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Title details for The Novel Habits of Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith - Available

The Novel Habits of Happiness

#10 in series

by Alexander McCall Smith
Davina Porter
Audiobook
5 of 5 copies available
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5 of 5 copies available
The ever-delightful, insatiably curious Edinburgh philosopher and amateur sleuth returns to take on a case unlike any she's had before-this one with paranormal implications-in the tenth installment of this beloved author's consistently best-selling series. From a small town outside Edinburgh comes the news that a young boy has been recounting vivid recollections of a past life: a perfect description of an island off the coast of Scotland which he couldn't possibly know, and a house there, where he claims to have spent his former life. When the boy's mother asks Isabel to investigate his claims, she feels she must-of course!-help them learn the truth, and she and her husband, Jamie, set off for the island. But finding the house the boy described only leads to more complicated questions. And when she learns about the unusual story of the family who lived there, Isabel is suddenly faced with a situation of extraordinary delicacy that will require all of her skills both as sleuth and philosopher.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Isabel Dalhousie

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 1, 2015

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781464035586
      • File size: 240563 KB
      • Duration: 08:21:10

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Davina Porter is the highlight of this drawn-out installment in the Isabel Dalhousie mystery series. Dalhousie is sought out by a mother whose young son "discovers" he's lived an earlier life when he visits a lighthouse. Porter portrays Dalhousie enthusiastically as she attempts to help the family, particularly when the child expresses a wish to die and return to his former life. Spirited descriptions of lighthouses and their surroundings bring Scotland's wild seashore vividly to life. However, Dalhousie's detailed musings about EVERYTHING--well rendered but very intrusive--make the mystery a minor part of the story. Listeners will be disappointed by the contrived solution to the mystery, although Porter's deft presentation may be some consolation. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 1, 2015
      No writer makes the philosophical life as inviting and cozy as Smith does in his episodic novels featuring Isabel Dalhousie. In her native Edinburgh, Isabel fills many roles: editor of The Review of Applied Ethics, mother of Charlie, partner of Jamie, and solver of mysteries. When people in Isabel’s circle have troubles, they come to her (“I am a recipient of unusual confidences,” she says to herself). In this 10th installment (after 2012’s The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds), six-year-old Harry is “convinced that he’s had another life,” complete with another family and a house with a red door near a lighthouse. Isabel looks into this odd situation with her usual efficiency, ready intelligence, and highly sympathetic nature. Smith adds a modicum of narrative energy with a subplot about a minor academic feud, but plot isn’t the point. The real substance of this charming series lies in Isabel’s thoughtful observations and the interactions among a large cast of characters. Agent: Robin Straus, Robin Straus Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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