https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3640C4OKK37JU/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00XNJEH18
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1916068688?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Mma Ramotswe, founder and owner of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Gabarone, Botswana, sat in her office, a steaming cup of redbush tea in front of her. Her former secretary and now colleague, Mma Makutsi, was busy at her own desk. ‘Mma,’ said Mma Ramotswe. ‘I have some news.’
‘You have some news, Mma? What is this news? I hope it is good news.’
‘It is about Mr Alexander McCall Smith. He has written another book about us. It is the sixteenth book.’
‘Ow!’ said Mma Makutsi. ‘Sixteen books! That is a lot of books, Mma. I think Mr Alexander McCall Smith is a very clever man. It is very clever to write sixteen books about the same people.’
‘Yes. Mr Alexander McCall Smith is a very clever man. He writes many other books as well.’

Mma Ramotswe reflected for a while on how it all began. After her beloved daddy Obed Ramotswe, that great judge of cattle, had become late, she had been very sad. But she had bought her house on Zebra Drive and started her own business. Later she had married that good and kind man, Mr J L B Matekoni, proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. There had been many cases since that time. She sighed. Those were exciting days. But now?
‘I have been thinking, Mma,’ she said.
‘Yes? What have you been thinking, Mma Ramotswe? Have you been thinking about the sixteen books?’
‘I have been thinking that there is nothing more to say. That is what I am thinking.’
‘What are you saying, Mma? Are you saying there is nothing more to say about us?’
‘Yes, that is what I am saying. That there is nothing more to say.’
‘I think you are right, Mma. Sometimes there is nothing more to say about a thing. That is well known.’

Mma Ramotswe drank her tea. Outside, the sun beat down. Soon there would be rain. The grass would grow and the cattle would feed. Life would go on.

Thousands of miles away, callmemadam was reading the book the ladies had been discussing. ‘I think it is time for this series to end,’ she thought. ‘That is what I think.’

I read this book courtesy of NetGalley.

This is the 16th No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency book, and by now we know exactly what we're going to get: a slow, slow narrative pace; gentle, humane musings; celebrations of goodness and human warmth and some quiet detective work on cases both amusing and serious. This doesn't disappoint.

The plot, for all it matters, revolves around Mma Ramotswe taking a holiday, leaving Mma Makutsi in charge of the agency. Needless to say, this doesn't sit well with Mma Ramotswe and she soon takes responsibility for a young street-boy and becomes involved in a case…and you know the rest, really. Our favourite characters all feature, including a small role from the wonderful Mr. J. L. B Matekoni and, of course, the dastardly Violet Sephotho. The ending made me well up a bit, as it always does no matter how I resist.

In among Mma Ramotswe's general, digressive musings on life and goodness is this, which seemed to me to have an especial resonance at the moment:
"Truth had a way of coming out on top – and it was just as well for everybody that it did. If there ever came a day when truth was so soundly defeated that it never emerged, but sank, instead, under the sheer volume of untruth that the world produced, then that would be a sad day for Botswana and for the people who lived in Botswana. It would be a sad day for the whole world, that day."

In short, this is yet another very good Mma Ramotswe book; if you've liked the others you'll like this.

It is always good to have a new Precious Ramotswe and to find out what the women (and the men, following meekly in their wake...) are up to. If you are a lover of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency you will know what to expect, and this doesn't disappoint.

Another lovely tale from the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. All the characters, the same gentle pace, an interesting plot, and of course it's beautifully written. I was expecting Mma Makutsi to be further developed and play a larger role, so I do feel there was a potential missed opportunity to go in a different direction with this one, but personally I am glad it was left just how it was.

I believe I've read 16 of these books and am still as 'hooked' as I was with the first!
In this instalment Mma Ramotswe takes a well earned holiday, but will she allow Mma Makutsi to take the reigns and investigate a tricky case that comes to the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in her absence? And if she does, how will Mma Makutsi cope - what could go wrong? Well, not a huge lot to be honest, this is Botswana after all, but that's what I love about these books, we meander alongside all the old stalwarts (Mr J.L.B Matekoni, Mma Potokwani, Mr Polopetsi, Charlie) enjoying their cups of Redbush Tea, pieces of cake and occasional detective work.

Alexander McCall Smith has a superpower, with humility and gentle humour he brings tranquility, peace and such a positive view of life to his writing that once you have finished one book you instantly crave the next one.