The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday

The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday (2008) is the fifth mystery novel in the Isabel Dalhousie series, following The Careful Use of Compliments. In the previous volume, Isabel bought the Review and fired the editorial board. Then she had a baby. In this novel, Isabel Dalhousie is a trained philosophers and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics. She is the lover of Jamie, whom she has refused to marry. She is also mother of Charlie, with Jamie as the father. Jamie is a professional musician, playing the bassoon in several orchestras and symphonies. He also teaches music to teenagers. He is an even tempered man and is usually happy with his life. He is very infatuated with his son. Grace is Isabel's housekeeper. She is very efficient, but has a few human foibles. She is a member of a group that strongly believes in psychic mediums. She also is infatuated with Charlie and likes to pretend that he is her own son. Christopher Dove is a philosopher who had tried to get Isabel fired from the position of editor of the Review. But Isabel proved to be more adept at manipulation and foiled this dastardly maneuver. In this story, Isabel is reasonably content with her life, enjoying her son, her lover, her friends and her profession. However, she has a problem with thinking too much. Probably that is a characteristic of philosophers, but it does tie her mind into knots on occasion. Dove has submitted an article to the Review. His attached letter has a few snide and misleading remarks, but Isabel feels that it is her duty to treat him better than her friends. After all, he is her enemy and, as a Christian, she should turn her cheek. The article itself is an adaptation of the Trolley problem. She is not impressed with its originality, but sends it to a couple of Review readers for their evaluation. They both state that they are also not impressed with the article, so she decides to reject it. Isabel also meets Nick Smart, an American composer dwelling temporary in Edinburgh. Nick pays little attention to Isabel, but seems to be impressed by Jamie. Isabel runs into Nick on other occasions and develops a dislike for the man. Indeed, she becomes jealous of his dealings with Jamie. Isabel becomes involved in the situation of Marcus Montcrieff, a physician who was blamed for issuing an erroneous report on the side effects of a new pharmaceutical that later caused a fatality. Marcus has been hiding inside his apartment ever since the newspapers had a feeding frenzy over his errors. His wife asks Isabel to look into the matter and, if possible, to correct the public perception of her husband. Meanwhile, Grace is trying to spend more time with Charlie. She argues that Isabel and Jamie should leave Charlie with her instead of taking him on outings. Both Isabel and Jamie have learned to emphasize their duties as his parents. This tale mostly revolves around Isabel's other responsibilities and pleasures, but keeps going back to the incident

This one will keep you up all night turning pages, even if you are not already hooked on Isabel Dalhousie and company. McCall's extended portrait of life in Edinburgh is both thought-provoking and emotionally delicious as we follow Isabel's ups and downs and find ourselves strangely comforted by the humanity and vulnerability of her life. Will her beloved Jamie be enticed by an American composer to leave Edinburgh to further his career as a concert bassoonist? Did the doctor do it? Why does Grace claim Isabel's baby boy Charlie is her own son? Will Cat ever figure out why she chooses the wrong men? Do people, even nice Edinburgh people, actually go about telling lies every day? Curl up with a cup of strong black tea with cream and plenty of sugar as you get to know Isabel a little better. You won't regret it.

If you haven't read any of the earlier books in this series, don't start with this one. Without the entire back story, many of the subtleties in the story will be lost. Alexander McCall Smith continues his thoughtful investigation of the social contract and doing the right thing to others in a moral sense. Isabel Dalhousie, being portrayed as a mere human who knows ethics, struggles on behalf of us all with jealousy, regret, sloth, and concern for the hurting. How should we react? In this story, Isabel finds that her worries about losing Jamie seem to be growing. She continues to keep barriers between them while wanting to take the barriers down. Social engagements with people her age are particularly uncomfortable. She feels particularly threatened by Jamie's new friendship with a young composer, Nick Smart. Isabel is shocked to find that her old foe, Christopher Dove, is trying to manipulate her into publishing an article in the Journal of Applied Ethics. She grits her teeth at the effort required to treat Dove fairly. After a dinner party, Isabel is approached by the wife of a disgraced medical researcher to see if Isabel will try to find some way to rehabilitate the researcher's reputation. Isabel is no Miss Marple, and her efforts lead her in an unexpected direction. Between the major plot lines, Isabel takes great pleasure in her son, Charlie, her peaceful life, helping Cat out while she visits Sri Lanka, and looking to help those in need without hurting anyone's feelings. That last challenge is more difficult than she imagines. As always, the story exudes joie de vivre, affection for Edinburgh, pleasure in the company of others, and happiness in trying to do the right thing. It's a nice recipe for brightening up your day . . . so that even a rainy Saturday can look like heaven on Earth. Enjoy your life!

I love this series from Alexander McCall Smith. He continues to flesh out the characters as only he can--Isabel's romance with a younger man, the complication of a child born from that romance, and all that entails. Add, the ethical dilemmas with the unraveling of a mysterious circumstance and you have a very well rounded book to think about and enjoy.

This is a fabulous book for any kind of day, as are all McCall Smith's novels - and readers in the USA might want to know that you can read his new online novel at www.telegraph.co.uk and read a new chapter every day. How many authors have the extraordinary breadth of a McCall Smith - Botswana lady detectives, Edinburgh lady philosophers, hilariously funny stories of German academics and people in an Edinburgh house, and now a wonderful online novel of people living in a socially mixed part of London. Ten cheers for McCall Smith, the Charles Dickens of our time. Christopher Catherwood (author of A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST)