 First edition cover, Polygon Press | |
| Author | Alexander McCall Smith |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Design: Barrie Tullett & James Hutcheson; photo: Sandy Grant |
| Language | English |
| Series | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series |
| Genre | Detective, Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Polygon Books |
Publication date | 2004 |
| Publication place | Scotland |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback), Audio (Cassette & CD) |
| Pages | 231 hardback |
| ISBN | 1-904598-06-4 |
| OCLC | 56356719 |
| Preceded by | The Full Cupboard of Life (2004) |
| Followed by | Blue Shoes and Happiness (2006) |
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies is the sixth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.
Work and personal worries, and the reappearance of her cruel first husband, threaten the happiness of Mma Ramotswe and her new husband Mr JLB Matekoni. Her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and a new employee to whom Mma Ramotswe has been kind, are determined to repay their debt of gratitude by helping her in their turn. With diligent detective work, her problems are overcome. Mma Makutsi herself finds love at last.
The author received recognition for this series in 2004 with the Dagger in the Library from the Crime Writers Association and Author of the Year from British Book Awards. This novel received mixed reviews. One newspaper found the writing to create "an utter and truthful sense of place, of belonging" while another found the story lacking in interest. The first printing was 101,000, compared to 2,000 or fewer for the earlier novels, in response to the interest in the United States and in England. Sales of all books in the series, in English, exceeded five million.