Careful Use of Compliments

256 pages

English language

Published July 17, 2013 by Little, Brown Book Group Limited.

ISBN:
978-0-349-13943-2
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4 stars (1 review)

In addition to being the nosiest and most sypathetic philosopher you are likely to meet, Isabel is now a mother. Charlies, her newborn son, presents her with a myriad wonders of a new life, and doting father Jamie presents her with an intriguing proposal: marriage. In the midst of all this, she receives a disturbing letter announcing that she has been ousted as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics by the ambitious Professor Dove. None of these things, however, in any way diminshes Isabel's curiosity. And when she attends an art auction, she finds an irresistable puzzle: two paintings attributed to a now-deceased artist appear on the market at the same time, and both of them exhibit some unusual characteristics. Are these paintings forgeries? This proves to be sufficient fodder for Isabel's inquisitiveness. So she begins an investigation... and soon finds herself diverging from her philosophical musings about fatherhood …

15 editions

reviewed The careful use of compliments by Alexander McCall Smith (Sunday Philosophy Club (Isabel Dalhousie) (4))

Review of 'The careful use of compliments' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

3.5* rounded up
Audiobook, well read.
I love this gentle series. Very little of plot happens in this, so there is oodles of time for both social detail and examination of ethics. Sometimes, though, it just feels like a lecture from the author, deliver via Isabel!

Subjects

  • Fiction, mystery & detective, women sleuths
  • Dalhousie, isabel (fictitious character), fiction
  • Edinburgh (scotland), fiction