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Alexander Mccall Smith ListingsIf you cannot find what you want on this page, then please use our search feature to search all our listings. Click on Title to view full description
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Alexander Mccall Smith Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries)
Anchor 2006 1400077109 / 9781400077106 Paperback New
1400077109 From Publishers Weekly The second installment of McCall Smith's Sunday Philosophy Club series sports a charmingly meandering plot and winningly hyperverbal characters--no surprise to fans of Isabel Dalhousie's debut, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, or any of McCall Smith's 50-plus titles. Once again, Edinburgh's Dalhousie, intrepid editor of a philosophy journal, finds herself analyzing other people's problems when asked to fill in for her niece Cat, at Cat's gourmet food shop-cum-delicatessen. At the shop, Isabel meets Ian, who is haunted by visions of a man he comes to believe must be the murdered donor of his transplanted heart. As McCall Smith lovingly takes Isabel sleuthing across Edinburgh, the donor's stepfather (a man Ian has never seen) turns out to look much like the man of Ian's nightmares. Meanwhile, Cat's romantic rejects find their way, via the shop, into Isabel's social set, including former major beau Jamie, a classical musician who, though 15 years younger, becomes Isabel's confidant. A delicious mix of the unlikely and the tried-and-true, this latest cozy from an undisputed master will make readers feel just that. Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From School Library Journal Adult/High School–Isabel Dalhousie, the charming and well-intentioned editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, is back. She does not actively seek out trouble, but her inability to ignore those in need has a way of drawing her into peculiar situations. Her adventure begins when she meets Ian, who has recently had a heart transplant and is disturbed by a menacing face that keeps appearing in his memories; he and Isabel wonder whether there is any credence to the theory of cellular memory, and whether Ian could be recalling the person who was responsible for his donor's death. In much the same way that The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series opens a door to the dusty roads of Botswana, this one allows readers to experience the long, sunny days of a Scottish summer. The history and charm of Edinburgh are apparent in the detailed descriptions of the cobblestoned streets Isabel walks as she contemplates philosophical questions and attempts to make sense of Ian's issues as well as her own sudden romantic interest in a much younger friend and recent fianc? of her niece. The characters and plots are thoughtful and thought-provoking, and will stay with readers well beyond the final page.–Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Price:
3.99 USD
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Alexander Mccall Smith The Careful Use of Compliments (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries)
New York Anchor 2008 1400077125 / 9781400077120 Paperback New
1400077125 Amazon Review A Message from Author Alexander McCall Smith Three great places to visit in Scotland: The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh This gallery, housed in an extraordinary red sandstone building topped with spikes and twirls, contains a pictorial record of Scots over the ages--the handsome, the deluded, the unfortunate, the inventive--they're all there. Falkland Palace A lovely little palace in lush countryside, where the father of Mary Queen of Scots turned his face to the wall and predicted the end of the Stuart dynasty. The Isle of Muck You reach this charming little island on a tiny boat. There is nothing to do on the island but to contemplate its beauty--and its name. Note to readers: I would like to thank you for all your support. If it weren't for the encouragement this has given me, my long conversation with Mma Ramotswe would have ended far earlier. As it is, I feel that we still have quite a bit to hear from her – as we do, too, from Isabel Dalhousie, heroine of my Edinburgh novels, and all the denizens of 44 Scotland Street. Each of these series will have a new novel written this year, and I am also planning to revisit the three German professors of the Portuguese Irregular verbs series. I was in the United States in the spring this year and will return in the Fall. These visits give me the chance to meet many readers of these books, so if we have not yet met, perhaps we shall do so before too long. And if we do, please do not hesitate to give me your views on what should happen to the characters in the future: all (reasonable) suggestions gratefully accepted! --Alexander McCall Smith
Price:
7.97 USD
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Alexander Mccall Smith The Right Attitude to Rain (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries)
Anchor 2007 1400077117 / 9781400077113 Paperback New
