The Careful Use of Compliments book cover by Alexander McCall Smith

The Careful Use of Compliments

Book 4 of Isabel Dalhousie

Get this book

The store links use this book's US print edition, ISBN 9781400077120.

Where The Careful Use of Compliments sits

Series
Book 4 of Isabel Dalhousie. See all Isabel Dalhousie books in order
Order checked
Last checked: September 25, 2026, against penguinrandomhouse.com

What The Careful Use of Compliments is about

The setup only, with no spoilers. Each line names the record it rests on.

  • Isabel, a curious and kind philosopher, has become a mother, and Jamie, the father of her baby son, asks her to marry him. (Library of Congress; read November 6, 2026) doting father Jamie presents her with an intriguing proposal: marriage
  • A letter tells her that the ambitious Professor Dove has pushed her out as editor of the ethics journal she ran. (Library of Congress; read November 6, 2026) ousted as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics by the ambitious Professor Dove
  • At an art auction, two paintings credited to an artist who has died come up for sale at once, and both look odd to her. (Library of Congress; read November 6, 2026) two paintings attributed to a now-deceased artist appear on the market at the same time

Topics in this book

A linked topic opens its page on bookslike.app, with every book on the site that shares it.

Topics

  • Art
  • Art dealers
  • Women editors

Reading ages

  • Adult

Other books in Isabel Dalhousie

14 books listed so far

  1. Book 1: The Sunday Philosophy Club
  2. Book 2: Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
  3. Book 3: The Right Attitude to Rain
  4. Book 5: The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday
  5. Book 6: The Lost Art of Gratitude
  6. Book 7: The Charming Quirks of Others
  7. Book 8: The Forgotten Affairs of Youth
  8. Book 9: The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
  9. Book 10: The Novel Habits of Happiness
  10. Book 11: A Distant View of Everything
  11. Book 12: The Quiet Side of Passion
  12. Book 13: The Geometry of Holding Hands
  13. Book 14: The Sweet Remnants of Summer

Report a mistake

Common questions

What order should I read a series in?

Start with publication order, the order the books first came out. When a series also has a story order that differs, the series page shows both and says why, so you can choose.

Which book should I start with?

Look for the Start here marker. It sits on the first book of the main list, unless the author's own page recommends a different first book, and the reason is printed beside it. It is not a ranking or a review.

What if an order looks wrong?

Tap Report a problem under the list and say which book looks out of place. No account or email is needed. Each report is checked against the sources, and the page is corrected if the report is right.

Does this site earn money from the links?

It can. If you buy through a store link, this site may earn a small amount. That never changes the list: which books are listed, their order, and the fixed order of the store buttons stay the same.

Where do these facts come from?

One page shows the sources and how the facts are checked.

All 11 questions