The Colors of All the Cattle

The Colors of All the Cattle

ISBN: 9780525564263
Publisher: Anchor Books (Penguin Random House)
Publication Date: 7 May 2019 First published 6 November 2018 by Pantheon (Penguin Random House)

The Colors of All the Cattle is the nineteenth book in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

Mma Ramostwe’s friend will persuade her to stand for election to the City Council. ‘We need women like her in politics,’ Mma Potokwani says, ‘instead of having the same old men every time . . .’ To be elected, Mma Ramotswe must have a platform and some policies. She will have to canvas opinion. She will have to get Mma Makutsi’s views. Her slogan is ‘I can’t promise anything—but I shall do my best’. Her intention is to halt the construction of the Big Fun Hotel, a dubious, flashy hotel near a graveyard—an act that many consider to be disrespectful. Mma Ramotswe will take the campaign as far as she can, but lurking around the corner, as ever, is the inextinguishable Violet Sephotho.

Reviews

‘Amusingly revealing of Mma Ramotswe’s character… Smith continues to bring joy to his readers through his insights into the human heart.’
Publishers Weekly
‘Mma Ramotswe uses her good humor and generosity of spirit to help the community navigate divisive issues, and proves that honesty and compassion will always carry the day’
Good Reads
‘Readers familiar with this venerable series …will know that the race will be run in McCall Smith’s own patented tempo. But it bears all the quiet weight they’d expect before reaching a particularly appropriate ending’
Kirkus Reviews
‘an engaging trip into a world that is simpler and warmer than the one you leave behind.’ 
New York Journal of Books
‘For fans of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, there can be no prospect more delightfully chilling than a face-off between Mma Precious Ramotswe, owner of the agency and solver of people’s problems, and Violet Sephotho, man-stealer, cheat, schemer par excellence, and longtime rival of Precious’ assistant, Mma Makutsi’ 
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