The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith Created by Elyse Rhodes

Chapter 1 ~ “The Daddy” Protagonist ~ Mma Ramotswe or Precious Ramotswe Owns detective agency which she bought with money she inherited from her father 1st client the reader is introduced to is a woman named Happy Bapetsi who is trying to find out if the man claiming to be her father is truly her father Mma Ramotswe solves the case of “the daddy”

Chapter 2 ~ “All Those Years Ago” Obed Ramotswe born in 1930 Worked in a mine for 15 years and witnessed the murder of another miner Died of black lung ~ “died because he had been a miner and could no longer breathe.” His wife was run over and killed by a train, leaving Obed to raise their only child, Precious, by himself

Chapter 3 ~ “Lessons About Boys and Goats” Obed’s female cousin helps raise Precious Precious begins school at age 6 Precious attends Sunday School, taught by Mma Mothibi, where she is harassed by a 9 year old boy named Josiah When Precious is 11, Obed’s cousin remarries and leaves Obed and Precious Precious wins first prize in an art contest sponsored by The Museum in Gaborone and does not want to accept the prize because the museum thinks she drew a picture of cows when she really drew a picture of goats

Chapter 4 ~ “Living with the Cousin and the Cousin’s Husband” Precious leaves school and her job at the Upright Small General Dealer at age 16 Precious goes to live with Obed’s cousin and her husband and works as a bookkeeper for the cousin’s husband’s bus company where she discovers someone has stole 2,000 pula Precious solves the mystery of the missing money and is inspired to be a detective Precious meets Note Mokoti on a bus, they date and they marry Precious becomes pregnant and Note Mokoti leaves her after he severely beats her Precious returns to her father’s house and the baby dies 5 days after it is born

Chapter 5 ~ “What You Need to Open a Detective Agency” Mma Ramotswe inherits a large sum of money when her father dies She purchases a house on Zebra Drive and a building to house her new business: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency She hires Mma Makutsi from the Botswana College of Secretarial and Office Skills to be her new secretary Mma Malatsi hires Mma Ramotswe to find her missing husband The case of the missing husband is solved

Chapter 6 ~ “Boy” 11 years old, small for his age (looks like he is about 9) When he was barely 4 he fell out of a tree and was taken to the hospital and was said to have no injuries He is kidnapped one night by poachers

Chapter 7 ~ “Mma Makutsi Deals with the Mail” Mma Makutsi reads Mma Ramotswe a letter from Ernest Molai Pakotati. The letter asks Mma Ramotswe to help find a missing boy, Thobiso. Mma Ramotswe cannot stop thinking about the missing boy and his family.

Chapter 8 ~ “A Conversation with Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni Mma Ramotswe talks to her best friend, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni (proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors). They discuss business, finances, and the missing boy. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni believes that the boy was taken by a witchdoctor and killed. Later that night, Mma Ramotswe thinks someone is outside her house.

Chapter 9 ~ “The Boyfriend” Mr. Patel, a wealthy Indian businessman, hires Mma Ramotswe to find out whether or not his 16 year old daughter, Nandira, has a boyfriend. Nandira confronts Mma Ramotswe and convinces her that she made-up a boyfriend to get her father to give her more freedom. Mma Ramotswe tells Mr. Patel that Nandira does not have a boyfriend and to give her more freedom to live her life. Mma Ramotswe sees Nandira a year later with her boyfriend, Jack.

Chapter 10 ~ “Mma Ramotswe Thinks About the Land While Driving Her Tiny White Van to Francistown” Mma Ramotswe is driving her little white van to Francistown from Gaberone. She describes the landscape of Botswana, the animals she sees, and the Kalahari desert.

Chapter 11 ~ “Big Car Guilt” Mma Pekwane hires Mma Ramotswe to see if her husbands Mercedes is stolen because she wants to give the car back to its’ rightful owner. Mma Ramotswe “steals” the car and returns it to the insurance company.

