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The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith (2013-11-05)
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith - 2013-11-05 Author:Alexander McCall Smith The titles of many of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels (this is the fourteenth) often have a wonderfully cheery tone. Think of The Full Cupboard of Life, for example, or Tea Time for the Traditionally Built. The latest title is brilliant in its hopefulness, implying, as it does, that a person may only be a mere tweak away from beauty. T... more »his hopeful attitude is exemplified by Mma Ramotswe, the owner and operator of Botswana's only detective agency, who resolutely tackles the problems people bring to her in her small, out-of-the-way office under an acacia tree. The clients' problems showcase the usual suspects of greed, envy, sloth-all the vices that cause trouble for others. This time, the owner of the nearest town's new beauty salon receives a tiny thing, a feather from a ground hornbill bird. But this artifact is a traditional way of conveying hate. This is followed by a highly effective smear campaign. The other case Mma Ramotswe works on here concerns an heir to a great cattle farm who may actually be an imposter. Mma Ramotswe must track the truth alone because her assistant Mma Makutsi is absent (no plot spoiler here). As usual, these novels are only a bit about actual mysteries. They're leisurely, wonderfully crafted descriptions of life in the agency and at home, the beauties of Botswana, and the joys, big and small, of life. This latest is, especially, a tribute to enduring friendship.« less