Lost art of gratitude. Alexander McCall-Smith. 2009.

Even on perfect summer evenings in Edinburgh, birthplace of tolerance and enlightenment, there are many shocks to her ethical equilibrium that keep Isabel Dalhousie - mother, phi and new fiancée - awake at night.

There is yet another underhand attempt to oust Isabel from her Review of Applied Ethics by the treacherous Christopher Dove; there is an appeal for help from the unprincipled, deeply dislikeable and possibly downright wicked Minty Auchterlonie that cannot be ignored; there is her niece Cat’s latest unsuitable boyfriend, to whom the benefit of the doubt must be given. And there is the seismic change in her life wrought by her love for her small son Charlie and his father, Jamie.

Facing these challenges with her particular blend of compassion and unsparing honesty, Isabel finds herself considering useful lessons for life. Whether biting her lip on a hasty assumption or taming her unruly emotions, Alexander McCall-Smith’s keen-eyed heroine is reminded of the value of kindness freely given, and of the lost art of gratitude - for life’s many and unsought blessings.