Talk of the week

Alexander McCall Smith is catching on. Or rather his serial detective, Mma Ramotswe is. Earlier this year,

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.'

Mma Ramotswe's world is more Miss Marple than Morse - she investigates marital infidelities and her weapon of choice is intuition tinged with gentility. McCall Smith - who is also vicechairman of the human genetics commission and a member of Unesco's bioethics commission - is interviewed by journalist Fiammetta Rocco. The Full Cupboard Of Life, the fifth book in the series, is published next week by Polygon, £8.99.