Alexander McCall Smith

At 44 Scotland Street, six-year-old Bertie seeks escape in the Cub Scouts; Matthew rises to the challenge of married life; Domenica epitomizes the loneliness of the long-distance intellectual; and Cyril, the gold-toothed star of the whole show, succumbs to the kind of romantic temptation that no dog can resist and creates a small problem, or rather six of them, for his friend and owner Angus Lordie.

Before becoming the first female private investigator in Botswana, eight-year-old Precious Ramotswe tracks down a thief who has been stealing her classmates' snacks.

"When two siblings attend an unusual school, aboard a ship, they make new friends, learn about all things nautical, and become involved in a mystery they feel compelled to help solve"--

Alexander McCall Smith delivers an intriguing collection of stories about dating. The emotions in these tales run from the thrill of finding happiness to the humiliation and loneliness of rejection.

This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to "help people with problems in their lives". Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs...

"Our favorite moral philosopher is caught up in a delicate dispute between members of a prominent family as her husband, Jamie, is dragged into his own internecine rivalry. Isabel accepts an invitation to serve on the advisory committee of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, but soon finds herself swept up in an all-too-familiar dilemma. David is the grandson of a Scottish clan chief and is supportive of Scottish nationalism. But his fervent beliefs...

In the ninth mystery of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe visits a game preserve to uncover the truth about an elderly American traveler whose safari proves to be his last journey.

Precious Ramotswe is challenged by a strange intruder at her home, the appearance in her yard of a mysterious pumpkin, troubles at her husband's motorworks, and a visitor who forces her to confront a painful secret from her past.

There is rarely a dull moment in the life of Precious Ramotswe, and on Zebra Drive and Tlokweng Road many changes are afoot. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni wants be put in charge of a case involving an errant husband, and Mma Makutsi is considering leaving the agency, taking her near perfect score on the Botswana Secretarial College typing exam with her. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe has been asked to investigate a series of unexpected deaths at the hospital in Mochudi....