44 Scotland Street (44 Scotland Street Series #1) »

Law professor Alexander McCall Smith had already written more than 50 books before inventing the heroine for his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series: Precious Ramotswe, the only female P.I. in Botswana. The books are as unconventional as their good-humored heroine, who relies on common sense -- and a few tidbits gleaned from Agatha Christie -- to solve her cases.

Author Alexander McCall Smith became a worldwide sensation with his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit is fully on display in this charming work. Here, in delightfully authentic sketches, are all the archetypes of Edinburgh society. There is the surveyor who dreams of a membership in Muirfield golf club. There is the pushy Stockbridge mother. There is the intellectual lady who sees herself as part of a much larger world. These characters and more confront issues of trust, love, and loss.

The New York Times - Elsa Dixler

It is clear even to an outsider that someone who knows Edinburgh would recognize many people and places in ''44 Scotland Street.'' But an outsider can still relish McCall Smith's depiction of this place ''of angled streets and northern light,'' and enjoy his tolerant, good-humored company.