Robert Ian Mackenzie

The continuing adventures of Edinburgh's beloved characters, many of whom are in the midst of new beginnings, including Bertie, who's been thinking that he might want to start over with a new family and so puts himself up for adoption on eBay.

At 44 Scotland Street, six-year-old Bertie seeks escape in the Cub Scouts; Matthew rises to the challenge of married life; Domenica epitomizes the loneliness of the long-distance intellectual; and Cyril, the gold-toothed star of the whole show, succumbs to the kind of romantic temptation that no dog can resist and creates a small problem, or rather six of them, for his friend and owner Angus Lordie.

Between glances in the mirror, vain Bruce contemplates a new career as a wine merchant. His troubled flat-mate Pat finds herself looking for true love at a nudist picnic. Precocious Bertie, now six years old, prepares for kindergarten despite the horror of being forced to wear pink overalls. Meanwhile, his domineering mother Irene and his psychotherapist Dr. Fairbairn struggle with dark secrets as Bertie plots his rebellion against them. And so it's...

When Pat rents a room in Edinburgh, she acquires some interesting neighbors--including a pushy Stockbridge mother and her talented, sax-playing, five-year-old son. Her job at an art gallery hardly keeps her busy until she suspects one painting in the collection may be an undiscovered work by a Scottish master.

Still enduring psychotherapy, the precocious Bertie gets a chance to escape when he joins a junior orchestra trip to Paris--wher he is accidentally left behind. Never fear for Bertie, though. He quickly finds the silver lining by making friends with students at the Sorbonne. Meanwhile, Domenica Macdonald heads to the Malacca Straits, where she intends to study the economic structure of contemporary pirate culture. And in Edinburgh, Pat entertains...

A collection of short fiction -- including two never-before-published novellas -- featuring Jamie Fraser, Lord John Grey, Master Raymond, and many more, all extending the story of Outlander in new directions. "The Custom of the Army" begins with Lord John Grey being shocked by an electric eel and ends at the Battle of Quebec. Then comes "The Space Between," where it is revealed that the Comte St. Germain is not dead, Master Raymond appears, and a...

"While gathering material for a photography book about Edinburgh, Alexander McCall Smith found himself inspired to create stories about the people captured in a number of particularly striking photos. A smiling girl leading a younger girl astride a pony, and a boy in a kilt on a tricycle beside them, gives rise to a story of a lifelong romance between the two riders. A dapper, roguish-looking man perching on a lady's knee sparks the story of a ventriloquist...

Bertie Pollock's father is powerless to stop overbearing Irene and her motion for Bertie to travel to Aberdeen. And up in the New Town, while Bruce Anderson plots with old-school chums, love blossoms in Big Lou's Cafe.

Investigating an apparent occult murder during the Easter season in St. Denis, beloved chief of police Bruno discovers links to a troubling real estate proposal, a suspicious accident, and the sudden reappearance of a controversial elderly countess.

In the wake of attacks on local Asian vendors and an increase in black-market ingredients that threaten the Dordogne's lucrative truffle trade, Chief of Police Bruno finds the case taking a personal turn when one of his hunting partners, a former high-profile intelligence agent, is murdered.