BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESS by Andrew McCall-Smith

We are back in the gracious company of Mma. Ramotswe, her family, and her friends at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana. In short order Mma. puts to right a series of life's problems with a dash of elan, a sprinkle of philosophy, a dollop of white lies, a spoonful of common sense, and a gallon or two of bush tea. When it is over the snake has been corralled, the fear mitigated, the blackmailer cowed, the medical shyster exposed, and a marriage is back on track. In McCall-Smith's world the villains just seem to melt under the beneficent umbrella of Mma. Ramotswe's "traditional" presence. God is revered; the sun bakes down, and our faith in humanity is renewed. It only takes an hour or two, but it is mighty good for the soul.