List $29.99

Written by Alexander McCall Smith - Audio book performed by Davina Porter - Unabridged Fiction - 7 RETAIL EDITION COMPACT DISCS - 8 hours

Publisher, Recorded Books (September 2004)

NOTE: RETAIL EDITIONS are packaged in attractive, compact cardboard, jewel-case or DVD shrink-wrapped cases, with full-color art.

From internationally best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith, creator of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, comes a new mystery series brimming with the same wit and charm. Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher by training, and an amateur sleuth by choice. When a young man falls from a balcony to his death, Isabel does not believe it was an accident. Plunging deep into the shady business community of Edinburgh, she is determined to root out the truth.

Amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher who also uses her training to solve unusual mysteries. Isabel is Editor of the Review of Applied Ethics--which addresses such issues as "truth telling in sexual relationships"—and she also hosts The Sunday Philosophy Club at her house in Edinburgh. In this first book in McCall Smith's new series Isabel investigates how a young man could have fallen to his death from the top balcony of the Usher Hall. She is aided by her beautiful niece Cat, Cat's ex- boyfriend Hugo (whose own good looks Isabel is tantalized by), and her strict housekeeper Grace. Isabel is drawn into the heart of Edinburgh's well-heeled, if somewhat shady, business community as she sets out to discover the truth.

About the Author: Alexander McCall Smith has written more than 50 books covering a wide range of topics and directed at many different audiences. His works include Forensic Aspects of Sleep and The Criminal Law of Botswana, children’s book The Perfect Hamburger, and a collection of stories called Portuguese Irregular Verbs. A professor of medical law at Edinburgh University, he was born in what is now Zimbabwe and taught law at the University of Botswana.

About the Performer: Davina Porter divides her time between theater work, her family, and the Recorded Books studio. Born in London, her four children are now grown and two are pursuing career in the United Kingdom. Davina spends each summer at the Vineyard Playhouse on Martha’s Vineyard, where she enjoys her theater roles, in plays such as Lettice and Lovage, and the venerable old resort town. She is also Chariman of the Board of the Westport, Connecticut Community Theater, where she has been an active member for many years.

In addition to her work in the Vineyard and Westport, Davina Porter’s acting career has taken her to theaters in Boston, New York City, and Fairfield University as Artist in Residence. She has received critical acclaim for her roles in plays that range from light comedy like Bedroom Farce to the moving Agnes of God.