Love Over Scotland

August 20, 2007
The irresistible third entry to the 44 Scotland Street series picks up with the residents of 44 Scotland Street where Espresso Tales
left off and is as addictive as any book McCall Smith has written. Anthropologist Domenica has flown off to the Straits of Malacca to study modern-day pirates. Back in Edinburgh, Pat moves from 44 Scotland Street and develops a crush on fellow art student Wolf, whose strange ways hint at a darker subplot that involves Pat's flatmate. Pat moves in with gallery owner Matthew, who struggles with both a sudden fortune and a yearning for Pat. Meanwhile, child prodigy saxophonist Bertie becomes a reluctant member of the Edinburgh Teenage Orchestra at age six and later, on a trip to Paris, finds himself wonderfully unsupervised. Poet/portrait painter Angus is tormented by the theft of his beloved dog Cyrus. The proceedings sparkle with McCall Smith's trademark wit (“It was not always fun being a child, just as it had not always been fun being a medieval Scottish saint”), proving once again, he's a true treasure. Illustrations by Iain McIntosh enliven the text.

A writer as charming as Alexander McCall Smith deserves a reader just as charming, and in Robert Ian Mackenzie he has a match. You'll have your own favorites among his voices; mine is his Irene, the smugly insufferable mother of the child prodigy Bertie. In this episode Irene pushes the unwilling Bertie to try out for a spot in the Edinburgh Teenage Orchestra in spite of his being only 6. Bertie is horrified when his audition succeeds, but things look up when Irene learns that no parents will be allowed to accompany the group on their trip to Paris. There can be a sameness in Mackenzie's cadences from character to character, but otherwise it's hard to fault this delightful update on the denizens of 44 Scotland Street. B.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

March 15, 2008
This third volume of serial stories about the residents of 44 Scotland Street calls to addicted listeners just as viewers are called to afternoon soap operas. With a wry sense of humor and insight into human frailties, Smith explores the feelings of elation and worthlessness found in the relationships of the elder generation (Angus and Domenica), those of middle years (Irene, Stuart, and Bertie's psychoanalyst), and the younger set (Pat, Matthew, and a new character, Wolf). Robert Ian Mackenzie's aristocratic British diction doesn't seem to fit Irene and Bertie, but others are skillfully portrayed. Highly recommended where "44 Scotland Street" is popular.Sandy Glover, Camas P.L., WA

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