Alexander McCall-Smith

Shorn of context, unknown people look out to us from old and anonymous photographs, and each image has magical appeal. Alexander McCall Smith, one of the world's best-loved writers, has reimagined the stories of these individuals in this charming, humorous, unexpected and poignant collection. The fifteen photographs captured here are all from days long gone - some are formal in setting with a sepia tone, some are hazy family snaps.

Welcome to Corduroy Mansions in Pimlico, a temple of arts and crafts architecture. With comforting, weathered brickwork and frankly frivolous dormer windows, it is home to a delightfully eccentric cast of Londoners.

Amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher who also uses her training to solve unusual mysteries. Instinct tells Isabel that the young man who tumbled to his death in front of her eyes at a concert in the Usher Hall didn't fall - he was pushed.

Isabel Dalhousie thinks often of friends, sometimes of lovers, and on occasion of chocolate. But whilst this Edinburgh philosopher is certain of where she stands, her life is about to become a good deal more challenging, thanks to love, friendship and temptation. An Askews Gold 2005 title.