This series follows an inquisitive and philosophically minded woman who finds herself at the center of mysteries in picturesque Edinburgh. Each case compels her to delve deeper into questions of ethics and human nature. With the help of her sharp niece and spirited housekeeper, she unravels complex murders, often with her own romantic entanglements adding to the intrigue. It's a charming blend of cozy mystery, intellectual contemplation, and a portrait of life in Scotland's capital.
* A charming and sophisticated new series from the Author of the Year from the British Book Awards, BA and Waterstone's Conferences, introducing a brilliant new female 'detective', Isabel Dalhousie.
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.
In "The Right Attitude to Rain," Isabel Dalhousie, a philosophical journal editor, navigates love and moral dilemmas in Scotland. After being hurt by her unfaithful husband, she seeks to improve the lives of those around her, including her housekeeper and niece, while grappling with her feelings for Jamie, her niece's ex.
* The fourth novel in the charming and hugely popular Sunday Philosophy Club series
* More delightful philosophical musings from Isabel Dalhousie, Edinburgh-based philosopher and amateur sleuth
Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher and amateur solver of other people's problems, meets an old foe, Minty Auchterlonie, at a birthday party attended by their young children. Ambitious Minty, now the head of a small investment bank, is in trouble with her shareholders. Isabel becomes involved, and is drawn into a murky world of financial concealment. Minty is not the only high-flier in Isabel's life; her niece Cat has just become engaged to a tightrope-walking stuntman. Isabel fears his next job - and the engagement - could end in disaster. Meanwhile, her own boyfriend Jamie has marriage in mind too . . .
Isabel Dalhousie, Edinburgh philosopher and curious observer of the behaviour of her fellow man, is approached by a friend at a local boarding school that is planning to appoint a new headmaster; an anonymous letter has arrived suggesting that one of the shortlisted candidates has a compromising past. But which one is it? Isabel is once again drawn into an investigation, and finds herself exploring dilemmas of human weakness and forgiveness. She turns to her fiancé Jamie for advice, but he too appears to have something to hide . . .
The eighth delightful installment in the ongoing saga of the life and loves of Isabel Dalhousie. As the editor of an applied ethics journal, Isabel Dalhousie is usually tucked away in her editorial office, in the comfortable Edinburgh house she shares with her fiance and their young son, and does not often meet many fellow philosophers. But while helping in the delicatessen owned by her niece, Cat, she meets Jane Cooper, an Australian philosopher who is spending a sabbatical in Scotland. Isabel learns that Jane needs to find out something about her past. Jane was born in Scotland but taken to Australia as a baby by her adoptive parents. She knows who her mother is, but her father's identity is still a mystery. Can Isabel help Jane unconver this important and potentially unsettling information? And in Isabel's own life, there is the ever-present question of marriage, and also the perennially difficult issue of her relationship with Cat, whose choice of men is as dubious as ever.
An unexpected appeal for help from a collector who has been the victim of an art theft threatens to take Isabel Dalhousie far outside her comfort zone.
From a small town outside Edinburgh comes the news that a young boy has been recounting vivid recollections of a past life: a perfect description of an island off the coast of Scotland which he couldn't possibly know, and a house there, where he claims to have spent his former life. When the boy's mother asks Isabel to investigate his claims, she feels she must help them learn the truth, and she and her husband, Jamie, set off for the island. But finding the house the boy described only leads to more complicated questions.
Like [Barbara] Pym, McCall Smith believes that the small stuff in life matters Scotsman
The latest novel in Alexander McCall Smith's much-loved Isabel Dalhousie series, which have sold over 1.7m copies
The thirteenth novel in Alexander McCall Smith's much-loved Isabel Dalhousie series.
