For the residents of 44 Scotland Street, life in Edinburgh's intriguing New Town is a thing to be relished. After all, there are new faces to excite Domenica's anthropological imagination, precious moments with his triplets for Matthew to savor, and the prospect of a trip to the promised land of Glasgow for young Bertie.

But there are mysteries that need solving, too. Could Angus Lordie's dog Cyril - the only dog in Scotland with a gold tooth - have unearthed a Neanderthal skull? Does the long-suffering Stuart have any hope of kindling a new relationship when Bruce, ever the navel gazer and consummate seducer, effortlessly steps into his pas de deux? And how will the patrons of Big Lou's cafe react to the menu's imminent culinary transformation?

The stories of this wonderfully vibrant cast may take unexpected turns, but the warmth and humor at Scotland's most recognizable address will ultimately affirm the joy life brings us all.

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Listening Length	9 hours and 56 minutes
Author	Alexander McCall Smith
Narrator	Robert Ian Mackenzie
Audible.com Release Date	December 08, 2020
Publisher	Recorded Books, Inc.
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B08N57LK3D
Best Sellers Rank	#25,027 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #305 in Cozy Mysteries (Audible Books & Originals) #332 in Humorous Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #1,697 in Humorous Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews

5 star		68%
4 star		21%
3 star		7%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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AdlerBooks

Neanderthals and Au Pairs, Oh My!

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2020

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What a joy to be back on Scotland Street and environs! Angus encounters a Neanderthal (maybe), Matthew and Elspeth continually revise their life with triplets, Stuart remains ineffectual, Bruce works his magic, James the au pair becomes a more complete character, students move into 44 Scotland Street, and Bertie and Cyril each experience a well-deserved moment of triumph. (Glasgow, anyone?!) With Irene mostly in Aberdeen, psychotherapy, yoga, and Melanie Klein fade into obscurity this time around.
I missed the warm-hearted Big Lou as a major character in this installment, but I was especially disconcerted to read of Matthew and Elspeth reminiscing about their honeymoon in Jamaica, when they had such a dramatic honeymoon in Australia in *Unbearable Lightness of Scones." It was Angus and Domenica who honeymooned in Jamaica (see *Sunshine on Scotland Street*). Still, with a series this long and complex, some plot irregularities may be inevitable. In any case, Angus would recite a poem to recommend forgiveness, and I can go along with that.
A speedy and pleasurable reading experience in these pandemic days.

5 people found this helpful

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Terri Hunt

You wimmin r all feminazis! *waves fists in air*

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2020

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Sigh. The author has put down his pen and picked up a sledgehammer. Ai yai yai, what a disappointment. Heavy-handed proselytizing about how women world-wide are bullying and dominating our poor menfolk and- gasp!- acting 'unfeminine' to boot, are not my thing. Of course this has been a recurring theme with this author all along, but it was occasional enough that I could grimace and move on. Not this time! "Ankles" is practically a screed, and he comes off in a distinctly I'm-an-old-man-get-offa-my-lawn way.

6 people found this helpful

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Susan O. Bachman

I think this book plays a structural game--crossword

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2021

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I agree with other reviewers that the plot bits seem disjointed at times. Yes, too much dialog of Sister Maria maybe. But gracious, we all know people who think and talk that way. Domineering people we can't restrain limit our freedoms. Bruce's domineering--as is Padruig's-- may seem over the top, but the profiles are believable enough.

I latched onto the search for the crossword puzzle clue "An air force man looks jaunty." I think the disjointed plot bits fit together...this is my 51% maybe....with the theme/topic/spirit of the final poem at the party. For this structural unity--as well as the realistic human portraits and casual references to works like Outlander,, nods to Scott, Burns, Donne, etc, and his other works (I've read most)--I think a 5 star is justified.

SPOILER: Unless I nodded, I don't think the solution Irene claims as child-like easy was ever revealed. It made me read on on the sequence level but also to keep testing how that solution might be revealed or insinuated. I think McCall Smith gently reminds us of that clue throughout the book. "Jaunty" comes up a few times, so do flying/fliers naturally with reference to the Johannesburg non-duke. Everyone is seeking some kind of high flying joy, some more nobly, others more sneakily. With jaunty comes the notion of "free," as the boys and Stuart and others gain some freedoms. I'll admit an early, clunky guess of mine was that somehow "freeway flier" might come into play. But I think Birdsong, with a soaringly free joy, just could be what comes of "air force" and jaunty as a crossword solution. Feel free to shoot me down with your better idea!

