The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency cover art

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

By: Alexander McCall Smith
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $15.99

Buy Now for $15.99

About this listen

 Winner of the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2004.
Winner of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award, 2004.

Wayward daughters. Missing husbands. Philandering partners. Curious con men. If you've got a problem, and no one else can help you, then pay a visit to Mma Ramotswe, Botswana's only female private detective. Her methods may not be conventional, and her manner not exactly Miss Marple's, but she's got warmth, wit, and canny intuition on her side - not to mention Mr J.L.B. Maketoni, the charming proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors.

©1998 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2003 Time Warner AudioBooks Mystery Women Sleuths

Critic Reviews

"A rare pleasure." ( Daily Telegraph)
"A publishing phenomenon." ( Guardian)
"Everything about [McCall Smith] is appealing. He's just full of delight; it just bubbles out of him." ( Sunday Herald)
All stars
Most relevant  
Loved listening to this story after many years of first reading it and watching tv series. Brilliant narration.
highly recommend

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
loved it. couldn't stop listening. beautifully read and performed. one of my all time favourite authors.

the no. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed the television series many years ago, and have now enjoyed the audiobook just as much. The narrator was wonderful… bringing the book to life.

Loved this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautiful production, narrator music & as a new reader to the No 1 ‘s listened all the way home from Sydney to Far South Coast, can’t wait to listen to another.

Classic storytelling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The series of 'cases' are simply but cleverly put together .. very enjoyable listening and the music adds to the narration.

fabulously written and narrated giving an insight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The African setting for this story is very colourful and charming as the story delves into the African culture and the ways of the people funny and quirky, a delightful read – listen

Colourful and charming

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
i only listened to the first chapter. Aside from it being very very slow to start, it wasn’t long before I questioned the author v narrative / ie a white male writing about the perspective of a Botswanan woman in Botswana. Although AMS seems to have strong connections to Botswana & has contributed there, it’s still a bit iffy to me. The narrator was good although, also British born so… On Goodreads a Botswanan woman commented how uncomfortable, condescending and patronising she found these books. so yeah… I decided not to continue reading.

I’ll find another cosy crime mystery series to read & instead try some books by Botswanan authors.

DNF - Problematic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.