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alexblackreads 's review for:

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
3.0

This was cute and fun, but unfortunately that's not really my vibe with books. This was just so far outside of my comfort zone that I didn't really get it.

Mma Ramwotswe takes her inheritance after her father's death and uses it to start up a detective agency where she goes on unlikely adventures and solves various mysterious with absurd speed. It's a little bit silly and over the top, but it's also got a sincerity to it that was quite nice. Most mysteries only take about a chapter to solve and the rest of the book follows her personal life, financial struggles in keep the business afloat, and various marriage proposals (despite being an overly pragmatic 35 year old divorcee, she's got a line of men desperate for her affections).

This reminded me quite a bit of Encyclopedia Brown in adult form, which was kind of fun. I get why people would enjoy this, it just wasn't for me.