The Miracle at Speedy Motors (2008)

This is the ninth book in Alexander McCall Smith's series which started with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and I have loved every one of them. Precious Ramotswe started her detective agency in Gaborone, Botswana after her father died and left her a herd of cattle. Through the series she has been joined by an assistant named Mma Makutsi, married Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni, and adopted two orphans, one of whom is confined to a wheelchair. This series has taken me to a very foreign country and immersed me in its gentle and proud culture. Technology in her business is limited to a telephone and a typewriter. Large women are referred to as "traditionally built". She putters around in an old white van and helps people solve mysteries. In this book, she helps a woman look for information about her birth mother and seeks the writer of threatening notes. Not as exciting as Tom Clancy or as technologically savvy as Patricia Cornwell's characters, Mma Ramotswe uses her knowledge of human character to find answers. When I read these books I purposely slow down so that they last longer. I can give a book no higher praise.
My rating for this book (and the whole series) - +++++