Review by Toni:

There is no other word for this work of art for all the “little” people of the baking world who don’t have restaurant-grade kitchens yet want to bake as if they do!!

Dorie Greenspan is my brand new baking buddy!! The way that she speaks to you as you’re reading the recipe introduction, you feel as if she’s right in the kitchen with you, right next to you, just talking and spending the time showing you a fabulous recipe that will make you feel like a baking diva (or divo)!! I think that it’s the secret to her incredible success and since she’s written over nine books, you got to figure that she knows what she’s doing.

I first learned of Dorie specifically when she worked with Julia Child in making “Baking with Julia”; probably my favorite Julia book. The character of her writing is that of someone who has come to know and love the kitchen as much as yourself. She seems to gravitate to baking and make it as much a love of art as it is a love of creating. No wonder that you feel so comfortable attempting these desserts since Dorie makes them so accessible without feeling the need for intense training or bizarre ingredients.

The book itself is a grand adventure, as is its size; big and sturdy and printed just right with smooth pages holding glossy photographs and temptng treats of what will be; they are large and detailed so you know what to expect.

Her book is broken into:

Introduction

Breakfast Treats

A Cache of Cookies

Cakes of All Kinds (this was by far the BEST chapter; these are awesome with the “Celebration Cakes” called Devils Food White-out, Perfect Party Cake, Big Carrot Cake, Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake, Black and White Chocolate Cake, Tirmisu Cake, Berry Surprise, Chestnut Cake, Amaretti Torte, Chocolate Armagnac Cake, Ice Cream Torte, Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, Coconut Roasated Pineapple Dacquoise, etc)

Pies and Tarts

Spoon Desserts

Indispensables (basic recipes)

A Dessert Makers Glossary of Ingredients, Tools, and Techniques

I would love to print every recipe in this book but the index alone is over 17 pages of luscious and decadent desserts!! So for an example, I give you “The Perfect Party Cake” on page 250. Holy cow!! Wow!! More adjectives please!! It turned out EXACTLY as she promised and when you are first hit with the visual impact of this cake, you realize how important the right photography style is to any cookbook author. To feel that something that gorgeous can come from your kitchen and to actually be able to make it, does wonders for your zeal for baking. Every luscious layer of fluffy white cake that is followed by a delicate, thin layer of raspberry filling followed by fluffy frosting, you see it begin to take shape and height. You wonder if it really will be as good as it looks. But as you get to the end of the layers and you put on that last layer of frosting, then cover it in snow-flaked fresh coconut, you realize that you are one awesome baker and Dorie will be your new best baking buddy too!! It was a hit for its beauty and taste because when you cut into that first piece and see it in its red and white party glory…..wow!!

Yes, I know…………it’s just a recipe but is Michelangelo’s “David” just a piece of clay to art lovers? Baking makes you want to please the eyes as well as the palate and if you want to do it right, you want to learn from those who are the masters. Dorie is just that, but without all the pretensions and fanfare. She just loves to bake and this book is the epitome of her passion.

Dorie, Julia will always be the Queen Mother of the kitchen, but your pedestal is right by hers!! Thanks!!

Review by Laura Stokes-Gray:

Now here’s a baker after my own heart – Dorie Greenspan writes, “Some woman collect diamonds, I collect mixing bowls.” After achieving a Doctorate in Gerontology some thirty years ago, Greenspan decided that she really wanted to bake – and bake, and bake, and bake – and bake she did – and still does, almost every day.

This is a marvelous book (I give it 4.5 stars) – cogently written with great style and clarity. Greenspan walks you through each step as if she were standing with you in the kitchen – and there’s not a hint of pretense. So many cookbooks – pastry volumes in particular – have an almost punitive tone: “NEVER do this”; “ALWAYS do that”. While the chemistry of baking must be respected, I have never seen the benefits of terrifying the reader or quashing one’s creativity. You’ll find none of that in this tome (save for the admonishments regarding the purity of butter). Greenspan is friendly, approachable, and forgiving. Her own fearlessness, mistakes, and inventiveness have inevitably led to better results. No knuckle-rapping here! You’ll feel as if you’re baking with an old friend. If you’re a fan of the great Maida Heatter, you’ll appreciate Dorie Greenspan.

