44 Scotland Street 

Alexander McCall Smith, author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, wrote in the introduction to 44 Scotland Street that the book was written in a serial format for newspaper publication.  Therefore, the chapters are short and there are plenty of them.  

44 Scotland Street is about the residents who live at that address in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the people with whom they come in contact. 

I have no strong feelings about this book.  The characters were okay, but they weren't very deep.  As this is the first book in a series of eight, I hope the characters will be fleshed out more in future books.  I doubt I will be reading those books, though.  Too many other books in the pipeline.

A knowledge of Scotland and Edinburgh in particular would have enhanced my enjoyment of the book.  Locations and Scottish notables were mentioned which were unfamiliar to me.  If you do read this book, I would recommend a bit of research into Edinburgh to pave the way.

As a side note, if you have not seen the television series based on the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, you are missing a real treat.  Unfortunately, only one season has been made so far, but it is excellent.