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The Sunday Philosophy Club: An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery (Sunday Philosophy Club)

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Author: Alexander Mccall Smith
Publisher: Random House Large Print Publishing
Category: Book

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Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

47 reviews
Sales Rank: 1844737

Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Lrg
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.2 x 1

ISBN: 0375434267
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780375434266
ASIN: 0375434267

Publication Date: September 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Dispatched from the US -- Expect delivery in 2-3 weeks. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 6-10 of 47

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Not the Sunday Philosophy Club May 14, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

Not your average detective story but one with lots of intellectual and philosophical excursions. We start with the fall of a young man to his death from the upper circle of an Edinburgh theatre. Our Scottish philosophical Miss Marple suspects it was no accident and sets about puzzling out the mystery. My problem was I want a detective thriller to move at pace but Isobel is a philosopher and there is much thinking to be done about matters ethical, philosophical and romantic.These slow the pace so I wonder if this book is a meeting of fish and fowl The Sunday Philosophy Club never comes to meet but our heroine does conclude the case. One certainly gets a feel for Edinburgh in this book, a city that is a village.

4 out of 5 stars

A gentle detective story April 10, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

It is understandable but, I think, unhelpful that many readers should compare this book with the author's earlier series about the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Some who are great fans of the latter have obviously not taken to this novel, which is in quite a different league. Edinburgh does not for us have the exotic appeal of Botswana; and Isabel Dalhousie, the `detective' in this book is more cerebral and her wisdom is less home-spun than that of Precious Ramotswe. What they do have in common is a feeling of social responsibility to see that justice is done, though Isabel, who is a moral philosopher, will muse over the basis of that feeling; and she does this in a manner which is not forbidding, but on the whole rather accessible. She is in any case given to much musing, to examine a variety of aspects of life in a rather intellectual manner. So, yes, she may strike one as a bit of a blue-stocking, but I found her reflections interesting and involving, and I was made to think about the questions she asked herself. Given that there is a dreadful death which she feels drawn in to investigate, there is not too much urgency and only a tense moment or two in a story which is allowed to meander gently along - this clearly has irritated some readers - as she reflects not only about how the death might be explained but also about more mundane experiences of every day life and about her own and her niece's experiences of being in love. The characters are, I think, well drawn, and the writing is slips down easily.

I have to declare an interest: I have written a book, to which I have given the title `Philosophy and Living' because philosophy appeals to me most when it addresses the problems of how we ought to live. I therefore feel some kind of kinship with Isabel Dalhousie.

2 out of 5 stars

Cannot warm to these characters..... March 31, 2007
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

Hmm...anyone expecting the warm and engaging characters present in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (and subsequent books in the series )will be sadly disappointed I fear. Isabel Dalhousie often evokes irritation with her snobbery and an ability to make a mystery out of something that 99.9% of the population would have put down as a tragic accident and then moved on from. The fact is, she comes across as someone with too much time on her hands - when she is not drinking coffee whilst doing cryptic crosswords she is visiting her niece for...guess what....a cup of coffee or, for variety, perhaps a piece of cheese. Wow !

Jamie, her niece's erstwhile boyfriend, is a wet blanket of the most saturated kind - mooning around Isabel because he knows she will put in a good word or two with Cat, the niece. In fact, Cat is about the only likeable character, although Grace, the housekeeper, has her no nonsense moments that might make you smile.

It may be that Mr McCall Smith has opted for Isabel as a reaction to Precious Ramotswe whom everybody loves; as a matter of fact they actually share some similarities in their philosophical outlooks but whilst I warm to Precious I cannot to Isabel.

Having said the above, anyone who writes books as well as Mr McCall Smith does has to produce something which is well and meticulously written, which he does, with evocations of Edinburgh which I have visited on several occasions and I finished the book in order that I might possibly develop an affinity with Isabel; surprisingly, right at the very end she displayed some insight and thoughtfulness that leads me to think she might develop more to the readership's taste. I am in two minds as to whether to give the next book in the series a run out !

4 out of 5 stars

Scottish lady detective March 20, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

Having been an avid reader of the 1st Ladies Detective Agency series, I had great hopes for the other titles by this author. The Sunday Philosophy Club comes a close second. The lady detective reads at first as if she is another Miss Marple, but as one gets into the book it becomes obvious that she is no doddery old spinster, but an experienced lady of middle years with a keen eye and sensible outlook on life. Have, and will read more of this series.

2 out of 5 stars

Unconvincing March 9, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful

This book does give a very good picture of Edinburgh Society, but it lacks a decent plot, and is convoluted. The ending is poor and extremely disappointing. Won't be reading any more of the series, much better things to read.