Alexander McCall Smith is just one of those guys-he’s super nice in person (yes, I’ve spent one-on-one time with him, and he wore a kilt!), he writes wonderful books, and he’s super prolific, even though he’s a millionaire and no longer needs to work. What’s not to love? The premise of this book didn’t even interest me at first because historical fiction is never at the top of my list, but of course I ended up enjoying it, because it’s AMS y’all, he knows what he’s doing. My video review of The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse basically reiterates my enjoyment of this book, and of course includes a Smokey update for those who are interested in her mental state after Pearl had to be put to sleep a few months ago.
Am I eager to read the other AMS book on my shelf? Of course I am. Am I also horrified and a bit embarrassed that Smokey is flourishing after the death of her sister? You betcha. All that and more is included in my latest video book review for your viewing pleasure.
*Please note this post contains affiliate links, and if you choose to purchase the book through Amazon I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Glad to hear Smokey’s doing well! I think we forget sometimes that their little lives are short so everything seems kinda speeded up. When my old cat Soxy lost her brother, she grieved badly for a few weeks and then it was over. I think they live more in the moment than we do. (And I suspect we spoil the survivor which probably makes them happy too…)
Love that name-Soxy! I had a cat named Sox (spelt like that, after the baseball team, it was my brother’s choice)
So jealous you got to meet AMS! His work is such comfort reading, you know?
oh I know exactly what you mean! Cozy mysteries at their best.
Your book shelf is more populated!
I think people recommended the lady detective novels to be because one of the characters (the main?) is a fat lady, but I only read books by people who identify as women.
I’m glad Smokey is doing well. I remember learning that while people think cats from the same litter will always get along, they don’t. They can get territorial, for instance. Does she pee on the carpet less often? That night be a sign it was a territory issue. Pearl may have been defending the litter boxes.
From what I can tell, Smokey hasn’t peed outside of the litter boxes once! So yes, probably territorial-yikes.
Yes, you spotted that did you? I’m drowning in review copies right now, and I can’t really read any of them because I’m doing a bunch of author interviews for Wordfest this October so I’ve been reading those books instead! All the publishers probably want to kill me LOL
Woops. Just remember you’re doing it all for free (likely).
I’m glad Smokey feels better. We had two cats we loved, but when one proved she would have diarrhea forever and I couldn’t hang with that, she had to go. Our current Kitty got about 100% happier. I learned from a cat guy on TV (Jackson Galaxy) that often cats don’t want friends in the same space, but humans want cats to have friends because they worry about their pets (or just want more animals). Pets are challenging!
I could never get into AMS’s series, but I’m not really a series kind of reader. Maybe I should try a stand-alone!
We had two guinea pigs who had never been apart for 5 years, and I thought for sure that when one went, the other would soon follow. But not at all! Moonbeam died over a year ago, and Fudge is still going. He didn’t even seem to need an adjustment period. I know guinea pigs have small brains, but still… 🙂
I LOVE THE NAMES OF YOUR GUINEA PIGS!!
Haha… thank you! My son and daughter named them.