Alexander McCall Smith is probably best known for his 'Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency' novels, but he's a prolific author who also pens other series and standalone books.
In this 16th entry in the 'Isabel Dalhousie' series, Isabel - as always - applies moral principles to incidents in her life. The book can be read as a standalone but familiarity with the characters is a plus.
*****
Isabel Dalhousie and her younger husband Jamie live in Edinburgh and have two little boys, Charlie and Magnus. Isabel is a philosopher who publishes and edits The Review of Applied Ethics.....
…..and Jamie is an elite basoonist who gives concerts and teaches music.
Isabel is the prime beneficiary of a well-funded family trust, and uses her wealth to live well and help others.
As the story opens, Isabel and Jamie are talking about little Magnus - who like his brother Charlie before him - is a nursery school biter. This leads to Isabel and Jamie discussing greedy children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the dreadful liar Matilda, and a long list of characters in children's stories who come to a bad end.
Concerned about Magnus being expelled from infant school, Isabel tells him: "You see, darling, we don't bite people in this family. Do you ever see Daddy biting anybody?...Big boys don't bite, and if you want to be a big boy, you will have to stop biting people." And Magnus says, "All right. Won't. Can I hit them instead?" 😊 In the end, two helpings of ice cream discourage Magnus from hitting or biting, and all is well.
In the remainder of the novel, Isabel finds herself in the midst of three dilemmas.
✿ Isabel has a compulsion to assist people with their troubles, so she agrees to help an old schoolmate named Andrea Dowde. Andrea explains she took a genetic test and discovered a previously unknown half-brother named John Sinclair. John wants to speak to Andrea's brother and sister, saying he has a right to meet his relatives. Andrea would prefer John stay away, so her siblings don't learn of their father's infidelity.
Isabel mentions Andrea's situation to her housekeeper Grace, who belongs to a spiritualist group and is friends with a medium called Linda. Linda happens to live on the same street as John Sinclair, and encourages him to attend her seance, to discourage him from doing the wrong thing.
For Isabel, though, "The world of psychics is just too bound up in her mind with charlatanism - and with the wishful thinking and exploitation that goes with the territory." So Isabel feels compelled to take steps.
✿ A music promoter named Neave Farrel invites Isabel's husband Jamie to play in a series of concerts in London, and perhaps make a record for Deutsche Grammophon, which would boost Jamie's career. Jamie is pleased, and invites Isabel to have drinks with Neave and himself, to discuss the concerts.
When Isabel meets Neave - a striking woman with Irish good looks - it seems obvious Neave is after Jamie for more than his bassoon playing. Jamie is oblivious to Neave's machinations, being naïve about seductive women.
This puts Isabel in a quandary. Should she mention Neave's intentions to Jamie. Would Jamie be insulted? Would he think Isabel doesn't trust him? Isabel has to cogitate and decide.
✿ As soon as Isabel became editor of the 'Review of Applied Ethics' she started having problems with two male board members. Supercilious Professor Lettuce and his young protégé Professor Dove are envious of Isabel, resent her, and repeatedly scheme against her. Isabel bests them every time, and things seem to have settled down.
Isabel thinks of Lettuce and Dove as two peas in a pod, so she's surprised when Dove turns up at her office and confides, "I have discovered something about Lettuce when he was an undergraduate at Oxford. He cheated on an examination...They almost sent him down but gave him another chance."
Isabel dismisses the youthful misdemeanor, but Dove insists, "I have no alternative but to publish details of Lettuce's record." Isabel gleans that traitorous Dove wants his mentor's job, and feels obliged to do something. It's fun to see Dove learn his lesson.
Other parts of the story feature a financially struggling musician; Professor Dove planning to foist a philosophy department intern on Isabel; and Isabel and Jamie preparing delicious meals like cheese soufflé and broadbean salad; chicken cacciatore; and potato dauphinoise. 
I always enjoy the Isabel Dalhousie books because they're clever, erudite, and things work out in the end. Highly recommended for light reading.
Thanks to Netgalley, Alexander McCall Smith, and Pantheon for an ARC of the book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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