Alexander McCall Smith, The Full Cupboard of Life

I get the sense from reading Alexander McCall Smith's Twitter feed that he is as humane and wise and civilized as his character Precious Ramotswe, who solves problems large and small in her capacity as the proprietress of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Gaborone, Botswana. In this 5th installment in the series, Mma Ramotswe is hired to look into the backgrounds of a rich woman's numerous suitors. Meanwhile, her colleague Mma Makutsi, relatively flush with cash from her new typing school business, is moving into a new home, which will have its own running water. And Mma Ramotswe cleverly but quietly outwits Mma Potokwane, indomitable matron of the orphan farm, who has gone too far this time in bending Mma Ramotswe's fiancé, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, to her will. As usual, McCall Smith's prose is simple and lovely, his characters rendered with great affection. And as usual one comes away from the novel refreshed, feeling better about the lot of man. It is the author's peculiar magic, making us feel this way.