The Great Hippopotamus Hotel

Alexander McCall Smith, 1948-

Large print - 2024

"Mma Ramotswe never allows an act of injustice to pass unanswered. She is, after all, head of Botswana's premier detective agency, but that doesn't mean she can't use the help of Mma Makutsi and Mma Potokwane. Meanwhile, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has found himself in complicated circumstances of his own, requiring not a little of Mma Ramotswe's time and expertise. In the end, as each of these predicaments comes untangled, Mma Ramotswe draws on her goodwill and generosity to bring important truths to light: of friendship, honesty, and love"--

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LARGE PRINT/MYSTERY/McCall Smith, Alexander
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1st Floor New Large Print Shelf LARGE PRINT/MYSTERY/McCall Smith, Alexander (NEW SHELF) Due Dec 26, 2024
Subjects
Genres
Cozy mysteries
Detective and mystery fiction
Large print books
Published
[Waterville, Maine] : Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, a Cengage Company [2024]
Language
English
Main Author
Alexander McCall Smith, 1948- (author)
Edition
Large print edition
Physical Description
351 pages (large print) ; 23 cm
ISBN
9781420518689
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel, a once-thriving boutique hotel in Botswana favored by wealthy travelers, has declined sharply in the brief time since the niece and nephew of the original owner took over. Subtle signs of neglect are everywhere. Fights have broken out in the kitchen. Laundry has been stolen. And, worst of all, a case of food poisoning leveled a group of visiting international food critics. The manager, suspecting sabotage, seeks help from Mma Ramotswe, founder and owner of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in this 25th entry in the series of that name. Precious Ramotswe seeks to solve problems; not just criminal ones, but the kinds of real-life stumpers that her clients can't fix on their own. Longtime fans of the series will love revisiting Ramotswe and her comically ambitious assistant, Mma Makutsi, in their tiny office next to Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors Garage, where Precious' husband, a brilliant mechanic, oversees a couple of goofy apprentices. And they may inwardly gasp when Violet Sephotho, the man-manipulating villainess of the series, sashays into the plot once again. McCall Smith makes sure that new readers are well-oriented; they can start anywhere in the series and still get the full flavor of the rich characterizations, gentle humor, Botswanan atmosphere, and Ramotswe's wisdom.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Smith's breezy latest outing for Botswanan sleuths Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi (after From a Far and Lovely Country) finds the pair digging into the operations of a struggling hotel. While Mma Ramotswe is shopping for socks one afternoon, a man named Quick Babusi approaches her with an inquiry: the well-regarded Great Hippopotamus Hotel, which Babusi manages, has recently fallen into disrepair, with the kitchen causing a spate of inexplicable food poisonings and guest rooms becoming overrun with snakes and scorpions. Mma Ramotswe taps Mma Makutsi and her best friend, Mma Potokwani, to help with the case, and together, they uncover a conspiracy targeting the hotel's reputation. Meanwhile, a wealthy client asks Mma Ramotswe's mechanic husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, to procure him a new South African sports car, which Matekoni fears the man will use to facilitate an affair. As always, the sleuthing takes a backseat to Mma Ramotswe and company's dryly funny musings (many of them focused on middle-aged men's difficulties with aging) and Smith's evocative descriptions of life in Gaborone. Series fans will get just what they came for. (Oct.)

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