The recipes are more comfort desserts than elegant showstoppers (although the “Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, based on the famous “Paris-Brest” pastry certainly has the glam factor) – but any of them would be welcome at almost any gathering – from a family picnic to a black-tie celebration. The text fonts are readable, the layout friendly and navigable, and the photographs gorgeous (although some are titled and others are not). The permanent hard cover is identical to the dust cover and can be wiped clean. Many of the recipes contain a handy sidebar entitled “Playing Around”, giving alternative presentations and flavor variations, and serving and storing instructions are always included. The page on “Mastering Meringue” will help assure success every time. A “Glossary of Ingredients, Tools, and Techniques” appears at the end of the book that even seasoned bakers will find helpful.

There are a few inconsistencies. The “Table of Contents” is too broad (although the “Index” is easy on the eyes). A book on home baking ought to include at least some basic yeast bread recipes. Outside of “Brioche”, “Raisin Bread”, “Sticky Buns”, and “Kugelhoph”, there are none. This is really a “Dessert” book (including recipes for ice cream), not an all-purpose baking book, although there appears to be something for everyone in this collection of more than 300 recipes. No mention is made of the value of Magic-Cake strips, which eliminate the doming problem so often associated with layer cakes. In the instructions for “Lavender Madeleines”, Greenspan does not specify whether the tablespoon of edible lavender should be dried or fresh. In her recipe for “Perfect Party Cake”, the accompanying Buttercream frosting does not mention the need for the egg whites to reach 160 degrees. Although an explanation is given in the back of the book, redundancy is a plus when food safety is an issue. Overall, this is just nitpicking, however. This is really one nifty book written by a pro who loves to bake – and teach it as well.

With rare exception (edible gold dust, chestnut puree) recipe ingredients are easy-to-find items already in your pantry. Chestnuts and chestnut puree can be had in large metropolitan areas (Whole Foods, Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma, Trader Joe’s, King Arthur Catalogue) at holiday time and edible gold dust (an optional component) can be mail-ordered through the Internet. One obvious miss: there’s no “List of Sources” for equipment and ingredients – unusual for a volume of this heft and depth. Greenspan refers to “bakers’ supply shops” but doesn’t list them.

Whether you’re a beginner or an old-hand in the kitchen, you’ll love this volume of goodies. My own cookbook collection is substantial, but there are many books and authors I reject. This baby is a keeper and would make a wonderful and much appreciated shower, wedding, birthday, or Christmas gift.

One caveat: This is a big, heavy book. The trend these days is to manufacture books that can double as doorstops. Baby boomers who are developing arthritis don’t seem to be a consideration with today’s publishers. Gloss and semi-gloss enamel papers are heavy, too. Beautiful as they are, these Goliaths ought to be saved for the coffee table. I like to actually use my cookbooks – and lugging them around is getting to be a chore.

Review by Joann White:

I purchased this book after seeing the author on Martha Stewart. This will be the third book I’ve purchased in a 6 month time frame after seeing the author on her show.

Let me start out by saying the photos for this book were very well done. They are so enticing they make you want to bake something.

Whenever I purchase a new book I start out with something simple. In this case I tried the Irish Soda Bread. The recipe required 4 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of instant dry yeast for 6 cups of bread flour. I thought the ratio of yeast for this amount of flour was a lot but followed the recipe instructions.

The result was not good, the bread had a strong yeast taste and was dry. The recipe also called for raisins which offered not very much to the taste, as the yeast was overwhelming. Also, the instructions indicated to bake at 400 degrees F for about 1 hour, mine was done in 40 minutes.

I’m willing to try another recipe from this book and hoping that the measurements for the yeast was an error.

There are a lot of recipes in this book that you will typically find in a good baking book, that also covers ingredients, equipment and storage.

The recipe contents are quick breads (muffins, scones, pastries), cookies, brownies and bars, pies and tarts, cobblers, crisps and buckles, trifles, mousses, and pudding, cakes breads and foccias and savories.

Review by M. Moody:

This Cookbook is wonderful… if the pictures were any better, you might want to eat the pages they are printed on….

well detailed, well worded instructions… I love that it has Explanations for WHY they suggest using some of the methods they use for cooking…

Also the SoNO cheesecake recipe (starts on page 198) is beyond Wonderful

I made the cheesecake for Easter with my family

and everyone Love, love, LOVED It….!

