Book lovers are invited to take a “Book Break” next Thursday, Dec. 18, at Richmond’s George Memorial Library and join the literary discussion of “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” by Alexander McCall.

African-born McCall is the author of more than 50 books.

The meeting will begin at noon in the library’s meeting room 2D. Those attending are invited to bring a sack lunch, if desired.

“The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” is a mystery whose lively and intelligent heroine, Precious Ramotswe, goes against any conventional notion of what an unmarried African woman living in Botswana should do. She spends the money she gets from selling her late father's cattle to set herself up as her country's first female detective.

After setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, follow a wayward daughter, uncover a con man and find a missing eleven-year-old boy who may have been snatched by witchdoctors. With only a detective manual and her instincts to guide her, a series of vignettes linked to the establishment and growth of the “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” are revealed.

The book club is free and open to the public.

Call the library at 281-341-2677 for more information.