The Careful Use of Compliments

Not Alexander McCall Smith’s best title - it’s a bit too cutesy – but I picked it up because it’s the next in the Isabel Dalhousie series, which I love. Interestingly enough the bit he gets right this time is the mystery, which is well put together and well resolved. The character bit, which is usually so enticing, was a bit uneven this time. Isabel has had her baby and is still with Jamie although she won’t marry him yet; Cat, her niece, won’t speak to her or acknowledge the child; and she has been fired – properly – from her editorship. It’s full of the little ponderings which make Isabel so fascinating a character, but the bit that falls flat is the child, who is a cardboard baby and just sleeps and eats – little crying, no dirty nappies, no sleepless nights etc. The odd relationship between Jamie and Isabel continues being odd, which I suppose is all right, but slightly frustrating. However it is all tied up very nicely at the end, even if Isabel does make a decision worthy of an entire article in her own journal of ethics.