Hardback: Domestic bliss seems in short supply at 44 Scotland Street. Matthew and Elspeth have increased their household by three, but the joys of multiple parenthood are rather lost on Matthew who is finding it hard enough to tell his new brood apart even without sleep deprivation.
At least he has the sense to take on former inamorata Pat to help at the Something Special gallery amidst a plan involving flowers and submarines. But could he be about to find himself out in the cold with Big Lou? The ever lovelorn café owner is hoping to find herself all shook up thanks to internet dating and an Elvis impersonator. However, it appears Arbroath rather than Graceland could hold the key to her future happiness.
Artist Angus Lordie and anthropologist Domenica are trying to plan their wedding, but it seems to be heading off the rails. The reappearance of an old flame doesn't help and Domenica's stress levels are set to increase when her friend Antonia - recovered from an attack of Stendhal Syndrome - decides to become a nun.
And what of 44 Scotland Street's first family, the Pollocks? Dad, Stuart, is harbouring a secret about a secret society and Bertie is feeling kind of blue. Having had enough of his neurotic hot-housing mother, he puts himself up for adoption on eBay. Will he go to the highest bidder or will he have to take matters into his own hands?
Bertie Plays the Blues (2011) is the seventh book in the deliciously engaging 44 Scotland Street novel series.
About the author: Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors. His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. Then, after the publication of his highly successful No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty languages and become bestsellers through the world.
The series include the Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Sunday Philosophy Club series starring Isabel Dalhousie, the von Igelfeld series, and the new Corduroy Mansions novels.
Alexander is also the author of collections of short stories, academic works, and over thirty books for children. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and a CBE for service to literature in 2007. He holds honorary doctorates from nine universities in Europe and North America. Alexander McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh. He is married to a doctor and has two daughters. Both he and his wife are members of an amateur orchestra, the Really Terrible Orchestra, in which he plays the contra-bassoon.
Rating: 5/5
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