April | 2014 | Bookshelf Fantasies

There’s nothing like a Wednesday for thinking about the books we want to read! My Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday post is linking up with two fabulous book memes, Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Pen to Paper) and Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine).

My most wished-for book this week is:

Secrets of the Lighthouse by Santa Montefiore
(Release date: August 5, 2014)

Synopsis via NetGalley:

Set in Ireland on the wild coast of Connemara, this hauntingly romantic novel tells the story of a young woman who goes in search of her family’s past and ends up discovering her future.

Ellen Trawton is running away from it all. She hates her job, she doesn’t love the aristocratic man to whom she is engaged, and her relationship with her controlling mother is becoming increasingly strained. So Ellen leaves London, fleeing to the one place she knows her mother won’t find her, her aunt’s cottage in Connemara. Cutting all her ties with chic London society, Ellen gives in to Ireland’s charm and warmth, thinking her future may lie where so much of her past has been hidden. Her imagination is soon captured by the compelling ruins of a lighthouse where, five years earlier, a young mother died in a fire.

The ghost of the young wife, Caitlin, haunts the nearby castle, mourning the future she can never have there. Unable to move on, she watches her husband and children, hoping they might see her and feel her love once more. But she doesn’t anticipate her husband falling in love again. Can she prevent it? Or can she let go and find a way to freedom and happiness?

The ruggedly beautiful Connemara coastline with its tightknit community of unforgettable characters provides the backdrop for this poignant story of two women seeking the peace and love they desperately need. For each, the key will be found in the secrets of the past, illuminated by the lighthouse.

I love the lighthouse setting, and hope the ghost story aspect will be as good as it sounds!

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

At a Glance: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #1)

What it’s about (via Goodreads):

Precious Ramotswe in Botswana sits in the shade and ponders the wisdom of her cattle farmer father, observes her neighbors, and cares for employers and subjects with humor. A clinic doctor has two different personalities depending on the day of the week. A Christian sect member vanishes. A witch doctor may have the bones of a kidnapped boy in his magic kit.

And from the back of the book:

This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to “help people with the problems in their lives.” Immediately upon setting up shop in a a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is that of a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors.

What I thought:

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency has been on my “must-get-to-eventually” list for a long, long time. I’m not much of a mystery fan, and were it not for a couple of book challenges this year, I might not have picked this one up for a while yet.

In any case, I’m glad that I did. Precious Ramotswe is a charming, wise, and good-natured character, a strong woman operating in a man’s world, who holds her own and then some. She gets results for her clients — not through strong-arm tactics, but by using what she sees as a woman’s gifts: her keen observations, her patience, her understanding of people, and most importantly, her insights into what people ask for and what they really want.

Along the way, we learn a great deal about life in Botswana, and get a feel for the country’s rhythms, its people, and its landscapes. Mma Ramotswe loves her country, and through her eyes, we see its beauty and its pleasures.

The small mysteries Mma Ramotswe solves are puzzles of human nature, and her approach (which she credits both to Agatha Christie and to a private detective manual which she uses as a guide) is simply to follow her heart and her brain to figure out what all these interesting people are up to.

All in all, I’m quite glad that I read this book. The first in a series of 15 books (with more to come, I presume), The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency makes a great start by introducing a lead character and a setting that are both quite remarkable. As I’ve mentioned, I’m not normally much of a mystery reader, so while I don’t intend to continue with the series right away, that’s not a knock against the series, just a function of my own reading preferences.

For those who enjoy “cozy” mysteries and want to try an unusual setting, I’d recommend giving The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency a try. In its own understated way, it’s quite a fun and engaging read.

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The details:

Title: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Anchor Books
Publication date: 1998
Length: 235 pages
Genre: Mystery
Source: Purchased