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Content snapshot
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Violence
None
No violence; the mystery involves art provenance and questions of authenticity
Language
None
No strong language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Some
The specific intersection of art, money, and reputation in a small cultural world; Isabel's capacity to apply ethical analysis to situations that most people would treat as purely commercial
What this book is about
A painting by a Scottish artist who died young surfaces at an auction, and questions about its provenance pull Isabel Dalhousie into the world of Edinburgh art dealers and the specific way that attribution and value intersect in the art market. Alexander McCall Smith's fourth Isabel Dalhousie novel is the most specifically about Edinburgh's cultural world — the galleries, the people who move through them, and the economies of taste — while also developing the domestic thread of Isabel's life with Jamie and their son Charlie.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
fourth Isabel Dalhousie novel by Alexander McCall Smith
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