Friends, Lovers, Chocolate

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate was written by Alexander McCall Smith – yes, indeed, the very same who wrote the witty, charming The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. However, Isabel Dalhousie is very different from Mma Precious Ramotswe, the proprietoress of the detective agency in Botswana. Isabel lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, she is a philosopher, general editor of the Review of Applied Ethics - and by way of being an amateur detective in her own right.

As usual, this reviewer has come in part-way through a series since this is the second book in McCall Smith’s “Sunday Philosophy Club” series. Isabel’s friends are her niece, Cat (short for Catherine), and Cat’s ex boyfriend Jamie who is still carrying a torch for her.

Isabel is enjoying a change of scene supervising the delicatessen and small cafe owned by her niece while Cat goes to Italy for a friend’s wedding, when she meets a man with a heart transplant who fears whoever killed the donor of his new heart is out to kill him, too.

Cat returns from Italy with a middle-aged Lothario in tow, Isabel’s housekeeper is in love with a man she met at a spiritualists’ meeting.

All this is food for philosophising –which Isabel does, as she considers (among other things) her own feelings about Jamie . . . her client and his “borrowed” heart . . . her niece’s love life. If you ever wanted to know what philosophers think about life (if not the Universe and Everything) Friends, Lovers, Chocolate is a relatively painless way to find out.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell regular readers of this review column where to find Friends Lovers, Chocolate which I rate one of the more serious detective stories I’ve read this year.

For the rest, this week I intend to cheat. I’m listing four recently published books also available from Nigel Khan Bookseller but I’ve relied on reviews on Amazon.com for opinions and, if necessary, an outline of the plot. Let’s begin with an easy one. HRH by Danielle Steele - for those addicted to escapist, romantic prose (and why not, if you like it?). You can tell by the title it’s about a princess - and romance, of course - however it didn’t go down well with Amazon fans of the genre: you have been warned.

For One More Day by Mitch Albom is for those who enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie. A touch on the sentimental side, it is the story of “Chick” Benetto whose mother, Pauline dies, while he is visiting his estranged father. Chick is devastated but gets the chance to visit the past where he learns to appreciate the sacrifices his mother made for him. This is somewhat on the sentimental side, too, but, one gathers, written with style.

Lisey’s Story should appeal to all Stephen King fans. According to one Amazon reviewer, this book is as nasty as they come – so enjoy!

Teacher Man completes the trilogy begun in Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCork and describes his career teaching high school students in public school in New York. One reviewer describes it as a lyrical ode to the craft of teaching.

Perhaps the most fascinating of all the new books I browsed through in the Ellerslie Plaza branch of Nigel Khan Bookseller was Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie.

This is a book for all those who wonder what motivates terrorists. Judging by the reviews, this book seems to be a mixture of political thriller, love story, folk tale and slapstick comedy with adventure, science fiction and magic realism thrown in for good measure - and I can’t wait to read it myself.

Finally, a reminder: all these books are, or should be, available from Nigel Khan Booksellers, nationwide.