Death of a Gossip [Paperback]

 

 

Create your own review

This is the first book in the Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery series. While not the strongest book in the series in that both the mystery and the characters are not that well articulated or developed, it does set the groundwork for the books that are to come in this most enjoyable and utterly addictive cozy mystery series.

This book introduces to the reader Hamish Macbeth, a Highlander and local constable for the village of Lochdubh in Scotland, as well as the woman to whom he will lose his heart, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. The mystery involves Lady Jane Winters, a notorious gossip columnist who meets an untimely death while vacationing in Lochdubh with a local fishing club. It seems that someone wanted desperately to silence her vicious yattering by whatever means necessary.

The reader sees Hamish bumbling his was around the powers that be in an attempt to solve the mystery that his boss and nemesis, Detective Chief Inspector Blair, is unable to solve. The methodology that Hamish employs to expose the killer is less methodical than in the rest of the series, as the character of Hamish Macbeth is still in a somewhat nascent stage. Still, it gives the reader a glimmer of the treats that are to come with this series, which is one that fans of the cozy mystery genre will enjoy.

Death of a Gossip is the first book in the Hamish Macbeth mysteries by M.C. Beaton. I decided to read this book after having found many of the references to Hamish Macbeth's motives in the later books to be obscure and puzzling. I was pleased to find that Death of a Gossip does a fine job of setting up the premise for the series; outlining the characters of Hamish Macbeth and his friend, Priscilla Hallburton-Smythe; and establishing a plot structure for the future murder spree in the small village of Lochdubh in the northwestern Highlands of Scotland. If you want to understand those underpinnings, you definitely need to read this book.

However, the book is quite unlike the others in the series in important ways:

1. The premise behind the murder is much more thoughtful and better developed than in the following books.

2. The tension between the victim and the other characters is also better developed.

3. The interplay between Hamish and Priscilla is awkward and embarrassingly at the edge of prurience for burlesque purposes. In later books, this relationship is much better grounded and more interesting.

4. The detection involved is clumsy and disappointing. It's as though M.C. Beaton had missed the last class on how to write a mystery story. In the later books, the detection is a rewarding element of the stories. So this is an unusual false start.

I mention all of these things lest you fail to realize that you have better books ahead of you.

If you have read none of the Hamish Macbeth stories, I recommend you start with this one and read through them in the order that they were published. You'll enjoy the character development better that way.

Here's a thumbnail of the set-up. Hamish Macbeth is the sole police constable in a small village where there's not much to do. He's impoverished because he's the eldest son in a Scottish family with lots of wee lads and lassies who need financial support. Due to a Highland tradition, he cannot even think of getting married until another son can replace him as an extra provider for the younger children in the large family. Since Hamish is much older than the other children, that day will be long in coming. There's not much for him to do, and he uses a lot of his time to scrounge free food and drink, raise chickens . . . and to poach on occasion. His one vice is his mongrel dog, Towser, who often eats better than Hamish does. Hamish has been struck dumb by the beauty and grace of Priscilla Hallburton-Smythe, daughter of the local landed gentry. Priscilla is unaware of his feelings. Others think that Hamish is retarded because of how much Priscilla affects him. The Hallburton-Smythes see marrying off Priscilla well as their main activity.

As this story opens, it's fishing season . . . and many beginning anglers arrive for the fishing school. They expect to struggle with tying flies, getting lines untangled and overcoming midges, but they don't expect the pointed comments of Lady Jane Hamilton . . . which hint at the hidden secrets in their closets. Lady Jane is obnoxious in other ways, and soon everyone feels threatened. Someone must feel more threatened than others because Lady Jane is found dead. Who did it? Hamish will find out, even though he's ordered off the case.

This is the first book in the Constable Hamish Macbeth Series. The story takes place in Scotland and revolves around the people who are attending the Lochdubh School of Casting: Salmon and Trout Fishing. The school is run by John and Heather Cartwright who are working hard to make the school a profitable endeavor. The guests include an American couple, an attorney, a secretary, a 12-year-old boy, and ex-army major, and a debutante. These people would have probably gotten along if it had not been for Lady Jane Winters. Lady Jane knows a guilty secret about each of the guests and she is not hesitant to proclaim the secret to everyone. The guests all loathe her, so it is not surprising when she shows up dead, on the end of someone's fishing pole. Hamish Macbeth, the village constable, comes on the scene, but he is not nearly as interesting as Agatha Christie's inimitable Hercule Poirot. Also the solution to the identity of the murderer is pretty straighforward and doesn't have the clever twist that many mystery writers add.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

4.0 out of 5 stars A Charming Cozy
I have read all of the Agatha Raisin series, and I am a great fan of M.C. Beaton's style of cozy, but this is the first Hamish Macbeth book I've read. Read more

Published on July 2 2003 by S. Schwartz

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent series
This is the first in the Hamish MacBeth series, so it lacks some of the polish of the subsequent books. Read more

Published on Jun 11 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars go for Agatha instead
I love the Agatha Raisin series that M.C. Beaton also writes, but she dropped the ball on Hamish here. I expected a likeable, if flawed, main character. Read more

Published on April 10 2003 by Miss Ivonne

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun.
Since I began reading these Hamish Macbeth mysteries out of order, it's given me a bit of perspective. Read more

Published on Mar 17 2003 by MLPlayfair

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book
This is the first in a series of mysteries featuring the detective work of small town, Highland Scottish detective Hamish Macbeth, P.C. Read more

Published on Aug 17 2002 by Kurt A. Johnson

1.0 out of 5 stars major disappointment
I am always in favor of a light hearted mystery, but I was very disappointed in this book. While the descriptive language in this book is positively delicious, I found the... Read more

Published on April 2 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun and very different British mystery.
When I first started reading this book I didn't quite know what to think. However, I quickly found that I was having quite a bit of fun reading it. Read more

Published on Jun 8 2001 by A. Gaston

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant, traditional British mystery
This is a cozy in the classic sense of the concept. There's just about as little violence as you can have while still having a murder. Read more

Published on Feb 27 2001 by Carol Peterson Hennekens

4.0 out of 5 stars Quirky characters make for a light, quick read
First of the Hamish MacBeth series, this book introduces the quirky country constable who -- while not ambitious -- refuses to take a back seat to the big city Detective... Read more

Published on Sep 4 2000 by Jim Allen

4.0 out of 5 stars First Hamish MacBeth - short on mystery, long on charm
The mystery is not the thing here, instead enjoy this book as an introduction to the thoroughly charming character of Hamish MacBeth, the unambitious village constable who wants... Read more

Published on Oct 20 1997 by E. Larkin

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!