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To the Land of Long Lost Friends (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency) Paperback – May 7, 2020

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,651 ratings
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In the latest book in the widely beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe takes on a case for a childhood acquaintance and finds that family relationships are always a tricky proposition--even for Botswana's premier female detective.Mma Ramotswe has reconnected with an old friend who has been having problems with her daughter. Though Precious feels compelled to lend a hand, she discovers that getting involved in family affairs is always a delicate affair. The young woman appears to be involved with a charismatic preacher. But are his ministrations entirely of a godly nature?Elsewhere, Charlie is also struggling with a tricky matter of the heart. He wishes to propose to his girlfriend, Queenie-Queenie, but he's struggling to come up with a bride price that will impress her father. When Queenie-Queenie's brother offers to help by giving him a job, the offer may not be quite what Charlie expected.As always, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni will offer wise counsel, Mma Makutsi will weigh in with her opinions, and Mma Potokwane will be there with her welcome fruit cake. But in the end it will be up to Mma Ramotswe to reflect on love, family, and the nature of men and women in order to resolve family dramas and remind everyone about all the good things they have in life--so many, in fact, that it would take far too long to count them.oral sense to get to the heart of the matter.
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Previous page
  1. Book 20 of 24
    No 1. Ladies' Detective Agency
  2. Print length
    240 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Abacus
  5. Publication date
    May 7, 2020
  6. Dimensions
    4.96 x 0.79 x 7.72 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0349143285
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0349143286
  9. See all details
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  1. Kindness, after all, did not distinguish between those who merited it, and those who did not. It was like rain, she thought. It fell everywhere and made everything green and new and alive once more. That is what it did.
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Abacus (May 7, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0349143285
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0349143286
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.96 x 0.79 x 7.72 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,651 ratings

About the author

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Alexander McCall Smith

Alexander McCall Smith

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Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors. His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. Then, after the publication of his highly successful 'No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency' series, which has sold over twenty million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers through the world. These include the Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series, and the Corduroy Mansions series, novels which started life as a delightful (but challenging to write) cross-media serial, written on the website of the Telegraph Media Group. This series won two major cross-media awards - Association of Online Publishers Digital Publishing Award 2009 for a Cross Media Project and the New Media Age award.

In addition to these series, Alexander writes stand-alone books. 2014 sees publication of three new novels which fall into this area: 'The Forever Girl'; 'Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party'; and 'Emma' – a reworking of the classic Jane Austen novel. This year there will also be a stunning book on Edinburgh, 'A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith’s Edinburgh'. Earlier stand alone novels include 'La’s Orchestra Saves the World' and 'Trains and Lovers: A Hearts Journey'.

Alexander is also the author of collections of short stories, academic works, and over thirty books for children. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and a CBE for service to literature in 2007. He holds honorary doctorates from nine universities in Europe and North America. In March of 2011 he received an award from the President of Botswana for his services through literature to that country.

Alexander McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh. He is married to a doctor and has two daughters.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

pollymom
5.0 out of 5 stars Five always five
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2020
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I love These books. Cannot wait for the next I e. A respite from the world we live in. A vacation for the heart and soul. A tribute to humanity and it's foibles. A tribute to the wisdom of extraordinary, ordinary people. A ball for the mind. Cannot wait for the next one. I savor each one like a special, long awaited for treat. Ah, to be like beloved Precious, so aptly nsmed, such a remarkable character. I love all the main characters in these books. Folks who are so uniquely themselves. What perfect writing...thank you, Alexander McCall Smith for thrse...keep writing forever!
2 people found this helpful
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bgt
5.0 out of 5 stars Arrived in good time. Condition was as advertised, maybe even a little better.
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2024
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It arrived on time and in better than "Good" condition.
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Marion Marchetto, author
4.0 out of 5 stars Diamonds, Cheaters, and the Undead
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2019
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In this newest installment of the #1 Ladies Detective Agency (book 20), private detective Precious Ramotswe deals with an assortment of events. To The Land of Long Lost Friends first brings the intrepid detective face to face with an old friend who she had heard was deceased. Imagine her amazement to find the lady in question a guest at the same wedding that Precious is attending. To further complicate the situation, this old friend confides in Precious that her daughter has ceased communications because of her prestigious job in a diamond sorting house. Add to that a new case of a cheating husband and Precious and her sidekick, Grace Makutsi, have their hands full.

Assistant detective Charlie has been dating a girl named Queenie-Queenie who comes from a well-off family. He is very dejected because he wishes to marry Queenie-Queenie but he has no money when it comes to the bride price. How can he solve his problem when he has no money?

True to form, Precious involves herself in the case of the diamond-sorting daughter who, it seems, is driving a new Mercedes-Benz and is the cause for much speculative gossip; Grace and Charlie handle the case of the cheating husband. And in a well-written chapter Charlie goes to Queenie-Queenie’s house to ask her father for her hand in marriage. Readers will chuckle in delight at how this plays out.

