Alexander McCall Smith 44 scotland street 6 Books Collection Pack Set RRP: £49.22 (Love Over Scotland, Espresso Tales, 44 Scotland Street, The Importance of Being Seven, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BERTIE, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones)

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His characters, the likable ones (which are neariy all of them), are wise people. I enjoy hearing their thoughts. They are kind and always know the right thing to do or say. I am often moved by what they do. The latest installment of Alexander McCall Smith’s perennially popular and irresistibly charming 44 Scotland Street series. The latest entry in AMS’s 44 Scotland Street series finds Irene raising her ugly head and wanting Bertie to spend 3 months with her in Aberdeen where she is pursuing her PhD in psychology. Bertie doesn’t want to go but is told that he must because Irene is his mother, and she has a right to see him. Once there, poor Bertie doesn’t understand the Highlands accent, nor does he want to start psychoanalysis again with his old psychologist. He plans his escape & learns what a true friend Ranald Braveheart McPherson really is.

Love in the Time of Bertie is the fifteenth book in the popular 44 Scotland Street series by Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith, and in it, the lives of the residents of 44 Scotland Street and those of their friends are, once again, updated for the continuing enjoyment of series fans. The audio version is narrated by David Rintoul. The story was first published as a serial in The Scotsman, starting in January 2004, every weekday for six months. It marked its 10th anniversary with the publishing of the tenth volume, The Revolving Door, in 2015. Now Irene insists her son must visit her for three months, to the dismay of Bertie, his father Stuart and his grandmother Nicola. As for Bruce, I am left wondering how long this new persona will last. Not to be too much of a pessimist, and I do believe people can change, but … really??The residents and neighbors of 44 Scotland Street and the city of Edinburgh come to vivid life in these gently satirical, wonderfully perceptive serial novels, featuring six-year-old Bertie, a remarkably precocious boy—just ask his mother. Ramsey Dunbarton, retired lawyer whose main claim to fame is his erstwhile performance as the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers While Pat works at Matthew’s gallery, she points out that one of the paintings appears to be the work of Samuel Peploe. It is interesting that Matthew, the owner of the art gallery, has almost no knowledge of art. He is not much of a businessman, either, and his bills are paid by his father, who gave him the art gallery. They style is interesting. The writer was of interest to me for the #1 Women's Detective Agency Series that he has written. The book was given to me from friends from Edinburgh who enjoyed the setting.

McCall Smith did this serial novel for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. Each chapter is short -- about 9 inches of copy for a daily newspaper run. On the upside, Bertie has been happily free from psychoanalysis, saxophone lessons, yoga classes, Italian lessons, etc. since his mother Irene moved to Aberdeen to get a Ph.D. And, particularly, why NOW - when his fame and enormous royalties have put him into the class of MUST-READ COZY MYSTERY AUTHORS?

The Enigma Of Garlic is the sixteenth book in the popular 44 Scotland Street Series by Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith. The reader is, once again, brought up to date on the lives of our favourite Edinburgh residents. Their chance day-to-day criss-crossings, quirky foibles and comic adventures are all observed by Number 44's longest-term resident, anthropologist Domenica MacDonald, her painter friend Angus Lordie - and Angus' dog, Cyril, the only canine in Scotland with a gold tooth. As always, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna is her hilariously helpful self by way of being nosy, but in doing so, resolves a huge concern for Big Lou following her wedding. Bruce’s visit to the monastery changes his life even more. Irene is a changed woman. Wait, really? We shall see, I suppose. I only wish we’d had more interaction with Bertie in this novel. The eternal seven-year-old is largely absent here, with only a few peeps into his camping (mis)adventures. What there is of Bertie, though, shows his patience and kindness, and is endearing and makes one love him even more. Domenica Macdonald mentally lauds the virtue of inaction: not fixing what isn’t broken; the electrically-changed Bruce Anderson stuns his friends by heading to Pluscarden, intent on becoming a monk; Turner Prize judge, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna reveals a radical plan likely to upset its protagonists.

The first novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved series introduces us to Bertie and the wide cast of characters who live on 44 Scotland Street. There’s Pat, a twenty-year-old who has recently moved into a flat with Bruce, an athletic young man with a keen awareness of his own appearance. Their neighbor, Domenica, is an eccentric and insightful widow. Love triangles, a lost painting, intriguing new friends, and an encounter with a famous Scottish crime writer are just a few of the ingredients that add to this delightful and witty portrait of Edinburgh society. It’s the most anticipated event of the decade—Big Lou and Fat Bob’s wedding—and everyone is invited! But the relative peace and tranquillity of 44 Scotland Street is about to be disrupted. Domineering Irene is set to return for a two-month stay, consigning young Bertie to a summer camp. Not content with that, she somehow manages to come between the enigmatic nun, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna, and her friend, the hagiographer, Antonia Collie. The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee– Glasgow for Bertie is the promised land. The city of pies and Irn Bru, far from his controlling mother, Irene – his place of escape. But how will he respond to the news of the proposed merging of Edinburgh and Glasgow? A new member of Bertie’s class at school is causing ripples in his social circle. She is called Galactica MacFee and is going to be a match for Olive and her lieutenant, Pansy. And, an incredible new discovery: a Pictish stone, that is said to have the first-know written poem carved into it is the talk of the town. But, when the poem is eventually translated, it is thought it is best to keep it under wraps. The novel provides a distinctly separate point of view from each character, shedding insight into each of them and how they think of each other. Yet look again at the dramatic personae in The Promise of Ankles. For a start it’s called that because a small part of it takes place inside the mind of a dog tempted to nip the ankles of his master’s friend. The main character? Bertie, a seven-year-old boy breaking away from his hothousing mother. His gran? A Glasgow pie shop owner. His neighbour? A socialite Italian nun who speaks almost entirely in aphorisms. Hardly New Town stereotypes, any of them.So now we’re onto book 14 in a series that that has already won the hearts of readers throughout the world. In McCall Smith’s new novel, they’ll discover that seven-year-old Bertie finally gets to live in the Promised Land (Glasgow), just as his father’s budding romance is stymied by the narcissistic Bruce Anderson (not a real villain but the nearest we get to one here). But though we read on to find out what happens to the characters, the real charm of 44 Scotland Street lies in the sometimes surreal unpredictability of the other stories McCall Smith will add to the mix. The chapter headings hint at their range. ‘Rhododendrons and Missionaries’. ‘Bruchan Lom’. ‘Akratic Action’. ‘A Speluncean Entrance.’ I’ll explain one of them and you’ll see what I mean.