Alexander McCall Smith

'The Kalaharl Typing School for Men' is the fourth novel in the widely acclaimed No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Following on from 'Morallty for Beautiful Girls' we find Precious Ramotswe, the founder of Botswana's only detective agency now running her business from the garage of her fiance, that most gracious of men, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. Having recovered from his illness, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is back at the helm of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors,...

Alexander McCall Smith captures the goings on of the residents and visitors at Corduroy Mansions, Pimlico, from nasty Liberal Democrat MP Oedipus Snark to the newest resident, Pimlico Terrier Freddie de la Hay.

Welcome to the insane and rarified world of Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute of Romance Philology. Von Igelfeld is engaged in a never-ending quest to win the respect he feels certain he is due—a quest which has the tendency to go hilariously astray.
 
In Unusual Uses for Olive Oil, von Igelfeld experiences a series of new adventures.  First, he finds that his academic rival Detlev-Amadeus...

"From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a new short story collection: half spy stories, half tales of revenge, all highlight the kinder, funnier, and gentler side of espionage and retribution. In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself--quite...

Professor Dr. von Igelfeld Entertainment - Book 3

The Professor Dr. von Igelfeld Entertainment series slyly skewers academia, chronicling the comic misadventures of the endearingly awkward Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, and his long-suffering colleagues at the Institute of Romantic Philology in Germany.

Readers who fell in love with Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,...

"From one of our most beloved and best-selling authors: a hilarious new stand-alone novel about one man's misadventures in travel and romance in the Italian countryside. When writer Paul Stewart heads to the idyllic Italian town of Montalcino to finish his already overdue cookbook, he expects it to be the perfect escape from stressful city life. But when he arrives, things quickly take a turn for the worse. His hired car is nowhere to be found, and...

Newlywed painter and sometime somnambulist Angus Lordie might be sleepwalking his way into trouble with Animal Welfare when he lets his dog Cyril drink a bit too much lager at the local bar. The longsuffering Bertie, on the cusp of his seventh birthday party, has taken to dreaming about his eighteenth, a time when he will be able to avoid the indignity of unwanted girl attendees and the looming threat of a gender-neutral doll from his domineering...

"Precious Ramotswe learns valuable lessons about first impressions and forgiveness in this latest installment of the beloved and best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are approached by their part-time colleague, Mr. Polopetsi, with a troubling story: a woman, accused of being rude to a valued customer, has been wrongly dismissed from her job at an office furniture store. Never one to let an act of injustice...

"The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is moving to the fall! In the latest book in the beloved best-selling series of mysteries set in Botswana, Mma Ramotswe is asked to help the proprietor of the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, who is having trouble with her business. The salon has suffered some unfortunate events, including face cream that burns the skin. Could someone be trying to put the salon out of business? Meanwhile, on the home front,...

Investigating her latest case, Mma Ramotswe has to trek to a game preserve, where she rediscovers the breathtaking beauty of her beloved Botswana. She is there to uncover the truth about an elderly American traveller whose safari proved to be his last journey. What she discovers is a surprise to everyone concerned. Meanwhile, problems are also brewing back at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Mma Makutsi has instituted the Complaint Half Hour in...