The Sunday Philosophy Club : An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery [Hardcover]

Alexander McCall Smith (Author)

Book Description

Series: Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries | Publication Date: September 28, 2004

With The Sunday Philosophy Club, Alexander McCall Smith, the author of the best-selling and beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency novels, begins a wonderful new series starring the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie.

Isabel is fond of problems, and sometimes she becomes interested in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. This may be the case when Isabel sees a young man plunge to his death from the upper circle of a concert hall in Edinburgh. Despite the advice of her housekeeper, Grace, who has been raised in the values of traditional Edinburgh, and her niece, Cat, who, if you ask Isabel, is dating the wrong man, Isabel is determined to find the truth–if indeed there is one–behind the man’s death. The resulting moral labyrinth might have stymied even Kant. And then there is the unsatisfactory turn of events in Cat’s love life that must be attended to.

Filled with thorny characters and a Scottish atmosphere as thick as a highland mist, The Sunday Philosophy Club is irresistible, and Isabel Dalhousie is the most delightful literary sleuth since Precious Ramotswe.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Murder and moral obligation mingle in this whimsical new series from the author of the smash hit The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. McCall Smith's new heroine is Scottish-American philosopher Isabel Dalhousie, a single woman of independent means who edits the esteemed Review of Applied Ethics and presides over the titular club. When Isabel witnesses fund manager Mark Fraser fall from a balcony after a performance at an Edinburgh concert hall, she feels obliged to investigate the gentleman's demise. "I was the last person that young man saw," Dalhousie tells her beloved niece, Cat. "The last person. And don't you think that the last person you see on this earth owes you something?" Given her affinity for applied ethics, questions of conscience are a daily concern for Isabel, and the more she thinks about Fraser's fall, the less accidental it seems. Among those who might have pushed him: his shifty roommate, his colleague's scheming spouse and a disgruntled broker with a craving for cash. Fans of Botswanan heroine Precious Ramotswe are sure to embrace Scotsman McCall Smith's plucky new protagonist, who leads a cast of delightfully quirky characters that includes Toby, a dapper bachelor with a dubious understanding of fidelity, and Grace, Dalhousie's morally upright housekeeper, who sizes up society's reprobates in two syllables or less. Scotland's climate may be misty and cool, but McCall Smith's charming prose warms every page of this winning series debut.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

The Dalhousie series is “sure to be a second hit franchise,” notes The New York Times. That may be, but it’s currently suffering inevitable comparisons with the popular No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Sunday Club rambles along just as slowly and develops its sense of time and place just as whimsically. Still, something—maybe the charm?—is missing. This time, McCall Smith, a professor of medical law, examines both a mysterious death and moral responsibility. Isabel’s ethical musings may bore some of us shallow folk, though McCall Smith’s psychological insight fascinates. And, while critics liked Isabel, they didn’t heap on the effusive praise they’ve reserved for the charming Precious (see The Full Cupboard of Life, **** July/Aug 2004). So, sit back, take a deep breath, and wait for the second installment … what’s the rush?

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375422986
• ISBN-13: 978-0375422980
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (174 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #539,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alexander McCall Smith was born in what is now Zimbabwe and taught law at the University of Botswana. He is now Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He has written more than fifty books, including a number of specialist titles, but is best known for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has achieved bestseller status on four continents. In 2004 he was awarded British Book Awards Author of the Year and Booksellers Association Author of the Year. He lives in Scotland, where in his spare time he is a bassoonist in the RTO (Really Terrible Orchestra).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for a philosophical book discussion, June 21, 2005

By 

Darci G. Brown "darsee42" (OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sunday Philosophy Club : An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery (Hardcover)

I read this book without having read any of the author's prior books. I know that some have remarked that this was boring or slow but I found it to be neither of these things. I was thoroughly entertained by it. I loved Isabel's mind--which is why I found it so difficult to understand the ending and how she came about feeling the way she did. I won't spoil the ending but I will say that it leaves one with an utterly unending need to discuss the philosophy of justice. Throughout the book I felt as though I were watching "Murder She Wrote" with a younger woman in the lead. Isabel is profound, comical and thought-provoking. All of the characters are well-rounded and completely believable. I can't say enough good things about this book. It's hard to find well-written books that are profound, entertaining and suspenseful--read it and discuss it with your friends.

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It just won't translate, September 20, 2005

By 

Stephen Doiron (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sunday Philosophy Club: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (1) (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries) (Paperback)

It seems to matter not how much I celebrated AM Smith's work or how often in re-reading any of his Botswana tales, I reveled in the homogeneity of his crafted prose and the perfected simplicity of his character's emotions, none of this translated into an appreciation for The Sunday Philosophy Club.

The characters are still clean, crisp and open to the reader's inspection, but the prose is much too languid.

Worse, though, the writer just couldn't seem to keep his mitts off the story and leave it to the reader to find his way through. I had to put the book down and walk away with each interruption. And so obsequious! I kept feeling him, peering over my shoulder, asking "Did you get that," or "Wasn't that clever of me?"

Now, mind, I do reciprocate Mr. Smith's concern for dwindling ethics, civility and taste; but that's better left to a book where I choose to read his thoughts on that subject, it's simply not germane to a yarn preoccupied with Isabel, busily poking her nose into other people's business.

Mr. Smith also seems to suffer from what I call the English Mystery Writer's syndrome. Ninety percent of the energy and craft go into the opening and build of the story; then, as the writer nears the end of his prescribed length, he slaps up a climax and conclusion with apparent disdain for the reader's investment in the story or the characters. I am certain he can do much better.

Harsh, yes. But it's the reaction of a loyal, avid reader of a very competent wordsmith who's gone off the rails for a bit. I can only imaging what Grace might have said, if she were asked.

I'll try one more, but mind the gap!

78 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Edinburgh Mystery, October 26, 2004

By 

L O'connor (richmond, surrey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sunday Philosophy Club : An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery (Hardcover)

Isabel Dalhousie is a quiet, refined lady philosopher. One night at a concert a young man falls to his death,apparently accidentaly, but Isabel suspects otherwise and sets out to find out the truth. She is helped some of the time by her niece, who has a hunky new boyfriend. Isabel does not understand the appeal of hunks, which tells you all you need to know about Isabel. She likes her niece's former boyfriend, who also helps her in in her investigations.

This is a quite pleasant but unmemorable mystery story with a rather lame ending. Isabel is not nearly as interesting a character as Mma Ramotswe, and the story generally lacks the charm and humour of the Botswana-set No. 1 Ladies series. Rather disappointing.