If i love no other recipes in this book…

it was still well worth the $$, just for that cheesecake recipe alone….

It will be one of my fav’s for Years to come =)

Review by Susan:

I had the great good fortune of meeting Annalise about eight months ago at a celiac support group meeting. I had previously used a recipe of hers (available on her Foodphilosopher website) for angelfood cake. I was impressed with it and was really looking forward to the publication of this cookbook.

This is gluten free baking with no apologies. Annalise is a very wise lady, passionate in her quest for excellence in gluten free baking. She has gone into the kitchen and rethought how we bake with gluten free flours. The result is an amazing collection of recipes that can go anywhere with the wheat-eating crowd and pass as the “real” thing.

Texturally her products are moist and don’t have the grainy mouth feel for which gluten free baked goods are notorious. And taste – she points out in her introduction how much flavor wheat flour has, and then proceeds to compensate for the lack of flavor in the gluten free flours by carefully rethinking her porportions of fats, liquids and flavorings. The result is, product after product, items that not only look beautiful but truly taste delicious. I used to call the lack of flavor in a gf product the “dead spot” – something was missing in my gf baking, but I didn’t know what. Annalise’s recipes fill that spot completely.

I’ve been baking for over 40 years. I’ve been baking gluten free for almost 7 years. I’ve bought breads ready made, baked from mixes and from scratch. I have had the great pleasure of tasting Annalise’s breads, made by her own hand, on a few occasions at our local celiac support group meetings. These are outstanding in terms of crunch, crust and flavor. She has made a real breakthrough with her French/Submarine bread recipes.

I have personally baked the chocolate chip muffins, lemon squares and chocolate ricotta muffins from this book. They are all unbelievably good. I have had a wonderful time making her angelfood cake in the past, and have had the pleasure of helping her test out new recipes for cinnamon buns and a crumb cake. My family of five (three gf eaters) are all impressed. And my non-allergic daughter, who still can and does eat wheat, can’t wait for me to bake the crumb cake again – she probably ate 1/2 of the first one by herself.

A word of warning – while Annalise’s flour blend for cakes and muffins may look “traditional” to you, it is not. Don’t think that this is the “same old same old” – it is not. And, when Annalise advises using a specific brand of brown rice flour (Authentic Foods) in her blend because of the fine grind, pay attention folks! It really makes a difference in the end product.

Did I mention that Gourmet Magazine ran a November, 2005 article spotlighting her recipes? Go buy the book and bake all these goodies you’ve been missing. That’s what I’m doing for my family.

Susan

Northern New Jersey Celiac Support Group

Review by SusieQ:

When my kids and I were diagnosed, my first thought was, “How am I going to do this?!” I have always loved baking, and it’s something my kids and I would do together –they really look forward to our baking days. I really thought that all of that was over. And, WHAT ABOUT SCHOOL LUNCHES?! The gf bread from the store is disgusting, and it crumbles if you try to use it for sandwiches. Well, my kids have sandwiches in their lunch boxes, and we are back to our baking days, thanks to this FABULOUS book! I’ve tried many other gf cookbooks, and this is in a totally different league — an excellent baking book on par with conventional, wheat-based, baking books (of which I have many, as well!). Annalise, the Food Philosopher, has really devoted herself to studying gf baking and thank goodness for her! My kids can help me cut out Christmas cookies again. And, at their recent birthday party, we featured sugar cookies, chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, and chocolate chip pound cake — all to rave reviews from our guests who couldn’t believe they were eating gluten free. Kudos and many, many thanks to Annalise Roberts for her work! Seriously, don’t bother with any other gf baking book — you won’t find any that are better than this one.

Review by Elliot J. Marks:

Like most young people who bake today at home, I did not grow up learning from my mother or grandmother what happened when I added more flour or orange juice to a cake recipe. Without this knowledge, changes to recipes produce difficult-to-predict results. Though Ms. Figoni writes more for the professional pastry chef, her clear explanations of the chemistry of baking should enlighten the home baker as well.

