going on and the reader almost becomes as depressed as a certain major character, waiting for something, anything to happen.

To me, Smith stumbles this out. Not in a major way, but after the joy of the first two Precious tales, this time around things seem a bit too dark in Botswana and some of the joy seems to be missing.

As the third in the No. 1 Ladies Detective series, "Morality for Beautiful Girls," continues along the same line as the first two books.

Precious Ramotswe finds herself involved in a case for a "government" man and spends most of the book away from those that she adores. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni leaves his repair shop for a stint at the orphange to cure his depression. Mma Ramotswe's assistant is promoted to Asst. Mgr of the repair shop and takes on a case for the detective agency that leads her to discover the truth about beauty. All wrapped up at the end another moral lesson is learned from these wonderful characters.

Alexander McCall Smith remains true to his original character concepts and deepens the readers understanding as to what makes them tick. He tells us another fable with a good moral to live by and leads us onto the next in the series. These books are easy, fun reads that blend light mystery with good judgement and relate an excellent lesson. I am looking forward to the next journey of Mma Ramotswe and her gang.

Morality for Beautiful Girls is a great book and a wonderful series. While the mystery aspect of the book is not strong, the character development and descriptive writing allows the reader to transport to a part of the world that (literarily speaking) we don't often get to visit. Another Amazon quick-pick: The Losers Club by Richard Perez

Third in the series of the No. 1 Ladies' Detection Agency, a person could pick this up and read it on its own. But I don't recommend it. I feel everyone would enjoy this book FAR more after reading the first two books in the series.

As good as the first two books were, each book only seems to get better! I couldn't put the book down, and read the whole thing in one day. Unlike some U.S. reviewers, I did not find this book to be weak. I found the fact that some cases/plots resolve more satisfactorily than others to be a mirror of REALITY. (I am an American living overseas, and have often heard British/Australians/New Zealanders criticise American movies/books for having endings that are "too pat," with too many ends tied up TOO well! Perhaps those who criticise this book about the the opposite are more used to American authors. I think part of what they are feeling is that this is a British author.)

As all books do in series, different books focus more on certain characters, to the exclusion of others. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is somewhat on the sidelines in this book, but he does come back into prominence in the successive books (and in fact, book five seems to be primarily about him).

The title of this book comes from a particularly interesting case Mma Makutsi investigates while Precious Ramotswe is away investigating another particulary interesting case. The best thing about the book is the way these two cases resolve! I feel this writer has had a lot of life experience, and ends up imparting this wisdom about life through his characters adventures and investigations. Furthermore, living in Africa these past 12 years, I absolutely love the African settings and how the African people of Botswana are portrayed.

Like so many other readers, I really enjoy McCall Smith's stories of Mma Ramotswe, and her Botswana detective service. Mma Ramotswe is a remarkable character, and I love her simple and moral nature. Yet, of the three books I have read in this series, I found _Morality for Beautiful Girls_ to be the weakest story so far.

Mma Ramotswe is pulled in many different directions in this book, and only a few of the circumstances really go anywhere. Nearly a whole chapter is devoted to a young boy that is found outside of town, and he is subsequently sent to the "orphan farm". The matron of the orphan farm, Mma Potakwani, asks Mma Ramotswe to investigate the boy's past, yet that story line fails to go anywhere. Why spend so much time developing a story only to drop it in the end? I was left disappointed, and can only hope that this mystery is revisited in the future.

Another large loose end: what happened to Mr. J.L.B Matekoni? In the previous books, he is a main character, however in _Morality for Beautiful Girls_ he is given little face time. The book did not tell us what brought Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's depression, and once again, are the readers going to be told what happened in the future? Like Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, the children from the orphan farm, who played such a large role in _Tears of the Giraffe_ are nearly forgotten in this novel. What happened to them?

Yet there were parts that I really enjoyed as well... It is exciting to see the development of Mma Makutsi, and her ever-expanding talents and responsibilities. I look forward to reading more about her. I particularly liked her case with the beauty pageant, and her quest to find a girl in Botswana with both beauty and integrity.

Despite the obvious holes in this novel, I am still looking forward to reading more about Mma Ramotswe and the other characters in the future.