 "M. C. Beaton Mystery" | 2009-04-29 |
| - Reviewed By chetdc from Madison, MS United States |
| Opps...Hamish is on another murder mystery in a small Scottish village. The dog and cat are in the Land Rover and they are on the trail. You will enjoy this series...I do. |
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 "Something rotten in the village of Lochdubh" | 2008-09-11 |
| - Reviewed By Jeanne Tassotto from Trapped in the Midwest |
As this 17th installment in the HAMISH MACBETH series opens we find the laid back Hamish happily ensconced in Lochdubh, he has a new constable working with him who, while not much of a policeman, is a wonderful cook. Life in the village is quiet, just the way Hamish likes it. Sadly this happy state cannot continue and trouble soon appears from a most unlikely place - an ambitious petty politician who sees her position as Environmental Officer as a stepping stone to bigger things. She has selected Lochdubh and the local dustman (garbage collector) as the tools needed to help her on her way. Little did she realize that her schemes would lead to murder and blackmail and romance, although sadly not for Hamish.
As always with this series the real attraction is the ongoing saga of Hamish's life in Lochdubh rather than the mysteries. The overall story arc is strong in this series, and although they can be read and enjoyed out of order those new to the series would probably be better off if they began at the beginning (DEATH OF A TRAVELING MAN)and read forward more or less in order. |
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| "Love the whole saga of Hamish" | 2008-06-18 |
| - Reviewed By smilligan |
| I started out with the second book about Hamish and enjoyed it so much I bought the whole series of paperbacks. Only missed about 3 as they are unaviailable. However, I thoroughly enjoyed each book. Hated to read the last book written. Like missing an old friend. |
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| "THANK GOODNESS THIS AUTHOR STAYS ON KEY." | 2007-07-19 |
| - Reviewed By D. Blankenship from The Ozarks |
I must admit to being rather addicted to the "cozy mystery" genre. They are a source of relaxation for me. These, the Hamish Macbeth series by M.C. Beaton, are some of my favorites. As other reviewers have pointed out, each of the twenty or more books are much the same. Same plot, same characters, same locations, etc. etc. That is okay though. I find this rather comforting. The various characters in Beaton's stories sort of become friends as you keep reading her books and this is always nice.
With this offering, Beaton again delivers her large cast of quirky (and some not so quirky)folks who live in N. Scotland. This time we have a rather nasty "wee man" who happens to be the village trash collector. Through circumstances not of his doing, the village dustman is given a great amount of power, and naturally becomes quite a hated man in the local area. Needless to say, he turns up dead in one of his own dust bins. There are two nicely done murders in this one and for our hero, Hamish MacBeth, a very long list of likely suspects, in this case, most of the village.
As with her other novels in this series, we are treated to a fimiliar cast of characters, some interesting twists, and a wee bit of dark humor thrown in for good measure. Hamish's love life remaina about the same..i.e. he is still clueless.
As with her other novels, I enjoy this authors discription of the country side, food and people. She is a very good story teller and this is just the sort of work you need to read to sort of wind down. I do recommend it highly. |
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| "Can Hamish Stand Success?" | 2007-05-18 |
| - Reviewed By Jesus Makes Me a Practical Optimist from Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 93,000 Helpful Votes Globally |
Due to his remarkable work in Death of an Addict, Hamish once again finds himself promoted to sergeant. Having been totally driven crazy by Willie Lamont's cleaning when Hamish was a sergeant before, he had hoped that this promotion wouldn't mean having another police constable assigned to live and work with him. No such luck!
Clarry Graham, the new constable, is equally obsessed . . . but with cooking. So Hamish eats better than ever in this book.
Lochdubh finds itself under attack due to the publicity-seeking lust of Mrs. Freda Fleming, a recent widow, who wants a place to "clean up" so she can appear on the telly. Although she lives in Strathbane (which could use a good clean up), Freda decides that she's more likely to have a visible success in a smaller place. An inspection by Freda finds trash overflowing after a church fete. No problem! Freda will create an army of one, Fergus Macleod, the local dustman (UK speak for trash collector), to create the new "green" Lochdubh.
Fergus is an angry man. He started off as an accountant, but his weakness for preying on others caused him to descend into drink and wife-beating. With his raise in pay, wider authority, and military-like new uniform, he's ready to settle old scores with those who don't respect a mere dustman.
Before the tensions can rise too far, someone disposes of Fergus. While he disappears (to be later found in the Currie sisters' trash bin), Clarry decides to become the defender of Martha Macleod and her children from the brutal Fergus. Naturally, that means Detective Chief Inspector Blair will want to finger Clarry for the murder. But Blair has a surprise awaiting him.
After Fergus is found dead, the neighbors help Martha clean out his things. In the process, they accidentally find a lot of filthy papers that Fergus appears to have dug out of the trash. On reading those papers, Hamish realizes that Fergus may also have been blackmailing the villagers (a theme that was used before in Death of a Maid).
Lochdubh is in an uproar for another reason: the Lochdubh Hotel is reopening and the locals are getting great job offers. How will the Tommel Castle Hotel survive? Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish's former "unofficial" fiancée, is back to deal with the threat and playing her usual role of brilliant Watson.
Before long, the number of suspects is growing faster than Hamish can check them all out. When one of the suspects makes a run for it, Hamish takes action . . . with plot-shaking consequences.
As usual, Hamish finds himself chastened more for doing his duty than appreciated. There's also upsetting news about DI Chater. Fortunately for Hamish, he has his new dog, Lugs (his Christmas present in A Highland Christmas), to comfort him.
This story doesn't have the easy charm of A Highland Christmas or the character-developing strength of Death of an Addict or an intriguing plot like Death of a Scriptwriter, but in its own soap-opera-like way, Death of a Dustman cleans up. Enjoy!
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| "Quick enjoyable read" | 2007-01-03 |
| - Reviewed By Reader |
| This is a humorous and enjoyable murder mystery. The characters are well presented and keep your attention, especially Hamish Macbeth's new constable, and gourmet cook, Clarry Graham. Ms. Beaton quickly builds enmity for the politically ambitious Freda Fleming, and her description of the peevish dustman and his lugubrious family life are described in detail, so that the reader is not overly disturbed at his death. This was a very pleasant and quick read. I enjoyed this well enough to get other titles in the Hamish MacBeth series. |
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