Since the comings and goings at 44 Scotland Street first appeared in daily episodes in the pages of The Scotsman newspaper in 2004, the inhabitants of that Edinburgh New Town house have become familiar to Alexander McCall Smith's growing army of fans. The first serial novel, 44 Scotland Street, was collected in book form and became an instant hit both in Great Britain and the United States, where it appeared in the top ten of a number of bestseller lists across the country.By popular demand, a second series soon followed and it was duly published as the novel Espresso Tales. Now in this third volume Bertie, that most talented six year old, continues his heroic struggle against his insufferable mother and her henchman, the psychotherapist Dr. Fairbaim; Pat becomes the object of the attention of a handsome and mysterious admirer; Cyril, that remarkable gold toothed dog has a brush with disaster; and Big Lou, as ever, provides coffee and advice for the whole cast of characters. Read Less