|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
At the start of Beaton's enjoyable 22nd Hamish Macbeth mystery (after 2006's Death of a Dreamer), the lovable Scottish constable stumbles over the body of a gossipy housecleaner, Mrs. Mavis Gillespie. She's been bludgeoned to death with her own pail, and there are plenty of suspects to go around in the Highlands village of Lochdubh. None of her clients liked her, but they insist she was a superb maid. Macbeth, noticing thick layers of dust in their homes, digs a little deeper and learns that Mrs. Gillespie was a more skilled blackmailer than housecleaner. His jealous senior colleagues try to thwart his investigation, but he's determined to get to the bottom of things. Meanwhile, the arrival of an erstwhile ladyfriend in town with a new beau makes lifelong bachelorhood appear not so appealing to Macbeth, who remains as charming a hero as ever in this funny, unpredictable read. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
The laid-back Hamish Macbeth police procedurals, set in the remote reaches of the Scottish Highlands, almost define the British cozy. The Atlantic rages at the borders of the tiny village of Lochdubh, while unseemly passions rage within the town's picturesque cottages, reliably spilling over into murder. Macbeth, the local constable, is responsible for cleaning up the messes. A conflict running through the series, which gives a bit of contemporary zest to the plots, is Macbeth's struggles to fight against promotion, which would entail leaving the trout streams and Highland paths of Lochdubh for the crime-ridden streets of Strathbane. In this twenty-second entry in the much-loved series, a mean-spirited local housecleaner is brained with her own bucket. Local feeling runs so high against the nasty, gossiping shrew that Macbeth's suspect card is overfull. Macbeth's investigation uncovers, as usual, secrets seemingly worth defending with murder. As usual, Beaton delivers a delightfully old-fashioned, absorbing village mystery. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Reprise of Death of a Gossip's Theme,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Death of a Maid (Hardcover)
Police Constable Hamish Macbeth is happiest during the good weather when there's no crime going on. He'll see if he can mooch a free coffee or sandwich at the Tommel Castle Hotel and leave his cat, Sonsie, and his dog, Lugs, to be fed by the doctor's wife. Unattached, he seems happiest . . . even if his old girl friend Elspeth Grant accused him of being married to a cat and dog.That tranquility is dispelled from Death of a Gossip when Elspeth sends him a spiteful letter to let Hamish know she's coming for a wee holiday at the Tommel Castle Hotel, but is not interested in pursuing him. Matters are made worse when Mrs. Gillespie arrives to clean the police station: Hamish had "won" her services at a church raffle. She seems to make more of a mess than anything else. Hamish is further annoyed to notice that Elspeth's letter has disappeared. Mrs. Gillespie has a reputation as a gossip, and Hamish doesn't want the news spread around Lochdubh. Hamish heads off to scold her . . . but is prevented from doing so when he finds she's been murdered. Hamish has a new challenge when Detective Chief Inspector Blair decides that he'll get Hamish some publicity so that Hamish will have to accept promotion to Strathbane where Blair can keep an eye on him. Before long, the television crews are attached to Blair rather than Hamish as the investigation begins. Hamish finds out that no one liked Mrs. Gillespie, although some swear by her cleaning . . . which is indeed suspicious. Her husband practically dances a jig when he hears the news. Her step-daughter is also pleased. The most that any cleaning customers have to say is that they'll have to hire someone else. What did she do to annoy everyone? Hamish soon picks up clues that Mrs. Gillespie was a snoop. Could it be that she's holding something over the heads of her customers? Tracking down the secrets turns out to be tricky. Hamish ends up in an uneasy alliance with Elspeth who promises to help with the case if Hamish will share what he finds. Hamish isn't too happy about the partnership despite Elspeth's good work: He's jealous of the hard-drinking reporter, Luke Teviot, he's joined Elspeth on her holiday. Between listening to gossip and trailing suspects, a long list of possible motives for murder develops. But the investigation itself starts to turn dangerous as revelations threaten the suspects. For long-time Hamish Macbeth fans, this book will remind you of Death of a Gossip in terms of how threatened people are when their secrets might be exposed. The story develops in a more sophisticated way through the investigation. Ms. Beaton has improved a lot in her procedural writing since the beginning. As in many of the books in the series, the investigation shakes Hamish's complacency and the results are rewarding reading, especially for those who enjoy Hamish's problems with women. The book has two main weaknesses. One, the clues take a little too long to be revealed. Two, the identity of the murderer isn't difficult enough to figure out.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews) 21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hamish in trouble again,
By L O'connor - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death of a Maid (Hardcover)
Once more Hamish's peaceful life as policeman in the Scottish Highlands is disturbed by murder. This time the victim is a disagreeable cleaning lady called Mrs Gillespie. Hamish doesn't have any trouble discovering the motive, but the problem is deciding which of the many suspects could have done it. And of course he also has to cope with his usual problem of making sure no-one high up finds out what a brilliant detective he is and promotes him away from his beloved village beat. Not to mention trying to sort out his complex love-life, still dreaming of Priscilla, dithering over whether or not to marry Elspeth, and getting involved with a few other attractive women just to complicate matters.The Hamish Macbeth novels are always fun to read, and this one has all the features of the earlier books, an ingenious plot, good characters, and plenty of humorous touches. I must admit that personally I am a little tired of Hamish's dithering over whether or not to get married, I wish he'd just make up his mind one way or the other, but this is only a minor quibble. A new Hamish Macbeth novel is always a treat. 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
For fans of Hamish MacBeth Mysteries,
By Armchair Interviews - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death of a Maid (Hardcover)
Hamish Macbeth was a policeman in a small Scottish village. He cherished his quiet life in the Highlands and got more than he bargained for when he won Mrs. Gillespie's maid service at the church raffle. Just when Macbeth was beginning to suspect that Mrs. Gillespie was snooping around the police station more than she was cleaning, he found her lifeless body outside one of her cleaning client's home. It was common knowledge that she was a much disliked gossip, but as Macbeth investigated further, there seemed to be something more sinister lurking behind the apparently serene village scene.As the body count went up, Macbeth not only had to deal with superiors from the city headquarters who despised him, he also had to watch his ex-girlfriend parade into town with her new boyfriend. With his personal life in a bit of a turmoil and the risk of his superiors closing down the village police station, Macbeth was glad when they finally wrapped up the murder case...or so he thought. Although this was the 22nd installment of the Hamish Macbeth series--and I have seen the BBC productions based on the series--this was the first time I read any of the books. This was a nice easy read and the story flowed well with twist and turns in the plot. However, the writing itself was bland with no sparks in it at all. I am sure the regular Hamish Macbeth followers would enjoy seeing their familiar characters engaged in another adventure. I think this would make a good TV adaptation; however, if I were to read another Hamish Macbeth mystery, I would most likely choose one of the earlier works that made the series a success. FYI: M.C. Beaton is the pseudonym Marion Chesney reserves for her mystery novels. Known primarily for the more than 100 historical romance novels she has published under her own name, she has several other pseudonyms: Helen Crampton, Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, and Charlotte Ward. Armchair Interviews says: Long-time followers of Beaton's work will enjoy this book. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still Hamish,
By S. Stewart - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death of a Maid (Hardcover)
If you enjoyed any previous Hamish MacBeth novels you will not be disappointed in this one. Hamish continues to evolve at just right the pace. MC Beaton is skilled to be able to reweave the same basic plots and keep them fresh every time. Elspeth is more interesting than Priscilla and the pets are lovable. I'm looking forward to the next Hamish MacBeth novel.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
