Date Published: 3rd September 2026

The wait is over – The Big Cats Dance Party is published today and Mma Ramotswe is back at the top of the ‘to read’ piles in bedrooms across the land.

The latest despatch from Botswana is certainly full of events, even if it starts with a leisurely trip to buy a pair of shoes as a birthday present for Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. As often happens in Mma Ramotswe’s world, one thing leads to another, and we are soon caught up in an ill-thought-out plan hatched by Charlie, junior mechanic and enthusiastic trainee detective.

Charlie has met up with two rising stars of the local musical world – jazz players known to their public as Lion and Leopard. He is keen to plan a big event with them, even though Mma Makutsi sees nothing but disaster ahead.

Mma Ramotswe would like to keep an eye on the situation, but she has to go up north, to the wilds of the Okavango Delta, where her friends at an elephant sanctuary are battling with a campaign being waged against them. Mma Ramotswe’s help is needed and, of course, is given with all the generosity of spirit that illuminates her character.

The Big Cats Dance Party is published today and the previous book in the serious, In the Time of Five Pumpkins, is now available in paperback. It is a bumper Botswana season!