Tears of the Giraffe

Tears Of The Giraffe is the second in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.

Plot outline

Mma Ramotswe has become engaged to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, the garage owner, but his rude and exploitative maid has other ideas, and tries to frame her for a serious offense. Mma Ramotswe helps an American woman whose son disappeared in Botswana some years previously, and deals with a paternity case. Mr J. L. B. Matekoni adopts two orphans, and Mma Makutsi is promoted.

Plot summary

Mma Ramotswe is not impressed with Mr. J.L.B Matekoni's maid, Florence, who has been sleeping in his bed with other men and not feeding him properly. The maid, sensing that the forthcoming marriage will involve her dismissal, attempts to plant a gun on Mma Ramotswe in order to have her jailed, but the maid's plan is foiled and it is she who ends up behind bars.

She also investigates a butcher's wife who is suspected of an affair, and discovers that the woman's son has - unknown to her husband - been fathered by another man who is paying for his private education. The resolution of this case highlights differences between the methods and moralities of Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi. Mma Makutsi has expressed her yearning to do detective rather than administrative work, and Mma Ramotswe promotes her to assistant detective (although also retaining her secretarial role). The solution of the paternity case proves to be the first test of Mma Makutsi's detective and diplomatic skills.

Mr J. L. B. Matekoni is maneuvered into offering a home to Motholeli and Puso, two orphaned children with a tragic past. He worries that this may affect his engagement to Mma Ramotswe, but she accepts the children and they both see potential in them, particularly in the girl, Motholeli, who uses a wheelchair but displays a real aptitude and interest in the work of the garage. A family unit begins to emerge.