I have used this book recently as I have tried to modify my American recipes while living in France. Before coming to France, I always followed my recipes exactly with pleasing results, but that is impossible in a different country, as various products are not always available. While for my regular cooking, this has rarely proved to be a problem, in pastries and breads, there is a complicated chemistry (particularly with products that rise) which can simply fail. Ms. Figoni’s book has proven to be extremely useful in trying to deal with differently milled flour, finding baking powder (knowing the chemical composition helped), and understanding substitutions of ingredients. More importantly, reading the book has given me a more profound understanding of baking, allowing me to improve recipes systematically rather than rather at random.

Review by Megan M. Vahedi:

Truly a scientific vision on everything that you ever need to know about baking. The information covered in each chapter are essential knowledge for everyone, whether an experienced bake or someone who is just getting started. I have been baking for many years, but after reading this book, everything seems to make a lot more sense to me. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in baking whether professionally or just for fun…..

Review by :

I never really used baking soda, until I’ve read how every day things could be harmful, from soap to household cleaners. This book is so informative, who knew that you could use baking soda as deoderant or that it could be a fabric softner, and a drain cleaner?I’ve tried many of the suggestions on this book and they work, they really work! Baking soda is not only for baking but for cleaning so many things. Baking soda works great as a fabric softener, I’ve tried it and my clothes came out very soft and much cleaner! Very informative, this book is small about 100 something pages, but filled with so many tips, its worth the money. Using baking soda as a cleaner is frugal and much more better for your health and the environment. Many household cleaners now contain chemicals that are toxic to the body; and baking soda is very environmental friendly, frugal, and fun to use, and it really works as a cleaner.

Review by :

I absolutely loved this book! I am searching for ways to live frugally while also saving time and this book offers many, many useful tips on ways to use Baking Soda for products I usually spent a fortune on. My favorite is the recipe for automatic dishwasher soap. I went from spending approximately .08 a load when detergent was on sale cheap to less than a penny a load. This is the kind of information I need. If you are wanting to cut costs in running your house, the savings from cleaning solutions alone will pay for the book several times over!

Review by MsFancyPantz:

I got this book and was very eager to jump right in – this would be 5 stars based on the photos, tips, and several of the recipes (the Devil’s food cake is the BEST I’ve made, it was simply perfect). BUT I’ve found several typos, 1st one is professional buttercream on page 45 – 1 1/2 cups of butter is not 1 1/4 pounds of butter. So the 1st time I made this I grabbed 3 sticks of butter and was confused on why my buttercream was gooey and did not set up, and I thought the mistake was in my soft-ball sugar which is the hard part, when it turns out I just didn’t have enough butter. There are also a few instances of incorrect page numbers when referencing side bars. I have only made a few things so far but but if you use this book just be forewarned of the poor editing and lack of recipe testing prior to mass release.

Lastly, the only way to really make sure your measurements are correct is to weigh your dry ingredients, especially flour, so I am actually disappointed that there aren’t more weights vs. volume and that I had to spend time doing math. I hate math.

Review by Corgi Lover:

I purchased James Peterson’s brand new humongous tome on BAKING a few days ago. It is wonderfully illustrated and clear in its instructions. It’s got me thinking I can do far more baking-wise than I’ve ever attempted before because the processes are so clearly broken down in steps. (Which reminds me of something often attributed to Julia Child: There are no such things as difficult recipes. Some just have more steps.)

The one complaint I have about the book – and to me it’s a substantial one – none of the measurements for the recipes are by weight. I believe this is a big mistake when so many recent baking books (including this one) talk about the precision of baking. There can be a meaningful lack of accuracy when doing measurements solely by volume.

To finish on the positive, I am eager to start working my way through all Peterson’s recipes and increasing my baking vocabulary and technique. There’s a huge amount to learn here and it all looks delicious!

Review by Rich/Rose Kish:

Having used this book on a weekly basis for the past year, I recommend this book to bakers at all levels. The book is a multi-contributed book, with Julia Child at the helm and aptly unified by Dorie Greenspan’s clear and engaging writing style. I spent the greater part of this year working on breadmaking techniques from the artisanal bread section – while techniques take time to master, I received a remarkable education from this book. The basic white bread and focaccia recipes are simple and wonderful to make on your own.If you’re serious about baking, this book provides the basis for your advancement into any number of specialized areas: breads, pastries, cookies, cakes, even chocolate. Not only are the recipes very well selected, but the photographs are gorgeously photographed by Gentl & Hyers (who also photographed Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Pie & Pastry Bible), including some very nice candid shots (mise en scene/mise en place) in the kitchen. I haven’t come across many other cookbooks of this calibre since.

The recipes range from the simplest Irish Soda Bread, to the most elaborate Glorious Wedding Cake. Not all recipes are as complex as the wedding cake recipe – this particular recipe contributed by Martha Stewart is one that seems oddly out of place in a cookbook. However – it is truly a great study on how tiered cakes are layered and put together, and decorated. (The wedding cake is essentially a dense almond pound cake, which can probably be scaled down to a much more manageable session)The “soul” of this cookbook comes from the section at the beginning titled “Batters and Doughs – The Basics.” If you never baked anything from the book, at least go through all 8 recipes once or twice. As the introduction notes, these are the building blocks upon which hundreds of pastry and cake recipes are based. If you can accomplish the following, you can call yourself an accomplished baker: flaky pie dough, choux paste, meringue, genoise (3 versions), brioche, puff pastry, danish pastry, croissant dough. I’ve recently accomplished the brioche dough, and it’s become a favorite quickly, as a simple loaf or as the basis for Pecan Sticky Buns.This book has a companion web site featuring the original television series “Baking with Julia” on PBS, complete with video clips of the bakers at work. If there was ever an opportunity to purchase all 39 episodes (with 27 bakers!) on DVD, I’d be the first on line… Bon Appetit

Review by :

Baking basic batters and doughs is the subject that is given the combination of expert skill and knowledge acquired in the culinary arts over years of experience. If you are an individual who thrives on instant gratification and does not want to take the time to learn the basic foundation techniques of quality baking then this book may not be for you. The book covers breads, cakes, and sweet and savory pastries. The instructions have carefully been written with great detail so even the novice baker can increase his or her skill level. Recipes range from the simple galette,which by the way is excellent, to a labor intensive but glorious wedding cake.A variety of techniques ranging from beginner level to accomplished baker allows anyone interested in baking to improve their skills. I have been working on my culinary skills for 30 years and own over 100 different cookbooks. This book ranks within the top 5 of my collection. It has allowed me to fine tune many classic techniques. My Brioche, biscotti,, biscuits, danish pastry and pecan sticky buns have been elevated to rival any quality baker. Culinary professionals like Flo Braker, Nancy Silverton, Marcel Desaulniers, and Marion Cunningham are just a few of the many talented and giving individuals who contribute to make this the qulaity book that it is.Dorie Greenspan’s writing skills set this book apart from others in that it is the standard from which all quality instructional cookbooks should be compared. If you want to learn how the experts bake and not have to leave your own kitchen to do it, this is the book.

Review by M. Curnutt:

I am so impressed with this cookbook. I’ve posted pics of some of the things I’ve tried out of it so far — the whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, the Spelt Flour Currant scones and the Sweet Potato Muffins (with buttermilk, yogurt and medjool dates). All 3 recipes I followed pretty much to the T, and all 3 came out just fantastic. Really, really good stuff. I can’t wait to try more of these recipes. It is so fun to work with the different flours, and apparently Kim put a whole lot of care and precision into making sure that each of these recipes works just right. I’m very, very happy with this purchase and can wholeheartedly recommend this cookbook to anyone interested in trying out baking with new types of flour. A+

Review by Alicia:

This book is gorgeous, and a great choice for those who are trying to add variety to their baking and sneak in some whole grain goodness. I admit to being disappointed though when I got it and realized that the majority of recipes call for a significant amount of all-purpose white flour. After all the glowing reviews I had hoped that somehow (miraculously!) someone had finally figured out how to make these delicious treats without it. She addresses this head-on at the start of the book and talks about the compromises she’s had to make to retain the texture and loft of the baked goods, but I hadn’t seen it mentioned in any reviews so I wasn’t aware of it when I purchased it online. I’ll still enjoy it, and look forward to happily making many of these delicious recipes. I’ll just make them less frequently than if they were “of” whole grain rather than “with” whole grain.