Throughout the book, Precious Ramotswe offers reminds us of her love of life in general and her love of Botswana in particular. There is much commentary, from the characters, on changing times and attitudes.

Although I enjoyed this book, there are several trends in Mr. McCall-Smith’s writing that have become obvious; some of this is due to the growth of the characters. Mma Ramotswe has become more of a philosophizer while Mma Makutsi’s views have become even more jaded than when we originally met her. While she has always thought highly of herself and her accomplishments, her tendency to look down at others is becoming overt. Charlie, former assistant to Mma Ramotswe’s husband, is coming into his own as an assistant detective and is learning more respect for women. My favorite moments were when the young orphan Daisy is introduced and Mma Ramotswe opens her heart and her home to foster the girl.

I look forward to the next book and hopefully we’ll be treated to Charlie’s wedding and learn more about young Daisy.
7 people found this helpful
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Third Age Traveler
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful as Always
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2019
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I don't believe I will ever give up on this series. I read it slowly, savoring each moment. It's not the plot that holds me. It's the nuggets of wisdom Alexander McCall Smith offers as the characters go off in tangential directions, weighing and thinking about the problems and complexities of human existence. Those universal truths work in Botswana and in every other country in the world because McCall Smith knows we are all parts of the whole of humankind. That's why Precious is so special as are all the characters in all the books. It's wonderful to see Charlie develop as he has--with dreams and morality intertwined. I'm already looking forward to the next book.
2 people found this helpful
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just as it should be
5.0 out of 5 stars so positive and restful
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2023
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Interesting book that is also restful and positive. I love this whole series, the characters and the delightful African setting
2 people found this helpful
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Susan
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun read but quite slow this time.....
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2019
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For years, I've been a huge fan of most of the works of Alexander McCall Smith. Besides the 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' series, I also enjoy the gentle psychological sleuthing in the Isabel Dalhousie series, the sweet and earnest goings of Bertie and Co, at '44 Scotland Street', The 'Portuguese Irregular Verbs' advent;ures and misadventures, plus some other short stories and series. I love the language and literary devices that Mr. McCall Smith so skillfully uses.

However, this most recent novel was a bit of a disappointment, since it was mostly musings and offered barely any action that could balanced out the supporting thoughts and conversations of the characters.. Doesn't a detective have to have a decent amount of interesting action to conjure up likely misdemeanors, scattered clues, attendant suspects, and finally, the resolution of a tricky situation? There was a bit too much thinking and little real action in this tale.

However, the reader does get to again visit with all the usual and noteworthy characters that have kept this series going for almost 20 stories, notwithstanding some new characters that trigger Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi to take action to right the wrongs in their beloved Botswana.

Still, I did love revisiting the life and times of Gabaronne and its environs. Having lived for many years in E. Africa, all these people, settings, and cultural behaviors are so welcoming. It's like coming home for me. The tales make me homesick for Africa!

However, I do look forward to more of Mma Ramotswe, her antics, and sleuthing pals. It's not easy to produce an annual, fresh new tale that supercedes previous stories. However in today's world, McCall Smith's portrayals of Africa and Africans are almost the only positive comment on modern Africa, and I thank him for that. You're the best, Mr. McCall Smith!
31 people found this helpful
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Charles J. Barnes MD
5.0 out of 5 stars Make yourself feel good, read To The Land of the Long Lost Friends
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2019
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MacCall Smith is so gentle and metered in writing about Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi and of course Charlie. This ending is suspiciously like the last book (never pin a Scotsman down however). The #1 Ladies Detective Agency does pro bono work trying to make Botswana right and in the interim makes for a story filled with characters you felt you have gotten to know and wayward souls whose redemption are sought by the upstanding detectives and wisdom of mechanic Rra Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Wonderful reading, good feelings, what we need in the USA this season!
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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elliemay50
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2024
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Addition to the series, easy read, lovely storyline.
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L.Stockdale
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Reviewed in Spain on March 23, 2022
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Mma Ramotswe and all the other familiar characters in another beautiful story. The world needs more love and goodness and these wonderfully written, humorous and gentle stories deliver them but without being sentimental or sickly sweet. They are intelligent, with excellent plots that explore the good and bad in life. I cannot praise these stories highly enough.
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Krupa Chirravoori
5.0 out of 5 stars The other characters are getting footage too.
Reviewed in India on July 16, 2020
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If you have been looking forward to knowing the other characters in this series more deeply, you won't be disappointed. This book, and a couple few preceding ones, have given a lot of coverage to Charlie. You will find yourself growing fond of him, like Mma Makutsi has. Yes!

I am looking forward to knowing Motholeli, Fanwell, Puso and Itumelang more intimately!
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Reika
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in Germany on April 9, 2020
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I love the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books and could not wait to get my hands on this one. It did not disappoint. Reading about Mma Ramotswe always makes me want to be a better person.
Very entertaining and uplifting story!
One person found this helpful
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Rosemary
5.0 out of 5 stars Pas de commentaire
Reviewed in France on March 14, 2020
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