The Charming Quirks of Others

August 16, 2010
While Smith’s seventh novel featuring Scottish philosopher and woman of means Isabel Dalhousie (after The Lost Art of Gratitude) doesn’t break new ground, the author’s many fans will be more than satisfied to follow the small events of Isabel’s life, in particular her struggle to come to terms with her own imperfections. Much to Isabel’s dismay, Prue, a cellist with a terminal illness who’s a professional colleague of her bassoonist fiancé, Jamie, has been making ever greater demands on the good-natured Jamie. An angry Isabel eventually accuses Jamie of sleeping with Prue. Meanwhile, Isabel agrees to dig into the background of three candidates for headmaster at an Edinburgh boys’ school after an anonymous letter claims that one of them has a skeleton in his closet. If chance more than a logical strategy leads Isabel to resolve this issue, her investigation leads her to valuable insights into human nature. As usual, crisp, often funny prose complements the author’s limitless reserve of good will and understanding of people in general.

November 29, 2010
Isabel, moral philosopher and amateur detective, living in McCall Smith’s Edenic Edinburgh, has plenty of time between investigations to ponder the pettiness of her neighbors and engage in self-introspection. The case demanding her expertise requires her to probe into the backgrounds of three candidates for a headmaster’s job at a local boys’ school, instigated by a mysterious anonymous letter. But Isabel’s investigations are secondary to her quotidian preoccupations. The series is charmingly narrated by Davina Porter, who has locked in her portrayals of Isabel, Jamie, and their son, Charlie. As usual, Porter settles on just the right tone for every newcomer. She provides McCall Smith fans with another dead-on performance worth lingering over. A Pantheon hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 16).