Some wise person once told me that “excellence is not predictable.” But then I think of Mozart, Michelangelo, my flute teacher...and Scotland’s remarkable Alexander McCall Smith.

With the recent release of THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SPIES AND THE EXQUISITE ART OF GETTING EVEN --- a two-in-one reading treat on whimsically complementary subjects --- Smith once again blows apart the notion that excellence cannot continue on an almost infinite trajectory.

As one of the most prolific and traveled authors in the English-speaking world, Smith (so much like Mozart) can spin endlessly engaging yarns, both long and short, from the sparsest morsels of plot or idea, including obscure grains of true fact.

"... a two-in-one reading treat on whimsically complementary subjects... Excellence is indeed predictable, as affirmed by yet another of Smith’s charming and substantial collections."

His stories about spies, for example, aren’t of the heroic James Bond variety, but more like the accidental stumblings of ordinary people into extraordinary situations. Using actual places, times, scenes, and derived or reconstructed characters, Smith’s five spy stories range from trivial to grave in origin. But they share a common concern and compassion for people who find themselves morally distressed, conflicted in their allegiances, or simply looking for different lives.

The short and endearing “Ferry Timetable,” set in 1984 when the Cold War was still an occasional inside page headline, features a Scottish farmer whose act of local rebellion proves both hilarious and poignant. Enraged by the prospect that some of his land could be expropriated to build a new road, Fergus Mactavish sends the local ferry timetable to the Soviet Embassy in London, with a note offering his services as a spy. The resulting and quite unexpected human connections change a number of lives for the better.

“Donald and Yevgeni” covers the international travels between 1934 and 1947 of a British ambassador with his faithful valet, whose origins and other characteristics are noticeably unusual. This tale brushes up against some heavy wartime and postwar politics and actual espionage figures, where Smith’s ability to seamlessly navigate tangled and danger-filled relationships truly shines.

To cherry-pick from the second set of four tales about getting even is just as difficult; Smith leaves the reader always wanting a bit more of the same. Although the motivations of spies (actual and would-be) are often similar to those of revenge artists, he knows better than to build their characters in predictably excellent shapes.

This time, Smith seems to don the invisibility robe of the parable writer, introducing each story with thoughtful, insightful and mind-changing prefatory essays that wholly enhance rather than delay the ensuing stories. His themes range through bad neighbors, professional jealousy, romantic deception, moral distress and much more. In fact, every story has elements of multiple emotional and psychological currents that play out in various ways, but never as one might expect.

“The Principles of Soap” is set in Melbourne, Australia, among a motley cast of daytime soap opera actors. Enmeshed in a very believable tangle of rivalry, competition and ambition, they concoct an interesting example of “calibrated revenge” against a nasty director.

“Dignity and Decency” is a fitting conclusion to Smith’s spicy collection. It poses a question whose answer could be life-changing, should any of us encounter it. What would you do if you had the perfect opportunity to exact the perfect revenge against a perfectly despicable recipient, for perfectly justifiable reasons? Smith, of course, takes his character in an amazingly different and courageous direction.

So which book wins? THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SPIES or THE EXQUISITE ART OF GETTING EVEN? I loved both so much that a few stories added to each (likely necessitating publication under separate covers) would be a dream come true. Excellence is indeed predictable, as affirmed by yet another of Smith’s charming and substantial collections.