The Isle of Good Karma

Alexander McCall Smith author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Birlinn General

Published:1st Oct '26

Should be back in stock very soon

The Isle of Good Karma cover

As heard on BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime.

It’s never too late to make a change.

Single and approaching middle age, Maeve Macdonald feels she has reached a point at which, if she doesn’t do something drastic soon, life will have passed her by. And so, after twenty years of teaching, she gives up her career and leaves the only home she’s ever known in search of adventure.

As she prepares for this exciting new chapter in her life, travelling through South Asia, she finds that everything is going remarkably well – quite possibly things really are changing for the better. Karma, it appears, is on her side.

But not long after arriving in Nepal, her good luck seems to have run out: an injury puts a pause on her plans, and an unexpected fall nearly ends her new-found friendship with a handsome American called Charles.

Will Maeve have to abandon her trip and go back home alone? And will Charles be able to pluck up the courage to tell Maeve how he really feels before they go their separate ways?

'McCall Smith has built a remarkable literary career on writing about goodness in human beings, and this standalone novel is no exception'

-- David Robinson * The Scotsman *

'This feel-good novel set on the Isle of Lewis and in the Himalayas is evocative, entertaining, and thought-provoking'

* Scottish Field *

'It has all the good-natured cosiness cherished by his loyal readers... an undeniable twinkling charm'

-- Alastair Mabbott * The Herald *

'Carries his usual cocktail of humanity and humour, but this time spiced with serendipity'

-- Sally McDonald * Sunday Po

ISBN: 9781846977619

Dimensions: 234mm x 153mm x 23mm

Weight: 470g

272 pages