1400077117 From Publishers Weekly The third novel featuring well-to-do and somewhat-nosy philosopher Isabel Dalhousie continues McCall Smith's exploration of the rights and wrongs of everyday life, with Isabel's thoughtful presence providing decidedly more intellectual punch than the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. When Jamie, a young musician, begins to show interest in Isabel, her stirred feelings threaten to overwhelm her even keel, throwing her into ethical crisis. To what degree are our lives dictated by biological imperatives and desires? Does the meaning of art arise from the art itself or its audience? Are white lies permissible, and if so, when? What does the well-off individual owe the homeless man on the corner? Out-of-town visitors to Edinburgh--Americans, no less--provide further touchstones for all manner of ethical mulling as well as the grist of the book's mystery: does Angie, a young, inscrutable woman betrothed to a wealthy Dallas bachelor, Tom Bruce, have her eyes set on true love or money? At times Isabel's intense dedication to mindfulness borders on the didactic, but love comes to the rescue, nicely illustrating the book's most important philosophical puzzle: how is it that people find real happiness, and what does it have to do with loving rather than thinking? (Sept. 19) Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From Booklist *Starred Review* Prolific Scottish novelist McCall Smith is best known for the delightful--and phenomenally popular--No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. His second mystery series, featuring Scottish American moral philosopher Isabel Dalhousie, is a charmer, too, and steadily growing in popularity. In this third installment, Isabel, fortysomething and well to do (her mother left her a sizable inheritance, much of which she donates anonymously to charity), once again finds herself in several ethical dilemmas. Houseguests from Dallas introduce her to an affable and affluent fellow Texan, whose flighty fiancee seems less interested in his character than his cash. Meanwhile, Isabel must come to terms with her feelings for Jamie, her niece's handsome former suitor. (He's 14 years Isabel's junior, but should age really matter when it comes to matters of the heart?) Isabel's predilection for passing judgment occasionally comes off as preachy, but her assessments of human foibles are both hilarious and shrewd. Even the most erudite among us can't always suppress inappropriate urges, advises Isabel, illustrating her point with the tale of a Cambridge classicist who vociferously opines on the girth of a visiting scholar's wife. Adding to the pleasures here are McCall Smith's wealth of heady references, from W. H. Auden and Robert Graves to Catullus and Kant. Allison Block Copyright ? American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Price:
5.49 USD
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Alexander McCall Smith The Sunday Philosophy Club
Abacus 2005 0349118698 / 9780349118697 Paperback New
0349118698 From Publishers Weekly Murder and moral obligation mingle in this whimsical new series from the author of the smash hit The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. McCall Smith's new heroine is Scottish-American philosopher Isabel Dalhousie, a single woman of independent means who edits the esteemed Review of Applied Ethics and presides over the titular club. When Isabel witnesses fund manager Mark Fraser fall from a balcony after a performance at an Edinburgh concert hall, she feels obliged to investigate the gentleman's demise. "I was the last person that young man saw," Dalhousie tells her beloved niece, Cat. "The last person. And don't you think that the last person you see on this earth owes you something?" Given her affinity for applied ethics, questions of conscience are a daily concern for Isabel, and the more she thinks about Fraser's fall, the less accidental it seems. Among those who might have pushed him: his shifty roommate, his colleague's scheming spouse and a disgruntled broker with a craving for cash. Fans of Botswanan heroine Precious Ramotswe are sure to embrace Scotsman McCall Smith's plucky new protagonist, who leads a cast of delightfully quirky characters that includes Toby, a dapper bachelor with a dubious understanding of fidelity, and Grace, Dalhousie's morally upright housekeeper, who sizes up society's reprobates in two syllables or less. Scotland's climate may be misty and cool, but McCall Smith's charming prose warms every page of this winning series debut. Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Bookmarks Magazine The Dalhousie series is "sure to be a second hit franchise," notes The New York Times. That may be, but it's currently suffering inevitable comparisons with the popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Sunday Club rambles along just as slowly and develops its sense of time and place just as whimsically. Still, something-maybe the charm?-is missing. This time, McCall Smith, a professor of medical law, examines both a mysterious death and moral responsibility. Isabel's ethical musings may bore some of us shallow folk, though McCall Smith's psychological insight fascinates. And, while critics liked Isabel, they didn't heap on the effusive praise they've reserved for the charming Precious (see The Full Cupboard of Life, **** July/Aug 2004). So, sit back, take a deep breath, and wait for the second installment … what's the rush? Copyright ? 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Price:
4.99 USD
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