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The Sunday Philosophy Club

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The Sunday Philosophy Club

By: Alexander McCall Smith
Narrated by: Phyllis Logan
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About this listen

 Winner of the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2004.
Winner of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award, 2004.

Amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher who uses her training to solve unusual mysteries. She edits the Review of Applied Ethics, addressing such questions as "Truth telling in sexual relationships", and she also hosts The Sunday Philosophy Club at her house in Edinburgh.

Behind the city's Georgian facades, its moral compasses are spinning with greed, dishonesty, and murderous intent. Instinct tells Isabel that the young man who tumbled to his death in front of her eyes at a concert didn't fall. He was pushed.

The Sunday Philosophy Club marks new territory, but familiar moral ground, from the author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. With Isabel Dalhousie, Alexander Mccall Smith introduces a new and pneumatic female sleuth to tackle murder, mayhem, and the mysteries of life.

©2004 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2004 Time Warner AudioBooks Detective Fiction Mystery Traditional Detectives Women Sleuths Women's Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Fans of Botswanese heroine Precious Ramotswe are sure to embrace McCall Smith's irrepressible new protagonist, who leads a cast of delightfully flawed characters." ( Booklist)
"The literary equivalent of herbal tea and a cozy fire....McCall Smith's Scotland [is] well worth future visits." ( The New York Times)
All stars
Most relevant  
So disappointed! All McCall Smith's other stories have such joy in them! This is the story of a middle-aged spinster , who seems to have no life - apart from the Sunday Philosophy Club, which the members are very reluctant to attend! On evening in the theatre she seems someone fall to their death and immediately feels she should investigate, being the last person to meet his eye.
This involves getting together with her niece's former boyfriend, a weedy youth after whom our heroine seems to lust (at least she feels she could teach him how to make love properly...) and this lady.
Things take their natural course; turns out, of course, it was an accident, but this person knows about and is able to absolve the guilty party!
I only kept reading because I hoped someone would throttle this woman - but no such luck!

A creepy busybdy

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very different to Am Smith usual work. struggled at times to keep up. twist at end
Different

Different

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It was a decent story and beautifully read. However, it was abridged, which I had not realised and I would never have bought it knowing this. I did not realise this until the end but it explains a LOT. Abridged audio books are never what they should be.

Abridged

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Loved the no. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series but this was such a let down. Boring and pedestrian, sorry, it didn’t engage me enough to care about the characters or the outcome.

Unbelievably pedestrian

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A gentle reminder that morality can and maybe should trounce legal definition. And what better setting than the great city of Edinburgh

Well narrated with the gentle lily of Phyllis Logan setting the right tone.

A moral tale

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I read these books a number of years ago. Absolutely adored the Sunday Philosophy Club like all of Alexander McCallSmith’s books. Love listening too (although the read was better).

Lots of Fun

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The story was a little flat with very little detecting - and I found the philosophy and characters a little dull. Hopefully by rating, Audible won't suggest I waste a credit on the other books in the series.

Not much detecting - a short listen

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