Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
UK First Edition
Author(s)	Alexander McCall Smith
Country	Scotland
Language	English
Series	The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series
Genre(s)	Detective, Mystery novel
Publisher	Little, Brown
Publication date	2009
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback), Audio (CD)
Preceded by	The Miracle at Speedy Motors

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built is the tenth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.

Plot summary

Mma Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Makutsi agree that there are things that men know and ladies do not, and vice versa. The glamorous Violet Sephotho sets her sights on Mma Makutsi's unsuspecting fiance and it becomes clear that some men do not know how to recognise a ruthless Jezebel even when she is bouncing up and down on the best bed in the Double Comfort Furniture Shop.

In her attempt to foster understanding between the sexes and find the traitor on Mr Football's team, Mma Ramotswe ventures into new territory, with the help of an observant small boy.

Cases

Mma Ramotswe's newest client is the big-shot owner of the ailing football club, the Kalahari Swoopers, but the lady detectives know very little about football.

Themes

This novel is concerned with themes of loyalty, relations between the sexes and often the need to dig deep to uncover the goodness of the human heart.