The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

When Precious Ramotswe's father was dying, he told her to sell his herd of cattle and buy a business and a house. She agreed with him, but instead of buying a butcher's shop, she started a detective agency. As the clients began coming, Precious used her commonsense and her listening heart to solve cases of suspected witch doctors, missing children and husbands, and an erratic doctor whose behavior disturbed his peers.

Alexander McCall Smith has created a sleuth who is as cozy as a teapot and as exotic as an African sunrise. The slow rhythmic pace of the book is charming and compelling, even seductive. You could lose yourself in this prose, and disappear without a struggle. I highly recommend it.