Will Byrnes's Reviews > Tears of the Giraffe

This is Smith’s follow up to the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and is another delight. The primary tale is Mma Ramotswe helping an American woman find out what happened to her son ten years ago. The Detective agency grows when Precious takes on her secretary as an assistant detective and gives her a case of her own. Ramotswe’s fiancé is visiting a local orphanage where he provides mechanic services for free when, after she learns that he is to be married, the madam in charge badgers him to take home two of her charges. How that all works out is a charming tale of its own. As is the case in so much detective fiction, it is place that is central to the story, whether the Fort Lauderdale of John McDonald, the San Franciso of Dashiell Hammet, the Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler or the Botswana of A.M. Smith. Smith has conveyed his love for this country and his affection for his characters using the format of small mysteries. Maybe one could call this detective genre soft-boiled. – A delight in any case. I am looking forward to reading the next four in the series.