Book review: The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith

The thirteenth book I read in 2016 was The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, the sixteenth book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith.

I was a bit let down for the first time by the previous book in the series, and for a while I thought I was going to have a bone to pick with this one as well. The premise is that Mma Makutsi persuades Mma Ramotswe to take her first vacation from the business.  At loose ends and not knowing what to do with the time on her hands, Mma Ramotswe begins to suspect both that Mma Makutsi is plotting to take over the agency permanently and that she is badly botching the case under investigation.

Despite appearances, however, the friendship and mutual respect between the two women ends up stronger than ever.  During her vacation, Mma Ramotswe also runs afoul of a extorting street urchin, delivers him out the control of the guardian using him to collect pocket-change amounts of protection money to Mma Potokwane's orphan farm, and even manages to orchestrate a reunion with his sole surviving family member.