The Sunday Philosophy Club FROM OUR EDITORS
When Alexander McCall Smith announced that he was temporarily closing down Botswana's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and launching a new series, readers grumbled. Fortunately, their lament was needless: Isabel Dalhousie, his new sleuth, is every bit as memorable and sympathetic as Precious Ramotswe. But that's where the resemblances end: Dalhousie is an ever-attentive Scottish philosopher, the editor of the Edinburgh-based Review of Applied Ethics. The journal title seems apt: Isabel spends much of her time applying ethics. For instance, when Mark Fraser falls from the balcony of a concert hall, she feels obliged to investigate because she was the last person the young man saw. Such scruples lead her down alleys perhaps too dangerous to explore, but before we know it, the culprit behind Fraser's seemingly innocent defenestration has been identified. A plucky new series by a master of local color.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Isabel is fond of problems, and sometimes she becomes interested in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. This may be the case when Isabel sees a young man plunge to his death from the upper circle of a concert hall in Edinburgh. Despite the advice of her housekeeper, Grace, who has been raised in the values of traditional Edinburgh, and her niece, Cat, who, if you ask Isabel, is dating the wrong man, Isabel is determined to find the truth - if indeed there is one - behind the man's death. The resulting moral labyrinth might have stymied even Kant. And then there is the unsatisfactory turn of events in Cat's love life that must be attended to.
FROM THE CRITICS
Janet Maslin - The New York Times
But this book is a clear demonstration of Mr. McCall Smith's own philosophy: that there is wisdom in inviting readers into a world of kindness, gentility and creature comforts. Offer the literary equivalent of herbal tea and a cozy fire. They'll come back for more.
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. Agent, Robin Strauss. (Sept. 28) Forecast: Fans will quickly be reassured that McCall Smith's latest possesses all the gentle humor and keen insights into human nature that characterized his Mma Ramotswe novels, and they will buy, buy, buy accordingly. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
The author of the beloved "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series introduces Isabel Dalhousie, who equals Precious Ramotswe in intelligence and moxie. Isabel edits the Edinburgh-based Review of Applied Ethics and surrounds herself with a thoroughly engaging cast of characters. And like Precious, she has a knack for getting involved in local intrigue: while at the concert hall, she witnesses a young man falling to his death and decides that she has a moral obligation to investigate. Unfortunately, Smith's subplots are more interesting than the main mystery, and Isabel tends to get bogged down in philosophical digressions, but the writing and characters propel the narrative forward. While the plot takes a few unexpected turns, it is ultimately resolved too quickly and easily, all the while preparing the reader for future installments. For general mystery and/or fiction collections. Smith lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. [See Mystery Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/04.] Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Smith puts the chronicles of Botswana's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency on hold to explore an equally civilized Edinburgh criminal scene that Ian Rankin's DI John Rebus would never recognize. Isabel Dalhousie doesn't like Stockhausen, but his impossible music on the bill at the Usher Hall is followed by an even worse discordance on the opening page: A beautiful young man plummets "from the gods" above Isabel's seat in the grand circle and lands with a dreadful impact below. In due course, Isabel will learn that the fallen angel, Mark Fraser, worked in the funds department at McDowall's, where he'd recently been talking quietly about a colleague whose insider trading he could prove. It's page 69, however, before Isabel can suggest that "I don't think that it was an accident." Meanwhile, and afterwards as well, she'll spend less time questioning suspects than editing essays submitted to the Review of Applied Ethics and growing increasingly unhappy over her niece Cat's unsuitable young man Toby. The result is a detective story with charm, warmth, and virtually no detection. There aren't even any meetings of the Sunday Philosophy Club. Lacking Precious Ramotswe's exotic locale (The Kalahari Typing School for Men, 2003, etc.), Isabel has to get by on civility and moral starch. But this new series, which makes Edinburgh feel as intimate as Mma Ramotswe's Gaborone, just might fill the bill for patient, literate readers mourning the death of Amanda Cross. Agent: David Higham/David Higham Associates
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