The Handsome Man's Deluxe Café

Mma Makutsi is opening a restaurant, one that she hopes will take Gabarone by storm. It'll be the best cafe that the town has seen and it will be patronized, of course, by the most handsome of men and glamorous of women. Things seem to fall perfectly in place right from the beginning. The workmen appear on time and do their jobs quickly; her lawyer knows a brilliant chef who is willing to come work for the cafe and bring along a waiter and waitress too. Most importantly, Phuti and Mma Ramotswe are as supportive as they can be.Things aren't going quite so well for Charlie. Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni's workshop isn't making as much money as it used to and he's forced to get rid of one of his assistants. Unfortunately, Charlie, who has still to finish his training, is the one that must be let go. Though the detective agency isn't doing any better than the auto shop, Mma Ramotswe decides to take Charlie on as an "apprentice assistant detective." She knows the young man has a good heart and lives in poor conditions with a large family. Her tender soul can't see him disappointed at failure. Luckily, the timing is just right. A new case has been brought to the agency. A woman with no recollection of her identity or origin needs help in figuring out who she is. Mma Ramotswe hopes Charlie can learn the principles of detection on this intriguing case.Success in the restaurant and detection fields isn't easy, though. Mma Makutsi and Charlie both find themselves in disheartening circumstances before too long. Will the goodness that seems to follow Mma Ramotswe and her friends once again triumph? Or are Charlie's short career as a detective and Mma Makutsi's short stint as a restaurateur going to end before they've even begun?After so many installations of this series, you'd think one would become tired of it. Not so! Unlike other series authors, McCall Smith has retained a freshness and vitality in his writing that makes every book unique and special. Not formulaic or predictable, each is a lovely reminder of good things and an encouragement to search for the kind of peace and understanding that Mma Ramotswe (and her late father, the great Obed Ramotswe) believe in.

Precious Ramotswe's ruminations while driving her tiny white van around Gaborone and seeing a cow and calf standing under a tree:We could stand under trees too, and look about us, and think about things. Not only could we do that, she thought, but we should. It was called meditation - she knew that - but she did not consider that we needed a special word for standing under a tree and thinking. People had been doing that well before meditation was invented. There were many things, she reflected, which we had been doing as long as anybody could remember and which had suddenly been taken up by fashionable enthusiasts and given an unnecessary new name. Mma Ramotswe had been invited to a Pilates class in a local church hall; it would be of great benefit to her, she had been told. But when she had gone to the class and seen what Pilates was, she had realised that she did not need to pay fifty pula a session to do the things that she had been doing for years anyway; lifting and pushing and stretching your muscles was nothing new; she did all of those things when she worked in her garden... - from the chapter "Pilates With Cake."Of course, we don't read No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency stories for their "mysteries." We read them for the indefatigable good humor and faith in human nature (especially Botswanan human nature) expressed in the philosophizing of Mma Precious Ramotswe, the agency's founder. Philosophizing which often occurs as she is traveling the roads of Gaborone in her faithful little van.The mysteries investigated by this unique agency are always the everyday mysteries of human life in Gaborone, Botswana. This time a kindhearted brother and sister request Mma Ramotswe's assistance in helping a woman, who is supposedly suffering from amnesia, to find out who she is. They claim that she turned up at their home without any identification and that she could remember nothing about herself. But when Mma Ramotswe and her new co-director Grace Makutsi visit the home, Precious notices a clue which leads her to think that the story may be a bit more complicated.Meanwhile, Grace Makutsi seems to have been energized by her new role of motherhood and by being "promoted" to co-director of the detective agency. She is ready to take on new challenges. She wants to become an entrepreneur and in the pursuit of that goal, she decides to open a restaurant with the help of her husband Phuti's financial backing. In inimitable Makutsi fashion, she names her restaurant "The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe" because she believes that will attract Gaborone's most fashionable diners. She has much to learn about running a restaurant, hiring and managing a staff, and ensuring good service to her customers. Disaster threatens but friends come to her rescue.Next door to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors is also facing some hard decisions. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni must finally acknowledge that he is only able to pay one apprentice mechanic. Thus, one of the young men who has worked for him for many years and is like part of the family must be let go. And that young man does not take his dismissal well. Consequently, Precious makes a decision of her own - she will take on an "apprentice detective"!This fifteenth entry in the series has all the elements that we fans have come to treasure over the years. Primarily, it has the sympathetic, loving character of the traditionally built proud woman of Botswana Precious Ramotswe. Spending time with her once again as she ponders over why a woman would pretend to have lost her memory, how to tactfully help a proud friend who perhaps does not realize what trouble she is in, and how to offer a way forward to a feckless but good-hearted young man who seems to have run out of options is like being warmly embraced once again by a dear friend after a long separation.Alexander McCall Smith's writing in these books seems absolutely effortless. The stories seem to flow organically. I suspect that that illusion of effortlessness is just that - an illusion - and that he works quite hard at getting the atmosphere and the iconic speech patterns of the characters just right. As a devoted reader, I am glad that he chooses to make that effort.

The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe is the fifteenth installment in Alexander McCall Smith's popular No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I've read them all and each new book is like spending an afternoon with an old friend.PLOT- The title of the book, The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe, is in reference to Grace Makutsi's latest business venture as a restauranteur. She is still working as a recently promoted co-owner of the detective agency, but her marriage has made her a wealthy woman with new ambitions. On the opposite end of the financial spectrum, is Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. His garage is seeing less business and he must make the tough decision to let-go of his apprentice, Charlie. Mma Ramotswe comes up with a plan to help Charlie out, by selling off her cattle to pay for him to work as an assistant detective. The agency is struggling to solve their latest case involving the identity of an Indian woman with amnesia.LIKE - This series gets better with every book and I think that is owed to the rich and wonderful characters that Smith has created. There is a sweetness and moral to every story, but it is never preachy. Last month, while I was on jury duty, I was discussing the series with a fellow juror and Smith fan. The conclusion that we drew as to why we found the stories so endearing, is that they always left us with the warm fuzzies. The world needs more books that leave you with the warm fuzzies.DISLIKE- Nothing to dislike, but I did miss the "Africa" repetition at the end. Where was it? I'm so used to it closing all of the stories and it was missed.RECOMMEND- Yes. If you're a fan of the series, it's a must. If you haven't read the series...what's wrong with you? Get to a bookstore immediately!Like my review? Check out my blog!

I love reading these books when I am feeling anxious, they are so soothing!

A M S's humorous writing is enjoyable for all ages.

Ich liebe die No.1 Ladie's Detective Agency Serie und lese die Bücher am liebsten auf Englisch. Der Preis ist sehr günstig, das Buch sehr gut.

I like No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and have been a fan of the series for some years now.This book has all the right ingredients and it made me laugh out loud at many places. But the mystery part is almost missing which is why I'm giving it only 3 stars.If you are going to start reading the series then this book is not the right one to start with.

La detective Ramotswe è sempre alle prese con indagini e tanti problemi familiari. Questi racconti sono sempre gradevoli, anche se gli ultimi hanno meno mordente dei precedenti. Le stelle sono giustificate dall'essere una fan di A. McSmith