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    Tears of the Giraffe
    Tears of the Giraffe
    Tears of the Giraffe
    Audiobook7 hours

    Tears of the Giraffe

    Written by Alexander McCall Smith

    Narrated by Lisette Lecat

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Precious Ramotswe is the eminently sensible and cunning proprietor of the only ladies' detective agency in Botswana. In Tears of the Giraffe she tracks a wayward wife, uncovers an unscrupulous maid, and searches for an American man who disappeared into the plains many years ago. In the midst of resolving uncertainties, pondering her impending marriage to a good, kind man, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, and the promotion of her talented secretary (a graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, with a mark of 97 per cent), she also finds her family suddenly and unexpectedly increased by two.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 21, 2003
    ISBN9781436100984
    Tears of the Giraffe
    Author

    Alexander McCall Smith

    Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the award-winning series The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and he now devotes his time to the writing of fiction, including the 44 Scotland Street and the Isabel Dalhousie series. He is the author of over eighty books on a wide array of subjects, and his work has been translated into forty-six languages. Before becoming a full-time writer he was for many years Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh.

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    Reviews for Tears of the Giraffe

    4.5/5

    105 ratings62 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Loved it. Narrator is amazing!!! If you have ever lived in Africa this series will fuel your heart. It’s so perfect and the stories are so well told. I am glad I stumbled upon this author and I can’t wait to read more!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I read the first of these novels some years ago and it has taken me quite a while to get round to reading this one. It was definitely worth the wait though. These are just lovely, charming stories. The characters are just perfect, so likeable. The descriptions of the sweeping African backdrop left me feeling like Botswana and the Kalahari are places I should definitely vist, Smith's love of Africa and its people comes across so clearly you can't help but devour these books.
    • 4/5
      Second of the series about Precious Ramotswe, the No.1 and indeed only lady detective in Botswana. Again, there are a number of short cases interspersed with a plot thread running in and out through most of the book, this time an American woman who wants to know what happened to her son ten years ago. The long thread typifies the book as a whole -- this is not a matter of life and death any more, because the mother accepts that her son is long since dead. But it matters very much to her to be able to find his body and have closure. There is also ongoing development of the relationship between Mma Ramotswe and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, as they discuss which house to move into, and the latter finds himself adopting two orphans. A gentle, heartwarming book that blends entertaining detective stories with wonderful characterisation and sense of place.
    • 4/5
      A fun series. It makes me want to up and go to Botswana!
    • 4/5
      Second book in "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series. Tired of the run-of-the-mill detective story. This is the series to check out. Loved the 1st book; adored this 2nd one. Simple detective work in a wonderful setting. Give it a try!
    • 5/5
      I really liked this one - even better than the first one. I was enchanted with the way the author intertwined the characters and events. A very touching view of Africa and its people.
    • 5/5
      The main story line, a cold-case entails an interesting revenge of a #MeToo man.
      Moral dilemmas in business and personal relationships.
      Also gives a sense of Africa and its indigenous people that I remember. A commentary on the changing times on those people.
      All mixed in with McCall Smith's heartwarming but plausible stories
    • 3/5
      I'm reading this series as I find the books, so completely out of order. However, this doesn't seem to be a problem. There's a very sweet story running through them about a romance with the main character, but it's not tumultuous or terribly intense, so events in the relationship progress slowly enough that I don't seem to miss much, even if I skip a book. The mysteries or issues the detective deals with are generally simply solved and not terribly tension-filled. The series, to me, is mostly about life in Botswana and the small instances in people's lives. Nice, mellow, rather sweet series. This book is no exception; good read for the bus.
    • 4/5
      I’m a bit behind in this series as this is only the second of what will, this year, be a ten-book collection. This installment begins with Mme Ramotswe and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni confirming their engagement. At the same time Mme Ramotswe is called upon to investigate the disappearance of a young American man some ten years previously and Mr Matekoni is assisting the local orphan farm to maintain its ageing machinery.

      If you have read any of these books at all you’ll know exactly what to expect. The individual annecdotes and events might change from book to book but the overall feel of all them is, I suspect, similar. There’s a plethora of homespun philosophy and wry ovservations from Mme Ramotswe although, in this book more than the first, Mr Matekoni’s personality and views on how the world is to be tackled are explored more fully. Both are truly delightful characters: the kind of people you would happily travel to the other side of the world to have a cup of tea with.

      McCall Smith was born in what was then Rhodesia and has lived in Africa on and off over his life. His love for, and understanding of, the continent is evident in every word of this book. The cadence of the dialogue, the vivid descriptions of the places and the traits exhibited by the key characters all combine to provide an utterly immersive experience. And, as with the first book, it paints a picture of Africa not often seen: a collection of happy, productive, proud people going about their daily lives with the same struggles, concerns and triumphs that people do the world over.

