This is like coming home to old friends and listening to their tales of what they have been doing for the last few months. I am biased of course as I live in Edinburgh and know that area extremely well, so a lot of the fun is picking out the places the characters go to and imagining them walking up and down the streets of Edinburgh. Alexander McCall Smith writes in a fairly ponderous, careful way, but he draws the characters so delightfully that you really feel about them and what they go through. All the old characters are there, Pat, Matthew, Big Lou, Bertie and his dreadful mum, Angus and Domenica - along with all their problems and joys. The book is completely charming and thoughtful in turn, with flashes of humour and fun showing through as well. The only bit that didn't quite satisfy me was the bit about Bertie's little brother, Ulysses, when he gets left behind at Valvona and Crolla and the family go to pick him up at council agency. Although I'm sure the agency probably does exist, I can't really see that they would just hand over a baby without checking extremely carefully that it was exactly the right baby and right sex!
But all in all, this is a delightful read - I think this is my most favourite series of books by Alexander McCall Smith - and hopefully he will keep on with this series!
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