Tag Archives: The Dog Who Came In From The Cold

The Dog Who Came In From The Cold by Alexander McCall Smith

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This is the second book in the Corduroy Mansions series. Of course it’s the same idea as his 44 Scotland series except most of the action takes place in London instead of Edinburgh.

This one was more enjoyable than the first one I think, or maybe it’s just that I know the various characters better now, it’s another cozy read. A few more of the Pimlico inhabitants are paired up. The whole thing is quite daft really with Freddie de la Haye, the Pimlico terrier belonging to William French being recruited by MI6 as a spy. But then when you think about it, stranger things have happened in that weird world of espionage.

William French, the main character is a man of a certain age. Jack usually asks me exactly what that means and I reply – older than me – but in this case William is actually a bit younger than me. He muses on such things as Latin phrases which are unknown to younger people nowadays and the fact that the younger generation has no idea of the use of the subjunctive. It felt like he had dropped in to my world! I imagine that there’s quite a lot of McCall Smith in William French. For me, this series isn’t as entertaining as the Scotland Street books but that’s probably because I prefer the Edinburgh setting.

Book Beginnings on Fridays

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William French, wine merchant, Master of Wine (failed), somewhere in his early fifties (hardly noticeably, particularly in the right light), loyal subscriber to Rural Living (although he lived quite happily in central London), long time supporter of several good causes (he was a kind man at heart, with a strong sense of fairness) widower, dog-owner, and much else besides; the same William French looked about his flat in Corduroy Mansions, as anybody might survey his or her flat in a moment of self-assessment, of stocktaking.

That’s the first paragraph of The Dog Who Came In From The Cold by Alexander McCall Smith, it’s the second book in his Corduroy Mansions series. I have to say that although it’s not a riveting paragraph it does capture the character perfectly and hints at the humour usually found in McCall Smith’s books.

Going from the title of the book, this one is going to be mainly about the dog, Freddie de la Hay, who is a London version of Percy the dog who inhabits the 44 Scotland Street series. These books couldn’t be called high literature by any measure, but they are comfort reads which is sometimes just what hits the spot.