The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith

The same could be done if she surfaced in the course of the night or in those melancholy small hours when both body and spirit could be at their lowest ebb. Once she made up her mind to sleep, all that she had to do was to shut her eyes and, sure enough, she would drift off. Yet Isabel had little difficulty in getting to sleep. Isabel was a light sleeper Charlie, her eighteen-month-old son, slept deeply and, she was sure, contentedly Jamie was somewhere in between. IT WAS WHILE she was lying in bed that Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, thought about the things we do. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.

As always, she makes her way toward the heart of each problem by philosophizing, sleuthing, and downright snooping as only she can.

There is also the ever-pressing question of the future of her relationship with Jamie. To make matters worse, the anything but peaceable Professor Dove has accused Isabel's journal of plagiarism. Minty, it seems, is having trouble in her personal life, and seeks Isabel's help. Isabel’s son, Charlie, is only eighteen months, but his social life is already kicking into high gear, and it's at a birthday party, where Isabel is approached by Minty Auchterlonie, an old adversary and now a high-flying financier. The sensational sixth installment in the best-selling chronicles of the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie finds our inquisitive heroine and new mother racing two very troublesome people from her past. Whether investigating a case or a problem of philosophy, the indefatigable Isabel Dalhousie, one of fiction’s most richly developed amateur detectives, is always ready to pursue the answers to all of life’s questions, large and small. Nothing captures the charm of Edinburgh like the bestselling Isabel Dalhousie series of novels featuring the insatiably curious philosopher and woman detective.

The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith