Product Description

Isabel Dalhousie thinks often of friends, sometimes of lovers, and on occasion of chocolate. As an Edinburgh philosopher she is certain of where she stands. She can review a book called In Praise of Sin with panache and conviction, but real life is...well, perhaps a bit more challenging - particularly when it comes to her feelings for Jamie, a younger man who should have married her niece, Cat. Jamie's handsomeness leaves Isabel feeling distinctly uneasy, and ethically disturbed. 'I am a philosopher', she thinks, 'but I am also a woman'. And more disturbance is in store. When Cat takes a break in Italy, Isabel agrees to run her delicatessen. One of the customers, she discovers, has recently had a heart transplant and is now being plagued by memories that cannot be rationally explained and which he feels do not belong to him. Isabel is intrigued. So intrigued that she finds herself rushing headlong into a dangerous investigation. But she still has time to think about the things that possess her - things like love and friendship, and, of course, temptation. The last of these comes in many forms - chocolate, for example, or seductive Italians...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6140 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 297 pages

Amazon.co.uk
If you've got the key to literary success, it is a risky business indeed to make an abrupt change of subject that may lose you some readers. Has Alexander McCall Smith done this with Friends, Lovers, Chocolate? After all, his much-loved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series has won him a legion of admirers, with its vividly evoked African settings, quirky plotting and (most of all) his likeable, 'generously proportioned' sleuth Precious Ramotswe. These gentle, indulgently enjoyable books were quite unlike anything else being published today, and found a ready audience. But McCall Smith, not content to rest on his laurels, produced The Sunday Philosophy Club, with a new female detective, the philosopher Isabel Dalhousie. This was a very different kettle of fish, with an Edinburgh setting replacing sultry Botswana, and more philosophical concerns replacing the homely adages. The book was a success, without seducing readers in quite the numbers that the previous series had done. And now we have the second outing for Isabel Dalhousie -- and Friends, Lovers, Chocolate bids fair to cement McCall Smith's new heroine in readers’ affections – though she’ll never replace Precious. Isabel is trying to deal with her uncertain feelings for an attractive young man, Jamie, who is planning to marry her niece, Cat. Things become even more complicated when Cat takes an Italian vacation and asks Isabel to look after her delicatessen. Isabel finds out that one of the customers has had a heart transplant, and seems to be accessing memories that he is convinced belong to another person. As Isabel digs deeper, things suddenly become dangerous. The appeal of the new book is (like its predecessor) more to the mind than the emotions, but it's none the worse for that. McCall Smith's brittle dialogue and situations are as entertainingly off-kilter as ever, and even fans of the ample Precious should put this on their lists. --Barry Forshaw

Review
'A wonderfully ingenious plot. McCall Smith writes with a delightful twinkle in his eye' TELEGRAPH 'A gem of a novel. Isabel (is) on wickedly intelligent and perceptive form' MIRROR 'Fascinating digressions, diversions and disputes ... roll on volume three' LITERARY REVIEW 'Another delightful read' WATERSTONES BOOK QUARTERLY 'Seductive stuff' DAILY EXPRESS

Mirror, Henry Sutton, 23 September 2005
'gem of a novel. Isabel (is) on wickedly intelligent and perceptive form’

Customer Reviews

Delightful!
A delightful sequel to "The Sunday Philosophy Club". It has an engaging plot and thought-provoking philosophical discussions - a real page-turner! The character of Isabel Dhalousie is further developed - she becomes more real, more human somehow as we read about her weaknesses and inner desires. Having lived in Southern Africa for many years, I became a big fan of the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series because I thought I could recognise many familiar elements in the descriptions of the characters, landscapes and so on. I have never been to Edingurgh or Scotland, and yet I didn't feel left out while reading McCall Smith's (or Isabel's) impressions of the city and the local culture. In fact, it makes me want to go there and experience it first hand. I can't wait for the third book of the series to come out!

Very readable ;plot slightly dominated by philosophy asides
With The Sunday Philosophy Club some would say McCall Smith has created in Isabel Dalhousie a sort of Scottish Ma Ramotswe. Physically, culturally and geographically they are worlds apart- but at their core is a deep and sensitive morality and an innate curiousity about their fellow humans.

Friends Lovers Chocolate has the slow but satisfying quality of its predecessor and promises an interesting scientific plot thread with a transplant patient haunted by what he thinks may be a consequence of cellular memory. Layered with this strand is the continuing story of Jamie, Isabel's young musician friend who longs for a relationship with her niece, Cat. Infused with this is the hint of an affair for Isabel herself with an Italian visitor called Tomasso. Unfortunately this latter sub-plot seems to be brought to a rather abrupt and slightly unsatisfactory ending.

All in all McCall Smith is still on form but as a chocophile I could have done with a little more reference to chocolate and slightly less of the philosophical musings!

Believable characters and a great story
This is a great read!

My reaction to the first book in this series was luke warm, partly because I did not feel that the lead characters had been particularly well developed and partly because the mystery was not sufficiently mysterious! However, this second instalment is a huge improvement and I enjoyed it very much. Isabel was presented as very likeable, honest and intelligent. The way she handles her feelings for Jamie make her seem very real.

There remains a philosophical thread to the story but it was subtle and interesting, as opposed to the rather name-dropping and slightly pretentious style of the first book. The storyline in "Friends, Lovers and Chocolate" is original and reflects recent scientific study into the unexpected effects of transplantation on the recipient. You get a real sense of excitement as the mystery unfolds.

The story moves along quickly enough to satisfy your need to know what happens next yet does not rush along like a cheap crime thriller. It shows intelligence but not affectation. If you are a fan of Mr McCall Smith I recommend that you read this book, regardless of whether you enjoyed "The Sunday Philosophy Club".