Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6074 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-04
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Synopsis
For philosophically minded Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, getting through life with a clear conscience requires careful thought. And with the arrival of baby Charlie, not to mention a passionate relationship with his father Jamie, fourteen years her junior, Isabel enters deeper and rougher waters. Late motherhood is not the only challenge facing Isabel. Even as she negotiates a truce with her furious niece Cat, and struggles for authority over her son with her formidable housekeeper Grace, Isabel finds herself drawn into the story of a painter's mysterious death off the island of Jura. Perhaps most seriously of all, Isabel's professional existence and that of her beloved Review come under attack from the machiavellian and suspiciously handsome Professor Dove. A master storyteller whether debating ethics in Edinburgh or pursuing lady detectives in Africa, here Alexander McCall Smith is as witty and wise as his irresistibly spirited heroine.

Customer Reviews

A delightful read
I'm not keen on McCall Smith's Ladies Detective Agency series, but found this a charming and enjoyable book. If I hadn't known that the author was male I would have guessed that the book was written by a woman as it is so insightful into women's attitudes and feelings about relationships. His heroine, Isabel Dalhousie, is a delightful character and her quest for truth is admirable. There's an engaging amateur detective story that carries the book along. The author's background expertise includes philosophy and he enriches the book, through Isabel's professional and private musings, to raise various moral and philosophical issues. If you know Edinburgh well, all the allusions to streets and shops add a warm sense of familiarity and reality to the book.

More please!
I very much enjoyed the latest adventures of Isabel Dalhousie, a very modern woman indeed, philosopher, friend, lover and now mother too. It is refreshing to read fiction where a female is, for the most part, in control of her own life and makes decisions for herself. Perfect for a relaxing read. Looking forward to the next instalment.

An actual plot!
By now you know what to expect of this series, light entertainment and a little bit of Philosophy thrown in along the way. In its way it's as predictable as Enid Blyton and probably no worse for that.

This is very competently executed, if a little safe and this time something like a crime has been committed (at least). It potters along quite well, although the Isabel Dalhousie character still reads more like a cypher than a real character. The least convincing part of the book is the depiction of life with a baby - a small child turns your life upside down and it's well seen that AMS has never looked after children!

If you're a fan of the previous books in this series, you'll like this, but it's probably only for the real fans.