Opening paragraphs............................

"Mma Ramotswe had a detective agency in Africa, at the foot of Kgale Hill.  These were its assets:  a tiny white van, two desks, two chairs, a telephone, and an old typewriter.  Then there was a teapot, in which Mma Ramotswe - the only lady private detective in Botswana - brewed redbush tea.  And three mugs - one for herself, one for the secretary, and one for the client.  What else does a detective agency really need?  Detective agencies rely on human intuition and intelligence, both of which Mma Ramotswe had in abundance.          No inventory would ever include those, of course."
-Alexander McCall Smith,  The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency