Reviews
Praise for the Isabel Dalhousie series "Isabel Dalhousie is a force to be reckoned with." --USA Today "The literary equivalent of herbal tea and a cozy fire . . . Invites readers into a world of kindness, gentility and creature comforts . . . McCall Smith's Scotland is well worth future visits." --The New York Times "Isabel Dalhousie is such good company, it's hard to believe she's fictional. You finish [each] installment greedily looking forward to more." --Newsweek "A world where humor is gentle, suffering is acknowledged but not foregrounded and efforts to do good are usually rewarded. It's a wonderful place to visit, even if we don't get to live there." --The Washington Post, "Isabel Dalhousie's satisfying return. . . . Edinburgh's favorite philosopher/sleuth is back, this time helping a frantic mom whose son keeps talking about his previous life. Plot twists keep you reading (maybe the boy's claims aren't so crazy after all . . .), but it's Isabel's musings on duty and parenthood that linger." -- People Magazine "A stimulating thinking-person's read, seeming light on the surface but actually going deep. . . . This is a love story. Not the conventional kind, a boy-meets-girl romance; rather, it's a novel about love--love of life, love of home and homeland, love of partner and family, love of fellow humans." -- New York Journal of Books "Isabel Dalhousie philosophizes the way some people drink. There is nothing that she won't contemplate, analyze or nitpick, from meerkats in the zoo to the difference between a good submarine (the crew doesn't swear or drink) and a bad submarine which of course must be nuclear." -- The Washington Times "No writer makes the philosophical life as inviting and cozy as McCall Smith does in his episodic novels featuring Isabel Dalhousie. . . . The real substance of this charming series lies in Isabel's thoughtful observations dn the interactions among a large cast of characters." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Praise for the Isabel Dalhousie series "Isabel Dalhousie is a force to be reckoned with." --USA Today "The literary equivalent of herbal tea and a cozy fire . . . Invites readers into a world of kindness, gentility and creature comforts . . . McCall Smith's Scotland is well worth future visits." --The New York Times "Isabel Dalhousie is such good company, it's hard to believe she's fictional. You finish [each] installment greedily looking forward to more." --Newsweek "A world where humor is gentle, suffering is acknowledged but not foregrounded and efforts to do good are usually rewarded. It's a wonderful place to visit, even if we don't get to live there." --The Washington Post, "Isabel Dalhousie's satisfying return. . . . Edinburgh's favorite philosopher/sleuth is back, this time helping a frantic mom whose son keeps talking about his previous life. Plot twists keep you reading (maybe the boy's claims aren't so crazy after all . . .), but it's Isabel's musings on duty and parenthood that linger." -- People Magazine "A stimulating thinking-person's read, seeming light on the surface but actually going deep. . . . This is a love story. Not the conventional kind, a boy-meets-girl romance; rather, it's a novel about love--love of life, love of home and homeland, love of partner and family, love of fellow humans." -- New York Journal of Books "Isabel Dalhousie philosophizes the way some people drink. There is nothing that she won't contemplate, analyze or nitpick, from meerkats in the zoo to the difference between a good submarine (the crew doesn't swear or drink) and a bad submarine which of course must be nuclear." -- The Washington Times "No writer makes the philosophical life as inviting and cozy as McCall Smith does in his episodic novels featuring Isabel Dalhousie. . . . The real substance of this charming series lies in Isabel's thoughtful observations dn the interactions among a large cast of characters." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Praise for the Isabel Dalhousie series "Isabel Dalhousie is a force to be reckoned with." --USA Today "The literary equivalent of herbal tea and a cozy fire . . . Invites readers into a world of kindness, gentility and creature comforts . . . McCall Smith's Scotland is well worth future visits." --The New York Times "Isabel Dalhousie is such good company, it's hard to believe she's fictional. You finish [each] installment greedily looking forward to more." --Newsweek "A world where humor is gentle, suffering is acknowledged but not foregrounded and efforts to do good are usually rewarded. It's a wonderful place to visit, even if we don't get to live there." --The Washington Post
