Death of a Village: A Hamish MacBeth Mystery by M. C. Beaton272 pages
Published January 2004 by Grand Central Publishing
Hamish MacBeth is a constable in the small Scottish Highland village of Lochdubh. He's content there and does everything in his power to avoid being transferred. He's got a reputation as a maverick and his immediate superior would like him to move on, in no small part because MacBeth keeps showing him up.
In this book, MacBeth first solves an insurance fraud scheme and then, with help from a neighbor, the killings for profit of nursing home patients. But the big case in this book is that of the mysterious goings on in the village of Storye. The people suddenly aren't talking to anyone, they've taken to attending church at all hours, and strange things are happening in the village.
M. C. Beaton has been recommended to me often, both the Hamish MacBeth series and Beaton's other series featuring Agatha Raisins. So I was excited to find this on audio in my library. Turns out that Beaton makes a great book to listen to while I work. This one, at least, is mystery lite. There are not a lot of clues dropped that you have to pay attention to, not a lot of depth in general. But the characters do come alive, as does the countryside. I'll definitely look for more works by Beaton, particularly on audio.
This sounds very cute. And, this is a book I would actually buy because of the cover! This is the kind of cottage I always wanted! Although I'd need a gardener...
ReplyDeleteI love British mysteries! I never thought about listening to them on audio, i should give it a try
ReplyDeleteI love light mysteries! Great review!
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I am starting my first Beaton tonight. I have been looking forward to it...so many seem to love the author.
ReplyDeleteI read an Agatha Raisin novel years and years ago and liked it. I wasn't into too light of mysteries back then so didn't pursue other books in the series. Now that I'm more in the mood, I'll have to get back to reading M.C. Beaton's books. This series sounds like a good one.
ReplyDeleteI have never read any of the Hamish MacBeth books but I absolutely love the Hamish Macbeth TV series. One of my all time favourites. So quirky!
ReplyDeleteI love mysteries so I'm definitely adding this author to my list to read. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued... I will have to check this one out!
ReplyDeleteHi, I blog hopped over from Gofita's and saw this post. I only recently read the first Agatha Raisin mystery and loved it. Will read more of her. I love cozy mysteries and some Gothic ones as well. I am exploring the cozies for the mystery challenge going on right now -- any more finds?
ReplyDeleteMy parents enjoy the BBC series of this, except my father keeps calling him Seamus Macleish.
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