Friends, Lovers, Chocolate: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (2) (Isabel… (original 2005; edition 2006)

From December 2005 School Library Journal:
Isabel Dalhousie, the charming and well-intentioned editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, is back in this second installment of McCall Smith’s newest mystery series. Isabel does not actively seek out mysteries, but her inability to ignore those in need has a way of drawing her into peculiar situations. Her latest adventure begins when she meets Ian, a man who has recently had a heart transplant, and has found himself beset by unrecognized memories. He is disturbed by a menacing face which keeps appearing in his memories, and he and Isabel wonder whether there is any credence to the theory of cellular memory, and whether Ian could be recalling the person who was responsible for his donor’s death.
As with his earlier series, McCall Smith draws heavily on the geography he knows best. In much the same way that The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series opens a door to the dusty roads of Botswana, this new series allows readers to experience the long, sunny days of a Scottish summer. The history and charm of Edinburgh are apparent in the detailed descriptions of the cobblestoned streets walked by Isabel as she contemplates philosophical questions and attempts to make sense of Ian’s issues as well as her own sudden romantic interest in a much younger friend and recent fiancé of her niece. The characters and plots are thoughtful and thought-provoking, and will stay with readers well beyond the final page.
( )

"How very Edinburgh."

I read The Sunday Philosophy Club, the first book in this series, expecting to enjoy it, having received rave reviews of Alexander McCall Smith from friends, and found it very disappointing. A friend lent me this book in an emergency (involving keys locked in the car my need of a book to read while waiting for rescue) and I was surprised to find myself enjoying it thoroughly. Perhaps the change in my reaction was partly because I visited Edinburgh, albeit briefly, in the period between reading these books, but I think there's more to it than that.

The plot is certainly meandering, but that's not a negative in my eyes. If you want and/or need an "A leads to B leads to C and therefore D" plot structure, you will likely find this book frustrating.

Character-wise, I felt much more sympathetic toward Isabel than I did in the first book, where her black and white view of ethics and the world in general pissed me off - she shows a little more humanity here, although she does try very hard to suppress it! ( )

I listened to this, and the woman who read it has an accent. I loved listening to it. It was also pretty interesting, could a heart transplant come with memories from the actual heart... and then some fluff too. Although you shouldn't take my word for it really, I would probably have liked anything if this woman read it to me. ( )

Isabel helps with Cat's deli so she can go off to a wedding in Italy. Meanwhile, she meets a man who has had a recent heart transplant and has a troubling recurring vision. She does her usual philosophical pondering and considers running off with a handsome Italian man. ( )

Isabel Dalhousie is great as a philospher and an intromitter - "someone who gets involved." I really enjoy following her thoughts as she ferrets out intrigues that no one else sees, while at the same time self-questioning her every action and motive because she doesn't want to be a vitious intromitter, "who gets involved without good excuse." Isabel wants to be a better person; Alexander McCall Smith writes in an open and generous manner that invites the reader to want to be a better person, too. ( )