Robert Ian Mackenzie

"It's the most anticipated event of the decade -- Big Lou and Fat Bob's wedding -- and everyone is invited! But the relative peace and tranquillity of 44 Scotland Street is about to be disrupted. Domineering Irene is set to return for a two-month stay, consigning young Bertie to a summer camp. Not content with that, she somehow manages to come between the enigmatic nun, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna, and her friend, the hagiographer, Antonia...

"For Bertie Pollock, things seem to be moving along at a pace that is rather out of his control. In Drummond Place Garden, it appears young Olive has their future together mapped out, wedding venue and all. Meanwhile, Bertie's domineering mother, Irene, is off in Aberdeen, beckoning him to come stay for a few months-and his father, Stuart, might be powerless to stand up to her. Farther up in the New Town, bumptious Bruce Anderson is up to his usual...

Things are looking up for seven-year-old Bertie Pollock. The arrival of his spirited grandmother and the absence of his meddlesome mother-who is currently running a book club in a Bedouin harem (don't ask)-bring unforeseen blessings: no psychotherapy, no Italian lessons, and no yoga classes. Meanwhile, surprises await Scotland Street's grown-ups. Matthew makes a discovery that could be a major windfall for his family, but also presents a worrisome...

Attending the lavish birthday celebration of a World War II hero, police chief Bruno becomes intimately tangled in the family's dynamics when one of their close friends dies under suspicious circumstances.

The residents of 44 Scotland Street grapple with problems both trivial and severe, but none so great as when six-year-old Bertie Pollock--who longs to be seven--mislays his mum and learns a valuable lesson about wish fulfillment.

The rocking motion of the train as it speeds along, the sound of its wheels on the rails . . . There’s something special about this form of travel that makes for easy conversation, which is just what happens to the four strangers who meet in Trains and Lovers.
 
As they journey by rail from Edinburgh to London, the four travelers pass the time by sharing tales of trains that have changed their lives. A young, keen-eyed

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44 SCOTLAND STREET - Book 3

The residents and neighbors of 44 Scotland Street and the city of Edinburgh come to vivid life in these gently satirical, wonderfully perceptive serial novels, featuring six-year-old Bertie, a remarkably precocious boy—just ask his mother.  

This just in from Edinburgh: the complicated lives of the denizens of 44 Scotland Street are becoming no simpler. Domenica Macdonald has

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From the bestselling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes this splendid collection. Inspired by vintage photographs, these five lyrical stories capture the surprising intersections of love and friendship that alter life's journeys. 
A smiling girl leading a younger girl astride a pony, and a boy in a kilt on a tricycle beside them, gives rise to a story of a lifelong romance between the two riders. A dapper, roguish-looking...

"It's summer in the Dordogne. The heirs of a Périgordian sheep farmer learn that they have been disinherited, and their father's estate sold to an insurance company in return for a policy that will place him in a five-star retirement home for the rest of his life. But the farmer never gets his life of luxury--he dies before moving in. Was it a natural death? Was there foul play? Bruno begins the investigation that leads him to several shadowy insurance...

"Approached in the park by a shadowy figure, Angus Lordie is mistaken for a journalist and becomes privy to some controversial plans of the Scottish Parliament - but just what is he meant to do about it? At school, a new member of Bertie's class, Galactica MacFee, quickly comes between Bertie and Olive, leaving him no choice but to skip town. And the indomitable Irene finds herself yet again in Edinburgh . . . but this time there might be romance...