Book cover of The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith shows title and author.

(This review of The Right Attitude to Rain is old and was previously published on Goodreads. I’m rather swamped with work right now. This is what happens when you request a lot of ARCs from Netgalley and end up getting approved on most of them!)

The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith

Genre: cozy mystery

Publisher: Pantheon Books

Publication Date: 2006

Summary

“The delectable new installment in the bestselling and already beloved adventures of Isabel Dalhousie and her no-nonsense housekeeper, Grace.

“When friends from Dallas arrive in Edinburgh and introduce Isabel to Tom Bruce – a bigwig at home in Texas – several confounding situations unfurl at once. Tom’s young fiancée’s roving eye leads Isabel to believe that money may be the root of her love for Tom. But what, Isabel wonders, is the root of the interest Tom begins to show for Isabel herself? And she can’t forget about her niece, Cat, who’s busy falling for a man whom Isabel suspects of being an incorrigible mama’s boy.

“Of course Grace and Isabel’s friend Jamie counsel Isabel to stay out of all of it, but there are irresistible philosophical issues at stake – when to tell the truth and when to keep one’s mouth shut, to be precise – and philosophical issues are meat and drink to Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics. In any case, she’s certain of the ethical basis for a little sleuthing now and again – especially when the problems involve matters of the heart.” (from blurb on Goodreads)

My thoughts

Picking up an Alexander McCall Smith novel makes me want to curl up in a chair with a cup of hot tea. Considering the temperature here in the Southeast, I’ll pass on the hot tea.

But I have enjoyed the Isabel Dalhousie “mysteries” a great deal. Isabel is a philosopher, given to musings that are thought-provoking for me and that tie in with the novel’s themes and plots more than you’d think at first glance.

In Book 3 of the series, Isabel is her usual inquisitive self. She has her American cousins visiting her and through them, she meets Tom Bruce (a Texas bigwig) and his fiance, who is all-too-obviously more interested in Isabel’s love interest than in the man whose ring she wears. The philosopher’s interest is raised: why is she marrying him? For his money? Why does Tom put up with this? Should Isabel intervene?

In the meantime, her niece’s former boyfriend Jamie and Isabel are venturing closer to love. But can they overcome the fourteen year age difference and her niece’s anger?

The “mystery” aspect is downplayed in favor of the relationships. The plot is slow–Isabel’s philosophical musings tend to do that–but I’m okay with that. McCall Smith is a fine writer with an excellent grasp on ethical issues and penetrating insights into human relationship dynamics. Even when I don’t agree with Isabel’s conclusions, they still make me think.

Another plus for me: the lack of offensive language. (Thank God. An intelligent novel that doesn’t resort to using the “f” word. I get tired of that.)

A worth while read. Don’t expect a page turner, though.

If you enjoy this type of work, check out Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity series.