Love Over Scotland By Alexander McCall Smith
Polygon, £14.99

THE AUTHOR is best known for his The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series which helped him win British Book Awards Author of the Year and Bookseller Association Author of the Year in 2004.

But here we are treated to the third in the 44 Scotland Street series, which started with a book by that name, and was followed up with Espresso Tales.

The books are a collection from a daily series first published in The Scotsman in 2004.

The setting is an Edinburgh Town House with all its comings and goings.

Because of the original format the chapters are only three pages.

This means the narrative fairly breezes along. It also means that the charm of the novel is achieved through characterisation and observation. Anyone who likes Edinburgh will love all the references to the city’s life.

The book was a breath of fresh air. Look out for the TV series planned for next year.