From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Smith's quietly triumphant sixth novel to feature Scottish philosopher Isabel Dalhousie (after 2008's The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday) shows that Isabel and the author's other, better-known female sleuthβPrecious Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency seriesβare sisters under the skin, despite obvious differences. Minty Auchterlonie, who once alerted Isabel to some insider trading, fears someone is out to get her. The tax authorities have suddenly investigated Minty, and an unknown party has sent her a funeral wreath. When Isabel looks into these provocative acts, she draws on lessons learned from the journal she edits, the Review of Applied Ethics, to arrive at the complex truth behind them. Meanwhile, the father of Isabel's young son proposes marriage, and a defeated academic rival accuses her of knowingly publishing plagiarism. Smith's trademark humor and telling observations about people heighten the appeal. (Sept. 22)
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Review
_Praise for the Isabel Dalhousie Series:
_''Alexander McCall Smith, a fine writer, paints his hometown of Edinburgh as indelibly as he captures the sunniness of Africa. We can almost feel the mists as we tread the cobblestones.''
β_The Dallas Morning News
_''The literary equivalent of herbal tea and a cozy fire . . . Invite[s] readers into a world of kindness, gentility, and creature comforts. McCall Smith's Scotland [is] well worth future visits.''
β_The New York Times
_''Alexander McCall Smith's assessments of fellow humans are piercing and profound. [His] depictions of Edinburgh are vivid and seamless . . . His fans are sure to embrace these moral peregrinations among the plaid.''
β_San Francisco Chronicle_