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    In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
    In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
    In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
    Audiobook9 hours

    In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

    Written by Alexander McCall Smith

    Narrated by Lisette Lecat

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Readers everywhere have been captivated by the New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, from award-winning wit Alexander McCall Smith. Mma Ramotswe is very busy. She has a full caseload at the agency, there's been an intruder in her home, and her unfortunate past has returned to haunt her. Maybe it's a good thing her husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, is too distracted to notice. For it seems one of his apprentices has run off with an older woman!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 10, 2005
    ISBN9781436100922
    In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
    Author

    Alexander McCall Smith

    Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the award-winning series The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and he now devotes his time to the writing of fiction, including the 44 Scotland Street and the Isabel Dalhousie series. He is the author of over eighty books on a wide array of subjects, and his work has been translated into forty-six languages. Before becoming a full-time writer he was for many years Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh.

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    Reviews for In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

    4/5

    1,088 ratings46 reviews

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    • 1/5
      McCall Smith is always satisfying. This series and the 44 Scotland Street are my favorites.
    • 4/5
      I absolutely love this series, and will keep reading as long as McCall Smith keeps writing them.
    • 4/5
      Another delightful tale showcasing the best of Africa, in which our traditionally-built heroine and her entourage resolve various problems in a very African way. The past comes back to haunt Precious Ramotswe, but she deals with it through common sense and relationships - the African way. In many respects the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series could be viewed as a fictional textbook on restorative justice.
    • 4/5
      Book 6 in the series and just as enjoyable as the rest. Mma Ramotswe's former husband returns and causes all sorts of problems, meanwhile the garage gets a new apprentice. These books are great because they are so easy to read. It's like curling up in a blanket with a hot water bottle. Perfect for when life is getting a bit too much.
    • 5/5
      Thoroughly infatuated with this series!
      Precious Ramotswe and crew have captured my heart. I have the print copies and will pass them to my granddaughter in my will. So enjoyable. Hate to reach the end of the story.
      Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      This series is a joy to read. Not much happens plot-wise. However, the characters live their lives, and we get to witness it happen, and learn along the way. Again, it is refreshing to read a modern work that is wholesome and gentle.
    • 5/5
      This is a fine entry in the series. Both Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have to stand up for themselves and fight for what is right. They meet a man who has fallen on hard times and show him mercy. The older apprentice falls in love with a rich lady. And Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has his hands full, as always.
    • 3/5
      A pleasant way to while away an hour or two. Nothing much exciting happens, which is probably much more realistic than the angst-and-action genre.Definitely a cozy.Still, I have a friend who is an elderly lady from Africa, and I can see her approving highly of Mma Ramotswe's approach to life.Although the author's Christian religion is not aggressively in-your-face, it is nonetheless a significant foundation for the main characters.
    • 5/5
      I read this so long ago that I no longer have specific memories, but these cozy mysteries usually please, especially back when the series was shorter and it didn't feel quite so repetitive yet. The characters are likeable overall, the mysteries are usually interesting without being gory or frightening, and the setting is lovely. Wouldn't it be just perfect to share a cup of bush tea with Mma Ramotswe?
    • 5/5
      I adore this series by McCall Smith, "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency". I love the name of the main character, Precious. I love that she considers herself a "traditionally built woman". I love that she has such pride in her homeland. Everything. I love it all. In this installment, we get to know more about the main characters, as well as being introduced to what I hope will be recurring faces. This is among the best of the "cozy mystery", and I will read them as long as they are written. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Best installment so far in this series! Interestingly, while the detective agency does have a case to solve, for the most part this installment is more about the personal lives of the main characters. McCall Smith continues to bring reflections on the ever changing culture of Botswana as the country continues to modernize/industrialize and adopt more first world values, not all of which are worthy of adoption. The secret from Mma Ramotswe's past even caused me to give a small gasp, I found it to be so unexpected! Overall, continuing to enjoy this cozy/comfort detective series filled with social and moral insights.
    • 5/5
      In this volume in the series, Precious discovers an intruder under her bed who leaves his pants tangled in the bed springs. The same night, someone leaves a pumpkin on her front porch. Meanwhile the apprentice, Charlie, has taken up with a rich woman which leads to a conflict with Grace Makutsi and he quits the apprenticeship at garage.The Agency is hired to find an embezzler and Prescious' ex-husband shows up to blackmail her for being a bigamist for not having divorced him before marrying Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni..Other stories taking place along with the ones mentioned are Grace Makutsi taking up ballroom dance lessons and meeting a shy man who stutters but is obviously smitten by her and Precious' white van is stolen.This volume is especially concerned with the personal lives of most of the main characters and bringing the issues that are hinted about in the background in previous volumes to closure. It almost seems McCall Smith is preparing to finish the series.
    • 4/5
      Book number six in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Despite looking at the beginning like it's setting up an odd little mystery, this one basically abandons even the thinnest traces of a detective story plot. And that is absolutely fine, because, as always, the appeal of this series is in the setting and the characters, and there's some really good character stuff here.
    • 4/5
      Another good read in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Preferred it to some of the recent books in the series.
    • 3/5
      After reading the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency a couple of years ago, I accumulated a few of these, and went through 6 in less than a month. They're very quick reads - I read 2 and part-of-a-third in one day.

