The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall SmithMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb - At a remote cattle post south of Gaborone two cows have been killed, and Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s No. 1 Lady Detective, is hired by fearful client, himself a suspect. She and secretary Grace Makutsi, wooed by Phuti Radiphuti, both see her old white van. Mr J.L.B. Matekoni’s apprentice runs away under pressure to wed. Violet Sephotho runs for the Botswana Parliament.
A pleasant enough read, engaging, full of those little Mma Ramotswe tidbits about life and the pursuit of happiness, while making due with what one has rather than envying what a neighbor has. This story was, in some aspect, about secrets people keep and the lies people tell others and the lies they tell themselves.
In this book, Mma Makutsi is on the cusp of her wedding. She finds, buys, and then ruins a beautiful and expensive pair of shoes. Does she tell her fiance about how she ruined an expensive pair of shoes? Charlie the apprentice is accused of neglecting the mother of his twins. Mma Ramotswe's client is baffled and angry over the death of two cattle. As she investigates, she finds an ill-used housekeeper, her young son is the the cow-herd boy, and her client in a long standing argument with the neighbor over a broken fence and straying cattle. A most perplexing conundrum.
Within all of this Mma Ramotswe's beloved white van reappears in Gaborone - Mma Ramotswe begins to plot how to get her white van back, even if it means trading the newer van for the older.
The individual plots were well woven and intertwined in this book, and the chapters flowed seamlessly from one to the other. An easy read, perfect for an afternoon at the beach or on the couch during a rainy day.
Recommended if you've read the previous books in the series.
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