Review by Hui Khoo:

This is the baking book I have been waiting for! I own so many vegan books, and I am an avid baker, and this book has great potential to be my new favorite ! I have already bookmarked half the book for ‘to try recipes’!! Even my non-vegan friend read through my copy and was oohing and ahhing at every recipe

This has a fantastic variety of recipes: muffins, cookies, bars, cakes, pastries, yeasted breads etc. It even has a section for easy bake ovens for kids!! Too cool. Although I don’t own an easy bake oven, I want one now just to try these super cute recipes

To me, this book is a perfect balance of creativity and simplicity. Meaning the recipes are simple to prepare, ingredients are not too wacky at all, yet the recipes are still exciting and they have cute perky names! Flavor combinations are definitely interesting

I have already tried 3 recipes after getting the book yesterday! Everything turned out great!

Most recipes are based on soy yogurt (at least the cakey/quick bread recipes).

I really like this book and I plan to try almost everything!! I can’t wait!

Only critique is that some pictures here and there would be nice!

Review by CS:

I’ve been a big fan of Kris’ ever since she released her fantastic book, Damn Tasty Vegan, so it’s a pleasure to see her back with even more delicious treats in this fun book!

There is a strong dislike among part of the vegan community for baked goods that use egg replacer powder instead of, well, eggs, so you’ll be happy to see that Kris uses none of the stuff in here.

If I had to pick one favorite from this book, I’d have to go for the Nuts For Carob Bars. Now I know what some of you might be thinking, carob = yuck, but wait: this is actually the recipe that turned my strong dislike for the so-not-chocolatey powder into pure and utter love.

Parents of little ones (or people who appreciate smaller treats) will adore the section in which bite-sized recipes with tiny yields are offered. With choices such as Lil’ Yellow Cake, Lil’ Chocolate Cake, Lil’ Peanut butter Drops, and Lil’ Thumbprints, turn your kids into bakers-to-be by letting them tap into their creative side while having fun and spending time with you! A brilliant idea I haven’t seen in any other vegan cookbook yet.

Review by Jean Marrapodi:

I picked up this book anticipating it would be the story of a tribal cakebaker and was pleasantly surprised to find it was set in modern day Rwanda, in a culture dealing with the restoration of the mess left behind by the horrors of genocide and struggling with the devastation of the AIDS epidemic. It is the story of a professor’s wife in an apartment complex; a woman who is wise and compassionate, who hears stories and teaches lessons gained in her 50 years of living in an educated culture. She interacts with a variety of people: diplomats, prostitutes, single mothers, soldiers, neighbors; all needing cakes as their common thread, but all arriving at her doorstep with a different story. Many of their personal lives have been impacted by the war and it is shocking to realize what kinds of things people did to survive. Sure it touches on the typical womens issues: rape, abuse, prostitution, single parenting, even cutting. We don’t think about the individual aspects and the personal stories of war and AIDS until they touch us personally. She too, has felt the impact as she is raising her children’s children, as all were victims, and we watch her come to grips with that. She is a very real character, a great role model for older women in an enjoyable book.

Review by Lindsay Johnson:

I was once a devoted follower of THE NO.1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY series. I enjoyed the lighthearted mystery and the chance to catch a glimpse of a different culture through the eyes of endearing characters, but I have not picked up the last two books because I have found them a bit repetitive and formulaic. “Baking Cakes in Kigali” in some ways felt like the beloved McCall Smith series, but with fresh faces and deeper stories. Angel Tungararza, a cake maker from Tanzania, moves with her husband and grandchildren to Rwanda, and the story is driven by the people who come into her life to order cakes. We hear their stories and how their lives become woven together through shared experiences and acquaintances. The scars of atrocities in Rawanda’s past are acutely felt in this novel – Parkin fictionalizes the stories she heard while working there. She manages to discuss very serious topics such as genocide, HIV/AIDS (here simply called “the virus”), and female genital mutilation, but does so with respect and care.

Part of what I enjoyed so much about this book, apart from the wonderful characters that populate its pages, was that Parkin manages to address these potentially depressing, horrifying subjects while maintaining a tone of hope and renewal. This was a relatively quick read for me and I looked forward to picking it up every night. I was a little sad to say goodbye to these characters because I truly cared about their futures and found myself hoping that they would be alright after I turned the final page and placed the book on the shelf. This book has mass appeal and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.”