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Book Reviews of The Careful Use of Compliments (Isabel Dalhousie, Bk 4)

The Careful Use of Compliments (Isabel Dalhousie, Bk 4)
The Careful Use of Compliments - Isabel Dalhousie, Bk 4
Author: Alexander Mccall Smith
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ISBN-13: 9781400077120
ISBN-10: 1400077125
Publication Date: 8/12/2008
Pages: 272
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 37

3.9 stars, based on 37 ratings
Publisher: Anchor
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

2 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Careful Use of Compliments (Isabel Dalhousie, Bk 4) on
Helpful Score: 2
From Barnes and Noble.com
Isabel Dalhousie is back, in the latest installment of this enchanting, already beloved, best-selling series.
In addition to being the nosiest and most sympathetic philosopher you are likely to meet, Isabel is now a mother. Charlies, her newborn son, presents her with a myriad wonders of a new life, and doting father Jamie presents her with an intriguing proposal: marriage. In the midst of all this, she receives a disturbing letter announcing that she has been ousted as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics by the ambitious Professor Dove.
None of these things, however, in any way diminishes Isabel's curiosity. And when she attends an art auction, she finds an irresistible puzzle: two paintings attributed to a now-deceased artist appear on the market at the same time, and both of them exhibit some unusual characteristics. Are these paintings forgeries? This proves to be sufficient fodder for Isabel's inquisitiveness. So she begins an investigation... and soon finds herself diverging from her philosophical musings about fatherhood onto a path that leads her into the mysteries of the art world and the soul of an artist.



To me this book seemed like a collection of (rather useless) philosophical babble with the story of a woman and her baby sprinkled on top. It is amusing that it was written by a professor of medical science and that his hobby in life is philosophy..but it seemed that he wants everyone to know it.

This book was advertised as a mystery but the mystery portion of the book does not surface until the last thirty pages or so. Quite disappointing.
reviewed The Careful Use of Compliments (Isabel Dalhousie, Bk 4) on + 5 more book reviews
A wonderful read by one of my favorite authors.