The Quiet Side of Passion: An Isabel Dalhousie novel

Alexander McCall Smith, £18.99 hardback, Little, Brown The 12th in the series of Isabel Dalhousie novels from the prolific Alexander McCall Smith, this carries his hallmarks of gentle observation and layers of meaning in ordinary narrative, but essentially it is just another light, enjoyable read from a master storyteller.

The rather vague, extremely blessed amateur detective Isabel Dalhousie is a far quieter character than the bold, vivid Mma Ramotswe of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series which put McCall Smith on global reading lists. While Mma Precious Ramotswe may be more streetwise and quick to act in the vibrant African community she inhabits, Isabel Dalhousie takes us on ethical journeys, pondering dilemmas, moral questions and philosophical positions.

But Isabel is also a detective, and she too solves mysteries in her well-heeled Edinburgh environs, where she edits a philosophy journal and is married to Jamie, a good-looking, talented musician who adores her with unlimited devotion. Add sufficient wealth and a gorgeous home into the mix.

In this novel, Isabel is unsettled at the nursery gates by Patricia, a pushy woman who discomfits her. When she learns Patricia’s freckle-faced son is the result of a brief union with a musician colleague of Jamie’s, and that musician is paying child support for a son he never sees, Isabel becomes, shall we say, curious. Add to this Isabel’s desire to simplify her life by hiring an au pair, who turns out to be sexually voracious, and an editorial assistant, who turns out to be having an affair with an odious professor, and we have Isabel’s philosophical positions put to rigorous test. A whimsical, undemanding book. Review by Gillian Lord.