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

1. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agencyby Alexander McCall SmithCreated by Elyse Rhodes

2. 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”

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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!

24. 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