Tears of the Giraffe

Tears of the Giraffe (2000), a mystery novel by Zimbabwean-born Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith, is the second novel in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, featuring the investigative exploits of unflappable Botswana private detective Mma Precious Ramotswe. This installment finds Mma Ramotswe investigating two cases, both of which unexpectedly dovetail with recent changes in her own personal life.

The novel opens as Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, proposes for a second time to Mma Ramotswe. Much to his shock, she accepts. He spends a sleepless night after the proposal fearing that she will change her mind. In the morning, he telephones Mma Ramotswe, and she confirms that, yes, she will marry him, and they have lunch together at the President Hotel to mark the occasion.

But not all is so trouble-free in Mma Ramotswe's life. She is deeply suspicious of Mr. Matekoni's maid, Florence Peno, who not only does not keep his house clean but—unbeknownst to him—sleeps in his bed with her various male companions. Florence is aware of Mma Ramotswe's mistrust, so, to get her arrested and, thus, out of the picture, she plots to plant a gun in Mma Ramotswe's house.



Meanwhile, Mr. Matekoni struggles with an inability to say no to people. When the headmistress of the local orphanage asks him to take in two bush children recently orphaned, he agrees. Motholeli and Puso come to live with him, and he develops a particular fondness for the little girl, who, it turns out, both enjoys and has a knack for working in Mr. Matekoni's auto repair shop.

One day, a middle-aged American woman, Andrea Curtin asks Mma Ramotswe to find her missing son, Michael, who disappeared in Africa ten years prior. Mrs. Curtin believes that he has likely died, but she is not certain and would like Mma Ramotswe to find out the truth so Mrs. Curtin can have closure once and for all. With her recent engagement and the inherent complications of a decade-old missing person case, Mma Ramotswe is not thrilled to take on this job, but she agrees, immediately launching her own investigation into the mystery.

The trail leads her back to the college Michael attended at the time of his disappearance. There she crosses paths with Dr. Oswald Ranta, an economics professor lacking in both morals and decency. Mma Ramotswe knows his history of mistreating women because he had previously manipulated one of her relatives. Mma Ramotswe suspects Dr. Ranta has information about Michael's disappearance, so she uses his own tactics against him, wheedling and fibbing and ensnaring him until he reveals what he knows. Dr. Ranta confesses that, ten years ago, he had been secretly seeing Michael's girlfriend, Carla Smit, and that she was pregnant with Michael's child at the time. When Michael caught the two of them together, a scuffle ensued, and Michael fell into a donga, or ditch, snapping his neck and dying instantly. Dr. Ranta and Carla secretly buried the body and never spoke of the incident again.



Mma Ramotswe knows that Dr. Ranta and Carla should have gone to the police all those years ago, but it's too late now. Her ultimate goal all along was to help Mrs. Curtin find some semblance of peace and closure, so she agrees not to go to the police. She then makes a pitstop in Zimbabwe to meet with Carla Smit, who is now raising her and Michael's son. Mma Ramotswe convinces Carla to tell Mrs. Curtin the truth of Michael's disappearance and let her meet her grandson.

Shortly afterward, Mma Ramotswe runs into Mr. Matekoni out shopping with his two, newly-adopted children. Though it is admittedly odd that her fiancé neglected to mention his sudden acquisition of two children, Mma Ramotswe sees it as evidence of Mr. Matekoni's innate goodness and selfless nature. She is more than happy to have a ready-made family, and she invites Mr. Matekoni, Motholeli, and Puso to move into her home after the wedding so that they may begin their life together—as a family.

Later, Mr. Matekoni calls his garage and discovers that the police have arrested Florence. Florence's friend found out about her plan to plant a gun at Mma Ramotswe's house, and she dropped the dime and turned her in.



Another case lands on Mma Ramotswe's desk. The local butcher, Mr. Letsenyane Badule, thinks his wife is cheating on him. On top of that, his wife always seems to have enough money to pay for their son's expensive private school tuition. He asks Mma Ramotswe to follow her and find out what's going on. Mma Ramotswe's secretary, Mma Grace Makutsi, has developed her own interest in detective work, so Mma Ramotswe promotes her and has her trail Mr. Badule's wife. Mma Makutsi learns that Mrs. Badule is indeed having an extramarital affair—with a wealthy married man who is the biological father of the son she has been passing off as Mr. Badule's. This case tests both Mma Makutsi's investigative skill and her upstanding moral principles; she ultimately decides to tell Mr. Badule that his wife is seeing another man only as a means of getting money for the boy's tuition; she leaves out the information about the child's true parentage.

At the close of the novel, Mma Ramotswe, Mrs. Curtin, and Mrs. Curtin's grandson go for a walk. Mma Ramotswe presents her with the gift of a basket, explaining that the tears of the giraffe served as inspiration for the basket's design. Mrs. Curtin's grandson, who is an amateur geologist, notices the diamond engagement ring Mma Ramotswe and Mr. Matekoni bought together. To the dismay of Mma Ramotswe, the boy informs her that what they purchased is not a diamond at all…but a cubic zirconia.