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The Sunday Philosophy Club (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries) (Paperback)

~ Alexander Mccall Smith (Author)
Key Phrases: Paul Hogg, Johnny Sanderson, Usher Hall (more...)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
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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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Anchor (July 12, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0349118698
  • ISBN-13: 978-1400077090
  • ASIN: 1400077095
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,695 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Alexander McCall Smith
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Paul Hogg, Johnny Sanderson, Usher Hall, Minty Auchterlonie, Mark Fraser, John Liamor, Nelson Street, Really Terrible Orchestra, Review of Applied Ethics, Jamie Isabel, Dundas Street, Great King Street, Ian Cameron, Cat Toby, Brother Fox, John Anderson, Charlie Maclean
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Customer Reviews

152 Reviews
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 (32)
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 (23)
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 (39)
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 (24)
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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (152 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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26 of 26 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)   
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!
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70 of 83 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.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Torture to finish, November 4, 2005
By Elizabeth Murphy "Emurph" (St. Louis, Missouri, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have been interested in Mr. Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency for quite a while, but had not yet picked one up, so was quite pleased when our book club selected Sunday Philosophy Club as our next novel. However, the book was more than a disappointment--it was absolutely painful to finish.

The book is filled with inane details of the protagonist's life, including tales of her housekeeper's best friend's husband, detailed descriptions of meals and visits with her niece, and all of her thoughts and efforts surrounding her efforts to get that niece safely married off to Mr. Right. What isn't filled with these events, is filled with Isabel's rather snobbish thoughts as she works the daily crossword puzzle, finding somewhat obscure references to be terribly simple clues, and with her comparative analyses of events in her life to the writings and teachings of various philosophers and musings as to how her Sunday Philosophy Club would react to her analysis.

Ugh.

While the murder occurs in the first few pages, the author takes half the book to even begin the plot related to that death. And even when the plot gets started it seems a terribly minor part of this book, which apparently isn't a murder mystery at all, but just a month or so in the life of Isabel. The plot itself, when it did finally unravel, was terribly disappointing and did not ease the pain of dredging my way through the last half of the book in the least.

While I am generally easygoing and forgiving of authors, and rarely rate books under at least 3 stars, this book was not enjoyable at all, and in fact I must admit I actually hated it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting thoughtful and unconventional
I loved this book and all of the other books that are written about her
..It is a not a thriller but her insight into people and philosophy are wonderful made me think.. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Lisle M. Nye

5.0 out of 5 stars Invitation to The Sunday Philosophy Club
Have you ever been accused of thinking too much? If you're someone who would attend a meeting of a group called "The Sunday Philosophy Club," you stand a good chance of relishing... Read more
Published 17 days ago by Victoria Miller

3.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Vanilla
I must admit to being a bit disappointed after enjoying a couple of books from his No1
Ladies Detective Agency series. Read more
Published 17 days ago by GT Reviewer

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but not my fave
Interesting tidbit: Called the Sunday Philosophy Club series in the UK but the Isabel Dalhousie mystery series in the United States. Read more
Published 23 days ago by WordLily

1.0 out of 5 stars The Smugly Pretentious Clubbed
Well, one can but wish...

Having read & loathed this some years previously, I found myself bored, snowed into a cave in the Antarctic with nothing else to read, and,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rampaging Hippogriff

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sunday Philosophy Club
This was a soft book - - no violence! Lots of small talk and thinking aloud. Enjoyed each character as they were presented. I am still reading. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Gale Storm

3.0 out of 5 stars slow book, annoying heroine
Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher, and as such, drones endlessly on about issues that I couldn't care less about. Read more
Published 8 months ago by book junkie

1.0 out of 5 stars Painful
I love the No 1 Ladies Detective series and was sure this would be the beginning of another great series. Sadly this is not the case. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Aurelia J. Hidalgo

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice diversion, but nothing to run out and get...
While I love Alexander McCall Smith's Ladies Detective Agency Series, I was less into this book. He follows a similar pattern and writing style in that he focuses on the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by A.S. Blosser

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't approach this book as a "mystery" novel. Instead.....
Instead.....approach it as a puzzle which the lead character, Isabel Dalhousie, wants to solve. Because if you are looking for a mystery novel as they are normally presented, you... Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Lesley

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