In the Company of Cheerful Ladies - Alexander McCall Smith

Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful Botswana private investigator of ‘traditional build’, is finally married to Mr J. L. B. Matekoni of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, her detective agency is busy and life could not be better

Well it could, actually. If Mma Ramotswe hadn’t listened to a plea of particular misfortune, she wouldn’t have suffered her own mishap – a collision between her tiny white van and a bicycle. That unfortunate crash echoes another unhappy meeting – a clash of personalities. For her assistant, Mma Makutsi, has a spectacular disagreement with one of the garage apprentices. He is enraptured by a fast piece with a Mercedes, and everyone knows where that sort of thing can lead