      They're very entertaining, charming, and compulsively readable. Although marketed as mysteries; they're not, really. Rather they follow Mma Ramotswe and those around her through their daily lives - it's almost besides-the-point that the business she runs is a detective agency. The stories are suffused with McCall-Smith's obvious sincere love of Africa (where he grew up), and the reader feels that a genuine window has opened up into the lives and mindsets of ordinary Africans. I don't agree with many aspects of Precious Ramotswe's view on the world, and I probably wouldn't get along with her in real life - but these books made me feel like I might understand people like her more than before.

      However... there's also a weird aspect to the books. They're so relentlessly cozy. It's not that McCall-Smith ignores the poverty, the devastation of AIDS, the lack of education, etc... these things are acknowledged, but then almost swept to the side. On the one hand, it's a celebration of the spirit of the people of Botswana and their love of their homeland... but on the other hand, it sometimes feels like a minimization of these things. It's not just larger social issues: there's domestic abuse, adultery, etc... all the normal foibles of humanity (although all reference to sex of any kind are totally non-existent)- but all the unpleasant things somehow get almost drowned out in the cozy, feel-good atmosphere of the books. Maybe it's just that I usually read darker, grittier material [especially in mysteries {McCall-Smith is no Stieg Larsson!}] but it felt a bit strange to me. I can't decide if it's a detriment or a positive asset to the books.

      In 'The Company of Cheerful Ladies' Mma Ramotswe is happy to finally be married - but life's complications are not over. She accidentally hits a bicyclist with her van - and ends up giving him a job at the garage. Meanwhile, Mr. JLB Maketoni's tenant is running an illegal bar/nightclub out of his house, the apprentice Charlie is getting involved with a rich woman who may be taking advantage of him, and Mma Makutsi finds herself becoming involved with a rather dorky and painfully shy man that she meets at a dancing class. There's also the mystery of the house intruder-who-escapes-without-pants, and the mystery of the appearing pumpkin.
    • 4/5
      The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is lovely. It's a nice break from hectic books or long books or complex books. It also really helps to listen to the audiobook and hear Leslie Lecat's voice in your head as you continue the series in book format. Charming and relaxing.
    • 3/5
      "In the Company of Cheerful Ladies" is a story of a short time in Mma Ramotswe's life. She is the founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.Mma Ramotswe had an appointment at a restaurant. She noticed a car sideswipe another vehicle and leave the scene. When she leaves her seat to see if she can read the car's license plate, she's accused of trying to leave without paying her bill. She settles this dispute and goes home. Once there, she's surprised when a man crawls out from under her bed and runs away. What made her even more surprised is that the man wasn't wearing any pants.The start of the story seemed to be a prequel to what would be happening later on. The scene of the man running from Mma Ramotswe's home in that state of undress seemed like a scene of a Pink Panther movie with Inspector Clouseau.Other items on Mma Ramotswe's plate are her former husband returning home and attempting to blackmail her This isn't bad enough but she wants to know what was behind an employee of Mma Ramotswe's husband who quits his job to be with a wealthy woman.We never find out what the story was about the man under the bed and the rest of the story is a simple story with no violence and filled with interesting people.”
    • 3/5
      Mma Ramotswe discovers an intruder in her home, Mma Makutsi is in search of a husband, and an apprentice of Speedy Motors makes an interesting choice. There are a few other characters that appear while life meanders along in Botswana.I have found most of this series to be very bland, but still like to listen to one on occasion. They make good break-books. Unfortunately, this one was a bit slower and a tad bit more boring in comparison to the rest. I did enjoy a few scenes and am still glad I heard it, but it was nothing special. I'll still continue with the audiobooks when my listening ear needs some calm. However, I hope there is a little more depth in the next one. (2.75/5)Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy
    • 4/5
      Sixth in the series about the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The usual collection of small and large puzzles for the ladies to solve, and two new characters for the series. Mma Ramotswe knocks a gentleman off his bike, and thereby gains a new staff member for the joint premises of the detective agency and the garage. Mma Makutsi joins a dance class and thus acquires a new friend. As ever with this series, gentle humour and believable domestic mysteries make this a pleasure to read.
    • 4/5
      "Mma Ramotswe sighed. "We are all tempted, Mma. We are all tempted when it comes to cake." "That is true," said Mma Potekwane. "There are many temptations in this life, but cake is probably one of the biggest of them.""