3 people found this helpful

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Sharon Marshall

My favorite series

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2020

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Love 44 Scotland Street characters. My husband is from Edinburgh and I lived there for a while. These characters resonate with me, love them all, have read every book in the series and many of his other series!

5 people found this helpful

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Michael M. Thomas

wonderful reading

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2020

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The 44 Scotland Street novels exude decency, charm, delight, fairness, intelliegence, sophistication. They are a complete, cosmopolitan, full-souled enriching antidote to modern life. I love them!!

5 people found this helpful

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B. Smith

Less Bruce more introspection

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2020

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I've read all of the 44Scotland St books and found them both funny and profound. Kindness, thoughtfulness, caring about others --these are the book's preoccupations. I laughed out loud at times, I felt sad for some characters, and I relished all the bon mots. We need this kind of book right now as humanity suffers through a plague.

2 people found this helpful

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peachygirl

Wonderful.

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021

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What's NOT to like about the articulate, well-written, clever and always amusing Mr. Smith?
He is a master of the English language and therefore a pleasure to read. His characters are always intriguing, even the ones you love to hate. :)
I dearly love the 44 Scotland Street series, as well as the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, which I consider his masterpiece. It's always difficult waiting until his books are out in paperback!

One person found this helpful

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Bicca

No plot line

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2020

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I have read every book by Alexander McCall Smith and love Bertie. But this is the 1st time I have been disappointed.
I find myself skimming thru many pages of pointless dialogue. There is no meat to any of the story lines. I am not ready to give up on this author after so many wonderful books so I hope this is not a precursor of things to come.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Colin McIntosh

A Wonderful Visit with Old Friends

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2020

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That’s exactly what this series is to me. I devour them and the Dalhousie books. You feel so certain that you know each character and become immersed in their lives and the episodes that occur. You just want more and never want the book to end. Every book just makes you want these wonderful enigmatic people to come back to you quickly, just like friends you don’t see for a time but then pick up as if it were only yesterday. Roll on for the next instalment of Cyril, Bertie, Ranald and everyone at 44 Scotland Street.

16 people found this helpful

Plushrose

Disappointing.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 20, 2020

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Too much Dreary Domenica. Chapter 28 Cyril is mentioned - at last - no - on we go with this woman who reminds me of Therasa May. Bertie was finally given a couple of chapters. So much 'poetry' filling up the pages. I think the author has lost interest in Scotland Street.

11 people found this helpful

IBart

Sad dreary meanderings!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2021

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The author wrote in this book that someone had become too popular- I feel that this might apply to himself. This is just a book full of jumbled ramblings. Whatever has happened to McCall
Smith of old? It was such a disappointment to read,I kept hoping there would be a spark, but there was not, nothing but damp squibs. There were numerous pages reprising previous text as if the reader were too stupid to remember what had been written in a earlier passage. This is an insulting tactic, used I fear, to fill up pages. Leave this book on the shelf and buy a different novel!

3 people found this helpful

Lynn Flowers

The importance of kindness

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2021

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I look forward to each new installment of the 44 Scotland Street series. Following the characters, warts and all, as their lives develop seems as real as hearing about neighbors on my own street, although the Scotland Street adventures are more varied and interesting. Running throughout, as is true of AMS's other series, is the importance of kindness. Reaching the end of the most recent offering all too quickly, I hope it won't be long until the next.

2 people found this helpful

amanda

Great return to Scotland Street

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2020

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Oh how I look forward to our yearly catch up with Edinburgh’s finest residents. This was vintage and it was with great regret that I reached the final page. So good that Bertie has escaped his awful mother’s clutches and had some fun in Glasgow! I just have one further hope for Bertie; perhaps next year he could reach his eighth birthday! It would be great to read about him slowly growing up!

2 people found this helpful

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A Promise of Ankles: 44 Scotland Street, Book 14 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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