Now in its ninth instalment, Alexander McCall Smith's Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series is still a delight and shows no signs of slowing down.
This time around, Botswana's number one – and indeed only – detective, Mma Precious Ramotswe, finds herself investigating the heritage of a lady who was adopted at birth and knows nothing of her family. It might seem like a simple enough case, but in Africa, where resources are scarce, it isn't as simple as consulting a births, deaths and marriages registry.
Not that Mma Ramotswe would ever be so conventional as to rely on a registry. Her methods are far more humane – deductions instead come from observations and conversations with friends and strangers alike.
The Miracle at Speedy Motors is far less concerned with mystery than the previous eight books in the series. Here, Mma Ramotswe's husband, the ever-reliable mechanic Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, gets a much larger role searching for a cure to help their adopted, wheelchair-bound daughter walk again.
These touching moments between father and daughter display Mr McCall Smith's talent for capturing the human psyche and are far more impressive than clichéd scenarios such as the arrival of a poison pen letter addressed to Mma Ramotswe.
Mr McCall Smith has never been ashamed of using this series to express a yearning for the traditional way of life. His idea of a miracle, however, is something as subtle as the realisation that the world in which we inhabit is amazing in its simplicity – something not unlike that experienced when reading his books.