A Time of Love and Tartan by Alexander McCall Smith

A Time of Love and Tartan: The New 44 Scotland Street Novel by Alexander McCall Smith --- 247 pages

Number 12 in the 44 Scotland Street Series by the inimitable McCall Smith does not disappoint, although the mood in this latest installment becomes rather dour at times, as if even McCall Smith's invincible optimism has met its limits.

His usual cast of characters seem uneasily aware that even Edinburgh is not immune to change; life is uncertain, love can be fleeting, and the brave new world lurks like a wolf waiting to devour the unwitting. McCall Smith looks into that abyss and what we see is not pretty.

Yet in the end kindness and decency reassert themselves. The book ends with the promise of brighter and kinder days ahead even for young Bertie Pollack and his father. Readers will rejoice.

Click HERE for a review from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE for a review from Kirkus Reviews.

Click HERE for a review from Birlinn (UK).

Click HERE for a review from the Washington Times.

Bertie Plays the Blues by Alexander McCall Smith

Bertie Plays the Blues: The New 44 Scotland Street Novel by Alexander McCall Smith --- 310 pages

The seventh novel in the gently comic series by McCall Smith about the inhabitants of Edinburgh's Scotland Street neighborhood. Matthew and Elspeth are (barely) coping with the arrival of their triplets, Rognvald, Tobermory and Fergus; Angus and Domenica are cautiously negotiating the terms of their impending marriage and the questions that arise when two long-settled lives and households merge into one; Big Lou bravely perseveres in her efforts to find true love and companionship; and Bertie, caught in the middle of the shifting relationship between his parents, decides to put himself up for adoption and start over with a new family.

A charming exploration of the foibles of the human heart and another winner from Alexander McCall Smith's wonderful repetoire of characters.

The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds by Alexander McCall Smith

The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel by Alexander McCall Smith --- 259 pages

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.

The Importance of Being Seven by Alexander McCall Smith

The Importance of Being Seven: The New 44 Scotland Street Novel b y Alexander McCall Smith --- 311 pages

Another McCall Smith novel is always a cause for rejoicing. The one is the latest in the 44 Scotland Street series revolving about a group of people who live in the Edinburgh New Town neighborhood, their ordinary doings and occasional adventures. There is six-year-old Bertie who longs to be seven and to escape the regimen of yoga and Italian lessons and psychotherapy imposed upon him by his self-absorbed mother Irene. There is Matthew and his new wife Elspeth embarking on the seas of matrimony (as it were) with no charts or compass. And there is Angus Lordie the artist with his dog Cyril, slowly feeling his way towards a deeper relationship with his longtime friend, Domenica Macdonald.

As always in McCall Smith's world, most people's intention are good even when their actions are confused, and the resulting problems can be sorted with patience, good humor and common sense. His stories are modern parables, showing us by example how to navigate the moral complexities that imbue each and every day of our lives..