Chapter 12 ~ “Mma Ramotswe’s House in Zebra Drive” Mma Ramotswe describes her house on Zebra Drive. Built in 1968 Corner lot 2/3 of an acre of land Thorn trees and purple bougainvilleas A verandah on the front of the house Living room with a big window that looks out to the yard and a fireplace Cheerful kitchen with a red floor She has a gardener and a maid

Chapter 13 ~ “Why Don’t You Marry Me?” Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni discuss the mistakes they have made in their lives. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni asks Mma Ramotswe to marry him. Mma Ramotswe says she will not re-marry because she is happy with her life the way it is.

Chapter 14 ~ “Handsome Man” Alice Busang hires Mma Ramotswe to see if her husband, Kremlin, is having an affair. Mma Ramotswe tracks Kremlin to a local bar and he tells her he is NOT married and hits on her. Mma Ramotswe takes a picture of Kremlin kissing her to prove to Alice that he is cheating on her. When presented with the evidence, Alice accuses Mma Ramotswe of having an affair with her husband.

Chapter 15 ~ “Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni’s Discovery” Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni tows a car out of a ditch and begins to repair it at his shop. In the glove compartment he discovers a small bag that contains: human bones, a piece of flesh and a vial of medicine. The car belonged to an influential local businessman ~ Charlie Gotso.

Chapter 16 ~ “The Cutting of Fingers and Snakes” Hector Lepodise hires Mma Ramotswe to solve the case of “the missing finger”. Solomon Moretsi is suing Hector for 4,000 pula because he claims that he lost his index finger while working in Hector’s factory. Mma Ramotswe goes to confront Moretsi and his lawyer, Jameson Mopotswane, about the fraudulent lawsuit and she runs over a cobra while driving her little white van.

Chapter 17 ~ “The Third Metacarpal” Mma Ramotswe takes the bones (muti) to Dr. Gulubane to determine whether or not they are human remains. He tells her that they are from a child of about 8-9 years old and that they are newly amputated. Mma Ramotswe comes up with a plan to get Charlie Gotso to tell her about the medicine man.

Chapter 18 ~ “A Lot of Lies” Mma Ramotswe asks Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni to tell Charlie Gotso that his car was broken into. J.L.B. tells Mr. Gotso that the car windshield was smashed in and he needs to come down and see if anything is missing from the car. Charlie Gotso’s associate says there is something missing from the glove-compartment. J.L.B. tells him that he knows a detective that can help recover the missing property.

Chapter 19 ~ “Mr. Charlie Gotso, BA” Mma Ramotswe goes to see Charlie Gotso. She gives him back the bag of muti (bones, flesh, and medicine). She tells Charlie Gotso that she needs to meet with a medicine man. In exchange for the name and address of the medicine man, Mma Ramotswe agrees to give Charlie Gotso information about his business competitors.

Chapter 20 ~ “Medical Matters” Dr. Maketsi hires Mma Ramotswe to investigate Dr. Komoti. Dr. Maketsi thinks that Dr. Komoti is on drugs because of his inconsistent job performance ~ some days he is a great doctor while other days he nearly kills his patients. Mma Ramotswe discovers that Dr. Komoti is a twin and he is switching places with his twin brother so that he can work at the hospital and run his own clinic in Mafikeng.

Chapter 21 ~ “The Witch Doctor’s Wife” Mma Ramotswe goes to the witch doctor’s house. She meets the witch doctor’s wife. The wife takes her to a cattle post in the middle of the Kalahari desert. Mma Ramotswe finds Thobiso ~ ALIVE. Thobiso is reunited with his family.

Chapter 22 ~ “Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni” Mma Ramotswe asks Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni to fix her little white van. J.L.B. goes over to her house to look at the van. J.L.B. proposes to Mma Ramotswe again and this time she says YES!

Further Reading from Alexander McCall Smith ~ The No Further Reading from Alexander McCall Smith ~ The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency #1 Tears of the Giraffe #2 Morality for Beautiful Girls #3 The Kalahari Typing School for Men #4 The Full Cupboard of Life #5 In the Company of Cheerful Ladies #6 Blue Shoes and Happiness #7 The Good Husband of Zebra Drive #8 The Miracle at Speedy Motors #9