Marika G. (marika) reviewed on 3/19/2009 + 20 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Isabel Dalhousie, an editor for a philosophical journal called the Review of Applied Ethics, witnesses a terrible accident when a man falls to his death at a concert she is attending. Unable to get the accident out of her mind, Isabel finds herself searching for answers and in the process discovers more than she bargained for.

This novel, by the author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, is a mystery of sorts. Isabel makes for an interesting protagonist as she halfheartedly attempts to solve a murder while pondering ethical dilemmas on everything from littering to proper manners. Her thought processes make the book seem rambly and disjointed. I thought the book was hard to follow and often found my own mind wandering as I read.

However, there were some interesting characters in the book (though not particularly well-developed). Isabel's niece, Cat, continuously finds herself falling in love with the wrong man. Her intuitive housekeeper, Grace, makes snap judgements of people immediately after meeting them and is usually correct. Isabel's friend, Jamie, plays the bassoon and only reluctantly helps her search out what happened to cause the man at the concert to plummet to his death. Despite the characters, I think the book lacked focus and wasn't very interesting. If you decide to read a book by Alexander McCall Smith, it would be better to start with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. It's much better.

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