Isabel’s incandescent curiosity is piqued when she is asked to help a professor of medicine who has been disgraced by allegations of scientific fraud concerning a newly marketed drug. Would a doctor with a stellar reputation make such a simple but grave mistake? If not, what explains the tragic accident that resulted in the death of a patient? An investigation is in order, especially since a man’s reputation is in jeopardy, and a great deal of money is at stake for the pharmaceutical company involved. She’s also occupied by the envy she feels in the face of Jamie’s new friendship with the composer-in-residence at the University of Edinburgh. Whatever the case, whatever the solution, Isabel’s combination of spirit, smarts, curiosity, empathy and unabashed nosiness guarantees a delightful adventure. | The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH, Paperback | Indigo Chapters