Tears of the Giraffe

infobox Book |
name = Tears of the Giraffe
orig title =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Alexander McCall Smith
cover_artist =
country = Scotland
language = English
series = The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series
genre = Detective, Mystery novel
publisher = Anchor
release_date = 2000
media_type = Print (paperback)
pages = 227 pp (first edition, paperback)
isbn = ISBN 1-4000-3135-4 (first edition, paperback)
preceded_by = The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1999)
followed_by = Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001)

"Tears Of The Giraffe" is the second 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 outline

Mma Ramotswe has become engaged to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, the garage owner, but his rude and exploitative maid has other ideas, and tries to frame her for a serious offence. Mma Ramotswe helps an American woman whose son disappeared in Botswana some years previously, and deals with a paternity case. Mr J. L. B. Matekoni adopts two orphans, and Mma Makutsi is promoted.

Plot summary

Mma Ramotswe is unimpressed with her fiance's maid, who has been stealing from him and skimping on her work. The maid, sensing that the forthcoming marriage will involve her dismissal, attempts to plant a gun on Mma Ramotswe in order to have her jailed, but the maid's plan is foiled and it is she who ends up behind bars.

Mma Ramotswe is asked to investigate the fate of an American woman's son, who disappeared ten years previously while working on an experimental farm. All attempts to solve the mystery have failed, but Mma Ramotswe's blend of local knowledge, instinct and compassion uncover the truth: the young man died accidentally; his death was concealed out of fear; and he left a son who can be made known to his grieving grandmother.

She also investigates a butcher's wife who is suspected of an affair, and discovers that the man's son has been fathered by another man who is paying for his private education. The resolution of this case highlights differences between the methods and moralities of Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi. Mma Makutsi has expressed her yearning to do detective rather than administrative work, and Mma Ramotswe promotes her to assistant detective (although also retaining her secretarial role). The solution of the paternity case proves to be the first test of Mma Makutsi's detective and diplomatic skills.

Mr J. L. B. Matekoni is manoeuvred into offering a home to Motholeli and Puso, two orphaned children with a tragic past. He worries that this may affect his engagement to Mma Ramotswe, but she accepts the children and they both see potential in them, particularly in the girl, Motholeli, who is confined to a wheelchair but displays a real aptitude and interest in the work of the garage. A family unit begins to emerge.