Ninth in the series about the quirky adventures of the Edinburgh philosopher and amateur sleuth. This time Isabel is asked to provide assistance to Duncan Munrowe, who has lost a valuable painting by the French artist Nicholas Poussin, stolen by thieves in the night. Munrowe is particularly upset because he has promised to donate the painting to the Scottish National Gallery. He feels not just a personal, but a public obligation, to get the painting back.
The thieves have contacted Munrowe and offered to return the painting in exchange for a substantial "reward" --- in so many words, Munrowe has been offered a chance to ransom his painting. Isabel discovers certain circumstances that lead her to suspect that the thieves in this case could be far closer to home than Munrowe realizes, and that creates another dilemma for Isabel: how much of her suspicions should she share with Munrowe?
While all this is going on, Isabel is also coping with other events, small and large, in the life of her family and friends. There's Eddie, the young man who works for her niece Cat in Cat's delicatessen. He's worried about health issues, and he's in love with a girl who seems to like him a lot but, unfortunately, her parents disapprove of Eddie, and have the financial leverage to enforce their disapproval. There's deadlines to meet and decisions to be made about articles for the next issue of Isabel's journal, the Review of Applied Ethics.
And then there's the small domestic storm created when Isabel and Jamie discover their housekeeper Grace has been tutoring their young son Charlie in mathematics. Grace is convinced that three-year-old Charlie is on his way to becoming a child prodigy (with her assistance and coaching), while Isabel and Jamie prefer for Charlie to have a normal, happy childhood and to allow his talents to unfold naturally.
Once again McCall Smith illustrates that many of life's problems can be solved with patience, kindness, consideration for others, and good principles gently applied.
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