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I am not an authority on detective stories. I've read a little Sherlock Holmes, but I've only seen Agatha Christie through the eyes of the BBC. But when I pick up books from this series and always see the New York Times Book Review quote on the front, "The Miss Marple of Botswana," I start to think that Mma Ramotswe belongs in the discussion � not because she fits the mold, but because she seems to offer a different perspective within the genre.

In a sense, I think these are classic detective stories. Precious Ramotswe runs an agency, and she generally solves everything that comes her way. And like most classic detectives, she is somewhat no-nonsense. Mma Ramotswe's favorite reference on private detection says, "There is very little drama in our calling; rather a process of patient observation, deduction, and analysis."

But these stories are not so mystery-driven. They are more character-driven. We don't get the classic Poirot confined-space interrogations, clues, and revelations. There aren't the great twists and turns of plot. And Mma Ramotswe doesn't seem to solve any puzzles using extraordinary skills of observation or show of brilliance. What she does instead is embody a reasoned approach to solving cases, and embody a traditional African morality. Character is not a red herring in these stories. Character is the driving force and generally determines guilt. A typical insight of Mma Ramotswe is to say, "There was the old Botswana morality, which was simply right. If a person stuck to this, then he would be doing the right thing and need not worry about it. ... Most morality was about doing the right thing because it had been identified as such by a long process of acceptance and observance."

I think this is something that makes these stories particularly compelling. She's the anti-Holmes in that she is fallible and ordinary. But she is also thoughtful, reasonable, and unabashedly traditional. (In fact, she is "traditionally built.") And her intuition is generally right, leading her to ask the right questions of the right people.