May 9, 2011
Smith's diverting second Corduroy Mansions novel (after Corduroy Mansions) focuses mainly on the misadventures of London wine merchant William French. When Angelica Brockelbank, an attractive acquaintance of William's he hasn't seen in years, unexpectedly shows up at his door in Pimlico, he's surprised to learn that, instead of running a bookshop, Angelica now works for Britain's MI6. He's further dumbfounded when an intelligence colleague of Angelica's asks him to eavesdrop on some Russian spies with his Pimlico terrier, Freddie de la Hay. The complications will elicit no more than smiles, though a passage toward the end about a notorious Margaret Thatcher quotation will raise a genuine laugh. Somewhat anemic characters, a silly subplot involving the autobiography of a yeti, and a lack of trenchant observations about human nature may disappoint those expecting the high quality of Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
Starred review from August 29, 2011
Simon Prebble delivers a brilliant performance in this audio version of McCall Smith’s second installment in the Corduroy Mansions series. This time around, wine merchant William French lends his heroic terrier, Freddie de la Hay, to MI6 to help infiltrate a Russian spy ring. Meanwhile, literary agent Barbara Ragg is trying to sell an autobiography ostensibly written by a yeti, and New Age practitioners are moving into the mansions and setting up a center for cosmological studies. Prebble’s narration captures the farcical essence of the text, and he deftly portrays the wacky residents of Corduroy Mansion—and the equally wacky supporting characters—with skill and ease. He brings a sense of indecision to French, who wants to be daring but really isn’t all that brave. And Prebble matches art student James’s prim mysophobia with clean—almost antiseptic—pronunciation and delivery. A Pantheon hardcover.