      This series is just as tempting: whenever I finish a No. 1 Ladies novel, I already want to read the next one.
    • 3/5
      Enjoyed it more than the first No.1 Ladies that I read (which was the first in the series). There's actually substance in the way of social commentary and even a bit of philosophy that I didn't notice in the first book (let's attribute that to my increased awareness for such inclusion). So on one level the book is a light mystery read, and on the other level it's got good discussion/observation on life. Guess that makes it the perfect summer read!

      This book is about Charlie the apprentice, who is seeing a married Mercedes-Benz driver; dance lessons, and a new employee who got the job after being hit by the white van.
    • 3/5
      This one was pretty slow and not much of a mystery, but the languid pace is something that McCall Smith does very well.
    • 2/5
      I kind of felt like I missed something with this one. I do like the author's type of storytelling, but this one was just a liiiiitle bit too gentle and unassuming. And kinda boring. I don't even remember there being a mystery, which seems a bit odd for a book about a private detective.
    • 4/5
      Another great story in the series - this one had a few more things happening but less mystery involved. Enjoyable and consistent series.
    • 4/5
      She looked out into the garden, and the night. It was warm and the moon was almost full, throwing shadows of the acacia, the mopipi tree, of shrubs that had no name. Mma Ramotswe liked to walk in her garden in the evening, taking care to move slowly and with firm tread; those whose crept about at night risked stepping on a snake if they were not careful, as snakes move out of our way only if they feel vibrations in the ground. A light person - a person of non-traditional build, for example - was at far greater risk of being bitten by a snake for that very reason. That was another argument, of course, for maintaining traditional build - consideration for snakes, and safety too.In this, the last of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, Mma Makutsi takes dancing lessons, Charlie the older apprentice takes up with a married woman, Tlokweng Speedy motors and the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency take on a new employee, and an act of omission from her past comes back to haunt Mma Ramotswe.I hope that Alexander McCall Smith's other books are as enjoyable as this series.
    • 4/5
      Continues the stories of Ma Ramotswe and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni and their employees and friends. Gentle, delightful and humane.
    • 4/5
      When I was paying for this book, the clerk told me that they are his favorites, because when you read them, you feel like there are good people in the world. I would say that he was exactly right. Nothing particularly happens in this book, and the beginning puzzle isn't solved (maybe it's in the next book?) but spending time with the good, gentle people who inhabit the world of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency makes me happy and relaxed. These are books that I actually buy to keep and re-read, which isn't all that common.
    • 4/5
      Another delightful tale showcasing the best of Africa, in which our traditionally-built heroine and her entourage resolve various problems in a very African way. The past comes back to haunt Precious Ramotswe, but she deals with it through common sense and relationships - the African way. In many respects the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series could be viewed as a fictional textbook on restorative justice.
    • 2/5
      Again, a fun read. Disappointed that the very first "problem" is never really solved.
    • 4/5
      Yet another fun, light read from Alexander McCall Smith.