The Quiet Side of Passion Book Review

I got the last few new books in this series and The Quiet Side of Passion: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (12) (Isabel Dalhousie Series) by Alexander McCall Smith was the last library book in my pile.  I was excited to find out what happens next and to be caught up on the series.

Isabel finds herself grappling with ethically-complex matters of the heart as she tries to juggle her responsibilities to friends, family, and the philosophical community.  With two small boys to raise, a mountain of articles to edit for the Review of Applied Ethics, and the ever-increasing demands of her niece, Cat, who always seems to need a helping hand at the deli, Isabel barely has any time for herself. Her husband, Jamie, suggests acquiring extra help, and she reluctantly agrees. In no time at all, Isabel and Jamie have a new au pair, and Isabel has an intelligent assistant editor to share her workload. Both women, though, have romantic entanglements that threaten to interfere with their work, and Isabel must decide how best to navigate this tricky domestic situation. Can an employer ever inject herself into her employees’ affairs?

Meanwhile, Isabel makes the acquaintance of Patricia, the mother of Charlie’s friend Basil. Though Isabel finds Patricia rather pushy, she tries to be civil and supportive, especially given that Patricia is raising her son on her own, without the help of his father, a well-known Edinburgh organist, also named Basil. But when Isabel sees Patricia in the company of an unscrupulous man, she begins to rethink her assumptions. Isabel must once again call on her kindness and keen intelligence to determine the right course of action, at home, at work, and in the schoolyard.

This was an interesting change from previous novels because Isabel is trying to make the most of her new life as a mother of two children and trying to run a magazine. She finally agrees to get help so she hires an au pair to help with the kids and assistant editor to help with the magazine.  She realizes that what she should do is say no to Cat's requests to work at the drop of a hat in the deli.  She knows that she has to balance her life and she isn't getting any return help but it goes round and round about how she feels like she should say yes but she decided to get outside help and turns the whole family upside down.  It seems obvious from the beginning to anyone that balances their own life but the whole book goes through how she is getting to that conclusion. I hope that you check out this book and the rest of the series. I know that I really enjoyed the beginning of the series a lot but this one is still up in the air.  I was thinking that I would enjoy getting back to the series but I am not sure if the flowery language is great for me because it seems to take longer to get to the point.  I still like the series but I might take a break from the series for another little bit so that I can see if some of the other series fit better with what I like to read.