The Perfect Passion Company

 

The Perfect Passion Company / Alexander McCall Smith
New York : Vintage Books, 2024, ©2023
385 p.

I used to read all of Alexander McCall Smith's books, in each of his 3 main series, and then the little extras he'd publish -- but at some point I got overwhelmed by the volume of his output, and then lost track of where I was in a series and just gave it all up. 

I have still read a few of his standalone novels over the past few years; some I really enjoyed and some were just meh. But when The Perfect Passion Company came into my library recently, I decided I was in the mood for a lighter read and gave it a try. 

I found this standalone delightful. I enjoy his book which are set in Scotland; this one takes place in Edinburgh, where Katie Donald has just returned home from London to take over her aunt's matchmaking business, while her aunt takes an adult gap year. 

Katie has a bit of training from her aunt, not a lot, and also some help from the handsome William, an Australian who has his knitwear design office next to hers. He's a lovely man both in appearance and in personality, and Katie has to keep firmly telling herself that he is engaged. 

The novel is in three sections, as it was originally published as two e-shorts. But with the final bit, the sections meld perfectly here into a cohesive novel. Katie encounters some unusual clients, finds out that people don't always tell the whole truth to an agency, makes some successful matches, meets all sorts of unusual people, and eventually meets William's Australian fiancée when she makes a flying visit to Edinburgh. There is light intrigue, amusing incidents, some hints of romance and of course the wonderful setting itself. Really entertaining. 

Meanwhile Katie's aunt heads off to Canada for her gap year. That was a surprise - I wasn't expecting Canadian content here! I don't quite understand the appeal of leaving Edinburgh for a tiny lake town north of Kingston, but that's where she ends up, enjoying being alone, quiet and unknown. At least for a little while, until she gets involved in the lives of the single men around her. These Canadian scenes were amusing, to a Canadian reader at least! It added another layer to my experience of this book. 

I'm glad I ended up giving one of his books a try again, as this was just the light but touching reading I needed!