The Private Life Of Spies And The Exquisite Art Of Getting Even

From the beloved author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a new collection of lighthearted stories of espionage and revenge that are as surprising as they are entertaining. Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark wit and warmth to nine twisty tales of spycraft and vengeance. In "Nuns and Spies," a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself—quite convincingly—as a nun. In "Filioque," an invitation to join the Vatican secret service sends a prospective operative down a rabbit hole of controversy and confusion. In "Dignity & Decency," an author on the brink of public ruin sees the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day. A keen observer of humanity and imbued with a sparkling imagination, Alexander McCall Smith illustrates in these stories that honesty and forthrightness are paramount and that forgiveness is restorative. With surprising insight and a healthy helping of humor, this collection reminds us that, in the end, the high road is often the better one for all involved.

From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a new short story collection: half spy stories, half tales of revenge, all highlight the kinder, funnier, and gentler side of espionage and retribution. In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself--quite convincingly--as a nun. In another, an invitation to join the Vatican Secret Service sends a prospective operative down a rabbit hole of controversy and confusion. A third story finds an author, on the brink of public ruin, seeing the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day. A keen observer of humanity imbued with a sparkling imagination, Alexander McCall Smith illustrates throughout that transparency is paramount and forgiveness is restorative. With surprising insight and a healthy helping of humor, these stories remind us that, in the end, the high road is often the better one for all involved.

"In the tradition of Zoe Heller's What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal, a darkly sophisticated novel about an old woman's curiosity that turns into a dangerous obsession as she becomes involved in her new neighbor's complicated and cloaked life"--

It is often said that the best things in life come in small packages; anyone in search of proof need look no further than the stories in this collection from the acclaimed author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series: brief, utterly engaging tales that offer lasting surprise and delight, accompanied by charming illustrations by Iain McIntosh. In Tiny Tales, Alexander McCall Smith explores romance, ambition, kindness, and happiness in thirty short stories accompanied by thirty witty cartoons designed by Iain McIntosh, McCall Smith’s longtime creative collaborator. Here we meet the first Australian pope, who hopes to finally find some peace and quiet back home in Perth; a psychotherapist turned motorcycle racetrack manager; and an aspiring opera singer who gets her unlikely break onstage. And, of course, we spend time in McCall Smith’s beloved Scotland, where we are introduced to progressive Vikings, a group of housemates with complex romantic entanglements, and a couple of globe-trotting dentists. These tales and illustrations depict the full scope of human experience and reveal the rich tapestry of life—painted in miniature.

In the Swedish criminal justice system, certain cases are considered especially strange and difficult, in Malmö, the dedicated detectives who investigate these crimes are members of an elite squad known as the Sensitive Crimes Division. These are their stories. The first case: the small matter of a man stabbed in the back of the knee. Who would perpetrate such a crime and why? Next: a young woman's imaginary boyfriend goes missing. But how on earth do you search for someone who doesn't exist? And in the final investigation: eerie secrets that are revealed under a full moon may not seem so supernatural in the light of day. No case is too unusual, too complicated, or too, well insignificant for this squad to solve. The team: Ulf “the Wolf” Varg, the top dog, thoughtful and diligent; Anna Bengsdotter, who's in love with Varg's car (and possibly Varg too); Carl Holgersson, who likes nothing more than filling out paperwork; and Erik Nykvist, who is deeply committed to fly fishing. With the help of a rather verbose local police officer, this crack team gets to the bottom of cases other detectives can't or won't bother to handle. Equal parts hilarious and heartening, The Department of Sensitive Crimes is a tour de farce from a true master.

44 SCOTLAND STREET - Book 3 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. This just in from Edinburgh: the complicated lives of the denizens of 44 Scotland Street are becoming no simpler. Domenica Macdonald has left for the Malacca Straits to conduct a perilous anthropological study of pirate households. Angus Lordie’s dog, Cyril, has been stolen, and is facing an uncertain future wandering the streets. Bertie, the prodigiously talented six-year-old, is still enduring psychotherapy, but his burden is lightened by a junior orchestra's trip to Paris, where he makes some interesting new friends. Back in Edinburgh, there is romance for Pat with a handsome young man called Wolf, until she begins to see the attractions of the more prosaically named Matthew. Teeming with McCall Smith’s wonderful wit and charming depictions of Edinburgh, Love Over Scotland is another beautiful ode to a city and its people that continue to fascinate this astounding author.

The rocking motion of the train as it speeds along, the sound of its wheels on the rails . . . There’s something special about this form of travel that makes for easy conversation, which is just what happens to the four strangers who meet in Trains and Lovers. As they journey by rail from Edinburgh to London, the four travelers pass the time by sharing tales of trains that have changed their lives. A young, keen-eyed Scotsman recounts how he turned a friendship with a female coworker into a romance by spotting an anachronistic train in an eighteenth-century painting. An Australian woman shares how her parents fell in love and spent their life together running a railroad siding in the remote Australian Outback. A middle-aged American patron of the arts sees two young men saying goodbye in a train station and recalls his own youthful crush on another man. And a young Englishman describes how exiting his train at the wrong station allowed him to meet an intriguing woman whom he impulsively invited to dinner—and into his life. Here is Alexander McCall Smith at his most enchanting, exploring the nature of love—and trains—in a collection of romantic, intertwined stories. This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.

A beautiful and atmospheric stand-alone novel filled with intrigue, a child's misunderstandings and their resolution years later, from the beloved and bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. IN E-ORIGINAL ONLY! It is 1938 in the final days of the British Empire. In a house high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old, her father, Henry--owner of Pitlochry, a tea estate--and her mother, Virginia. The story centres around a gazebo they fondly call the Pavilion in the Clouds, suspended on the edge of their idyllic gardens as if floating above the lush valley below. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess Miss White’s intentions. Her quick, but still childish intuition sparks off her mother’s imagination, and, after an unfortunate series of events, a confrontation results in a gunshot ringing out through the valley, and life-altering repercussions. Years later, Bella, now living back in Scotland at university in St. Andrews, is faced with her past. Will she at last find out what happened between her father and Miss White? And will the guilt she has lived with all these years be reconciled by a long-overdue apology? A page-turning, suspenseful story exploring themes of the inheritance of colonial history and its impact upon families, especially the women and children, The Pavilion in the Clouds shows it's never too late to revisit the past in order to better understand our present view.