Yes, I’m continuing my quest for books set in Edinburgh, and this Alexander McCall Smith book, The Sunday Philosophy Club, seemed like the next likely candidate, as unlike 44 Scotland Street, it’s actually billed as a mystery. And it was, though, it weighed way more on the philosophy side of the equation than the mystery side.
Don’t get me wrong. I liked the book, probably because I enjoy the author’s “voice” as I do in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series. But pondering the ethical dilemmas that occur in the main character, Isabel Dalhousie’s mind, gets to be tedious at points. Not so much at the beginning, when she witnesses the fall from “the gods” of young man after listening to a concert. After all that pondering leads Isabel into an amateurish investigation of Mr. Fraser’s death which gives the story its plot line. Yet, some of the other ethical dilemmas that occur to her as the story continues left me hitting the next page button on my Kindle often.
Spoiler Alert – You Have Been Warned
What I did find totally refreshing in this character is that she all of her initial “suspects” turned out to be wrong and only by a sheer stroke of luck does she finally solve the mystery only after first giving up investigating. I’m happy to say though that I did suspect the guilty party almost from the beginning. 😀
Anyway, if you’re a fan of the author’s works, read this book. If you didn’t enjoy any of his other books, I wouldn’t bother. If this is your first venture into Alexander McCall Smith’s world, I’d start with the #1 Ladies Detective Agency instead.