Books like The Bertie project by Alexander McCall Smith

Pride and Prejudice is a classic novel by Jane Austen.

Don Tillman, a genetics professor with Asperger’s, designs a scientific survey to find a wife, only to meet Rosie Jarman, a drinker and late arriver who challenges his controlled worldview and leads him to discover that love can’t be measured.

When Enid Lambert calls for a final Christmas at the family home, the aging patriarch with Parkinson’s and his three adult children—banker, screenwriter, and restaurateur—must confront their own discontent and the fractured bonds that hold the family together.

A charming and clever women detective, Precious Ramotswe, solves mysteries in Botswana's small town of Midsomin, South Africa, from 1986 to 1997, facing dangers and love in the process. The novel is beloved by readers worldwide for its clever dialogue and characters who are as flawed as the rest of us. The book is a bestseller and has been translated into 45 languages, including Polish, German, and Japanese, among others. It was also voted one of the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement.

A tense Dutch family drama in which two brothers and their wives confront the moral dilemma of protecting their children after the kids are implicated in a crime.

A contemporary family drama in which a mother‑child relationship is complicated by a companion chimpanzee, raising questions of identity, secrecy and moral responsibility.

Susannah Nelson, 50, returns to the garden she loved as a teenager, but the past she's trying to escape is still there, leading her to question everything about her life and relationships with her loved ones.

Penelope Keeling reflects on a bohemian childhood, wartime romance, and a priceless family portrait as her children debate its future.

Jende Jonga’s dream of a new life in New York turns into a struggle as his family faces the rigors of immigration law and the hidden dangers of working for a powerful executive.

D. H. Lawrence’s 1933 novel follows the Morel family in a Nottinghamshire coal town, exploring love, ambition, and the Oedipal tension that shapes a working‑class mother‑son relationship.

20s Young Woman’s Adventures in Old Edinburgh

In Alexander McCall Smith’s witty series, the residents of 44 Scotland Street – from motherly Bertie to philosopher Isobel – share everyday humor and unexpected insights into life, friendship, and the human condition.

Ein Haus an den Klippen, eine Liebe durch Generationen und eine Suche nach der Mutter.

Isabel Dalhousie wrestles with a complex paternity mystery involving a single mother, an Edinburgh organist, and her own niece, using her kindness and sharp mind to navigate ethical dilemmas.

Isabel Dalhousie, a former school headmistress turned sleuth, investigates a scandalous allegation against a candidate for a new principal position at her alma mater.

The sensational sixth installment in the best-selling chronicles of the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie. Isabel's son, Charlie, is now of an age--eighteen months--to have a social life, and so off they go to a birthday party, where, much to Isabel's surprise, she encounters an old adversary, Minty Auchterlonie, now a high-flying financier. Minty had seemed to Isabel a woman of ruthless ambition, but the question of her integrity had never been answered. Now, when Minty takes Isabel into her confidence about a personal matter, Isabel finds herself going another round: Is Minty to be trusted? Or is she the perpetrator of an enormous financial fraud? And what should Isabel make of the rumors of shady financial transactions at Minty's investment bank?Not that this is the only dilemma facing Isabel: she also crosses swords again with her nemesis, Professor Dove, in an argument over plagiarism. Of course her niece, Cat, has a new, problematic man (a tightrope walker!) in her life. And there remains the open question of marriage to Jamie--doting father of Charlie.As always, there is no end to the delight in accompanying Isabel as she makes her way toward the heart of every problem: philosophizing, sleuthing, and downright snooping in her inimitable--and inimitably charming--fashion.From the Hardcover edition.

In Maine, a family of middle‑aged women confronts the cost of caregiving as Alzheimer’s disease takes hold, while the sandwich generation juggles work, parenting and lingering shadows of past choices.

A woman embarks on an investigation into the world of art, discovering the secrets of an artist and uncovering a web of lies and deception.

Four women in Mill Valley confront marital turmoil, personal doubts, and hidden secrets, discovering transformation and renewed friendship along the way.

When a woman is wrongly dismissed from an office furniture store, Precious Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi investigate, uncovering twists that challenge assumptions and resurfacing a mysterious relative and an old adversary in Botswana.

In Anita Brookner’s *A Family Romance*, Jane Manning confronts the arrival of her glamorous aunt Dolly into her modest family circle, exposing the shifting attitudes toward identity, gender and family power.

Before and After follows a New England family whose peaceful life is shattered when the son is suspected of murdering a teenage girl, forcing each member to confront hidden motives, secret anger, and community judgment.