      This book contains a more cohesive several-threaded narrative than the first one which was more a collection of vignettes and I prefer the apporach here. However, the story is still gentle and can drag a little as there’s a sense of inevitability rather than suspense. If you’re looking for a heart-thumping thriller then I suggest you go elsewhere but if you can spare some time to relax and view the world from a different perspective I doubt you’ll be disappointed. For your investment you should get a few laughs, some intelligent food for thought, possibly a tear or two and, I can virtually guarantee this, you’ll feel better when you finish than you did when you started.
    • 4/5
      My favourite of the series. They are all very light reading but I find them enjoyable.
    • 3/5
      Disappointing second installment of the #1 Ladies Detective Agency focused too much on personal life and not enough on the work of the Agency for my taste.
    • 4/5
      Again - i find myself both charmed and soothed by the writing of Alexander McCall Smith. What a lovely world he has created around his character Mma Ramotswe. Reading these novels is like taking a gentle vacation with a good friend. My only complaint is that they are too quickly over!
    • 5/5
      This is the first of the series that I read and was immediately charmed by the delightful Precious Ramotswe. I was hooked and have been delighted to read every other book in the series.
    • 4/5
      I'm beginning to know what it is about books that appeals to me. Two of the things I love in books were present in this story: simplicity and the affirmation of the goodness of life. I am ready to read book 3 now!
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. The beauty of the writing is that it is deceptively simple and easy to read, but actually deals with quite complex issues.
    • 4/5
      What a fun book! So many things are happening at the same time, but somehow it feels so simple. :)
    • 3/5
      Very good read. Like the nice gentle pace of all his books read so far. Good descriptions of Africa.
    • 4/5
      A pleasant little diversion. This installment in the 'Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' series set in Botswana barely qualifies as crime fiction, but it's enjoyable on its other merits -- a gentle tone, good characters, and a strong sense of place.
    • 4/5
      I could not stop reading this book because I really wanted to know where the story would go and know the truth of the mystery. It is a detective story but there is much more to this story. I am so busy and have got lots of things to do that I can forget considerration for others. I think I should keep in mind that I cannot live without others.
    • 4/5
      This part flows better than the original work, with a greater continuity of stories. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni - Precious's fiancee brings home tow children from the orphange. This doesn't alter their relationship or impact upon the detective agnecy which still manages to outwit the male liars and cheats which apparently abound in Botswana. Still told in a wonderful charming style, full of social commentary - for example on Freud, 'why shouldn't boys love their mothers, this seems very normal thing to me'. A delightful read. The 'cases' are not difficult to solve but the personallities are wonderful.
    • 5/5
      If you read No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency you will appreciate the fact that Tears of the Giraffe picks up right where No. 1 Ladies left off. Someone on another review site called this next book in the series "utterly seamless" and I couldn't agree more. At the end of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has just proposed to Mma Ramotswe and surprisingly she accepted despite having refused once before. Tears of the Giraffe starts off with the happy couple planning their life together, downsizing their maid staff (which doesn't prove to be a simple matter), deciding who moves into whose house, obtaining an obligatory engagement ring...But it isn't long before the story resumes Mma Ramotswe's detective work. The very first case is an odd one. An American mother has come back to Botswana looking for her adult son who had disappeared from a farming commune ten years earlier. While she had thoroughly looked for her son ten years ago (when he first went missing) the recent death of her husband from prostate cancer has renewed the mother's need for closure in all aspects of her life. It's this case that threads through the entire book. The rest of the cases are small and are solved quickly. Tears of the Giraffe really focuses more on character development. Mma Ramotswe's secretary has a bigger part as does Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. In an interesting twist Mma Ramotswe makes her secretary a partner in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni makes Mma Ramotswe a mother.
    • 4/5
      Number two in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and my second to read, this book continued where the first left off in terms of entertainment, style, and light heartedness. And the sense of place, which I always love in a book. These books are easy reads, as much about the characters and location as they are about the mysteries to be solved, which is just as well, for the mysteries and ensuing investigations do not hold enough interest on their own. So fair to say that it is the characters and location that are the main appeal of these books. Important to say too that this series needs to be read in order. It might also interest you to know that the series has been made into a BBC TV series.
    • 4/5
      Great performance by the narrator. Fun and emotional and clever book
    • 4/5
      After reading the first book in this series I couldn't wait to read this second installment. Invariably in this situation I end up disappointed but I am happy to report that this was not the case here!. The descriptions of Botswana (which I would have skimmed over mercilessly in any other book) were as remarkable as ever and Mma Ramotswe was an even more engaging character than in the first novel.The storytelling style differs slightly in this book but I found myself pleased with the results. The stories of the cases in the first book were no more than vignettes really. In this second novel the cases have more depth and even take more than one afternoon for Mma Ramotswe to solve. I enjoyed this tweaked style a great deal.
    • 5/5
      Mma Ramotswe is my favorite detective (after Hercule Poirot). She solved the problem in a very elegant way, in a simple way.
    • 5/5
      A lovely gentle read. I love the characters and the lovely descriptions of Botswana.It has fuelled my desire to travel to Africa.I would highly recommend these books.
    • 4/5
      Precious is engaged and recieves moe jobs to solve. A wayward wife, an unsrupilous maide, and a disappearance of an American over 10 years ago. She also finds herself a mother of 2 orphan children.
    • 4/5
      I'm gaining more respect for McCall Smith's approach. It's light, undemanding, but absolutely not a waste of any time at all: he's working little bits of African history, African culture, philosophy, etc. through the whole thing, and he does it masturfully. I think this might be my go-to “I need a break, but don't want to feel guilty afterwards” series.
    • 4/5
      Smith has a talent for writing books that are charming, comfortable and filled with people you'd like to know. This book is one you'd just love to curl up with and be assured you'll not be grossed out, or offended in any way. A refreshing delight!
    • 5/5
      This second novel in The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series does not disappoint. Smith continues to provide windows into the Botswana culture through Precious Ramotswe's story and her agency's cases. Smith does a good job developing the extra characters in Precious's life, flushing them into their own main characters.I look forward to more books in this series.