The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday

✍ Scribed by Smith, Alexander Mccall

• Book ID: 107159918
• Publisher: Anchor
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 152 KB
• Series: Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries 5
• Category: Fiction

✦ Synopsis

In the delectable fifth installment of the bestselling adventures of Isabel Dalhousie, our cherished inquisitive heroine returns to investigate a medical mystery. A doctor's career has been ruined by allegations of medical fraud and Isabel cannot ignore what may be a miscarriage of justice. Besides, Isabel's insatiable interest is piqued and she finds herself asking questions. Would a respected doctor make such a grave mistake? If not, what explains the death of the patient? Clearly, an investigation is in order. Meanwhile, there is her baby Charlie, who needs looking after; her niece Cat who needs someone to mind her deli; and a mysterious composer who has latched on to Jamie, making Isabel decidedly uncomfortable. Whatever the problem, whatever the case, we know we can count on Isabel's instincts to help her find the right solution.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In narrating the fifth installment of this series, Davina Porter has so become the voice of the charmingly ethical Isabel Dalhousie that it is hard to imagine anyone else ever taking her place. The new novel gives Porter an opportunity to fill out Isabels character; despite her best intentions, Isabels voice occasionally rises with indignation or jealousy that is at odds with her belief system. A slightly venomous tone seeps into Isabels voice as she contemplates an opportunity to humiliate her nemesis, Professor Dove. Toward the end of the novel, Porter performs a small tour de force in a ricocheting argument between Isabel and her niece. The two ping-pong their views without the slightest hesitation or slip on Porters part. Porters skillful performance will make listeners eager for the next installment. A Pantheon hardcover (Reviews, July 28). (Sept.)
Copyright В© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This fifth installment in McCall Smith’s engaging series finds fortysomething Edinburgh moral philosopher Isabel Dalhousie investigating a doctor accused of scientific fraud. Did Marcus Moncrieff manipulate the data for a drug developed by the same company that funded his research? Isabel soon discovers that numbers are but part of the equation. It turns out that Dr. Moncrieff’s nephew, who is also his assistant, might have had good reason to exact revenge on his uncle. (At issue is the inheritance of a large farm on Scotland’s Black Isle.) Meanwhile, Isabel’s much younger boyfriend, Jamie, continues to dote on Isabel and their infant son, Charlie. (Alas, Jamie’s extraordinary good looks have Isabel forever worrying that he will lose interest in her.) There are other moral dilemmas, too. Isabel suspects that Eddie, the vulnerable young man who works at Isabel’s niece’s deli, lied about the reason he needs to borrow money. And Grace, Isabel’s very assertive housekeeper, has been telling local residents that adorable Charlie is her own. McCall Smith, who also pens the best-selling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and 44 Scotland Street novels, has rendered a wise and very human heroine who grows more endearing with each entry. --Allison Block