another great book from the no. 1 ladies detective agency series. in this tale, mma ramostwe is asked to investigate the poisoning of a great official's brother. meanwhile, her assistant detective and trusty secretary, mma makutsi, investigates a beauty pageant to make sure that the girls who are participating are of the best kind of people: loving, caring, and respectful. each case has its issues, problems, and pitfalls. thankfully the storytelling is right on par with the rest of mccall smith's novels. i enjoyed this one as much as the others!