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Product Description
Product Description
Amazing news has spread across the Scottish countryside. The most famous of highland bachelors, police sergeant Hamish Macbeth, will be married at last. Everyone in the village of Lochdubh adores Josie McSween, Macbeth's newest constable and blushing bride-to-be.
While locals think Josie is quite a catch, Hamish has a case of prenuptial jitters. After all, if it weren't for the recent murder of a beautiful woman in a neighbouring village, there wouldn't be a wedding at all. For it was a mysterious Valentine's Day package--delivered to the victim before her death--that initially drew Hamish and Josie together on the investigation. As they work side by side, Hamish and Josie soon discover that the woman's list of admirers was endless, confirming Hamish's suspicion that love can be blind, deaf . . . and deadly.
While locals think Josie is quite a catch, Hamish has a case of prenuptial jitters. After all, if it weren't for the recent murder of a beautiful woman in a neighbouring village, there wouldn't be a wedding at all. For it was a mysterious Valentine's Day package--delivered to the victim before her death--that initially drew Hamish and Josie together on the investigation. As they work side by side, Hamish and Josie soon discover that the woman's list of admirers was endless, confirming Hamish's suspicion that love can be blind, deaf . . . and deadly.
About the Author
M.C. Beaton lives in the Cotswolds with her husband. In addition to the Hamish Macbeth series, she writes the Agatha Raisin mystery series.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hamish Meets a Determined Suitor,
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 Valentine (Hardcover)
"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies." -- Proverbs 31:10If you haven't read any other books in this series, don't start with this one. You won't appreciate the series' background and character development, which add at least one star to a reader's enjoyment. Death of a Valentine delivers a double dose of romantic mystery, first when a local beauty queen, Annie Fleming, receives an unexpected valentine, and second when Hamish's new constable, Josie McSween, decides that she would like to become Mrs. Macbeth. In the middle of these machinations, Hamish frequently bumps into his former loves, Priscilla Hallburton-Smythe and Elspeth Grant, with comic consequences. Poor Hamish doesn't do well with promotions, and as this book opens he is once again Sergeant Macbeth. Promotions mean having a constable under foot and the threat of further promotion that would require living in Strathbane, a fate worse than death from Macbeth's point of view. He's surprised when they send him a woman as the new constable, and he's not at all pleased. Josie McSween was smitten at the first sight of Hamish after hearing his reputation for crime solving and has asked for the post so that she can gain Hamish's attention. How will she compete with Hamish's love of his animals and the easy life? The mystery valentine aspect of the story is one of the better crimes to unravel in this humorous series. I thought it was a five-star effort. The hunting of Macbeth by Josie McSween is primarily a spoof on romance novels. If you like extreme humor where a woman goes to the kind of extremes that men sometimes do to attract a woman, you'll find this to be a very jolly story. I thought it was over the top for my taste and could have been reduced in scope and length to good effect. The story is one of the very best for clearly portraying all of Hamish Macbeth's many character flaws and attributes. If you enjoy seeing Hamish pushed to the brink, you'll find much to enjoy in Death of a Valentine. Happy Valentine's Day!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (41 customer reviews) 16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
M.C. Beaton scores again!,
By M. Lapus "@ Starting Fresh blog" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death of a Valentine (Hardcover)
In Death of a Valentine, the 25th Hamish Macbeth mystery, M.C. Beaton gives us a detective cozy with a romantic comedic subplot set in Lochdubh, a picturesque Scottish village. The tone, pace, and setting take you to a fictional village where everyone knows each other and each other's business quite well. Even if you're new to M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series as I am, you'll easily figure out Lochdubh's characters, from Angela Brody, the doctor's wife and good friend of Hamish Macbeth, to crotchety Mrs. Wellington, who rents out rooms to the new constable Josie McSween, to Sir Andrew Etherington who lends out the diamond tiara for the annual fair day parade.Hamish Macbeth, our lead character and a perpetual bachelor, is clearly set in his ways. Hamish wants to keep his pets, his police station/home, his village and his personal life just the way it is. But the sudden murder of a young beauty queen, Annie Fleming, disrupts Hamish's routine. The murder draws Hamish and Josie into a complex investigation, full of twists and turns, and unexpected discoveries. Things are never as they seem, even in this small Scottish village. A mystery cozy of the best sort, M.C. Beaton's Death of a Valentine, is a fun, entertaining read. If you're looking for a mystery of the Agatha Christie sort with the quirks of Scotland, I recommend Death of a Valentine! ISBN-10: 0446547387 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (January 12, 2010), 256 pages. Review copy provided by the publisher. 17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Death of a Series,
By dgstone - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death of a Valentine (Hardcover)
I enjoyed the earlier Hamish books, but I think Beaton has run out of steam with this series. This latest entry is so ham-handed as to be almost a parody. I figured out very early on who did it and the plot is silly. The charm has worn thin--all the regular characters have remained static, so no surprises are in store for the reader; you know exactly how each will behave. The new characters have zero nuance; they're either bad people or featureless filler. Also, the copy I read had so many errors that it was distracting (floor when it should have said door, etc.) Beaton's Agatha Raisin series has followed a similar trajectory. She should either create a new detective or find a new line of work.
22 of 27 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Death of a Cozy,
By JACK "audio aficionado" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death of a Valentine (Hardcover)
In "Death of a Valentine" author M.C. Beaton puts newly-promoted (again!) Sergeant Hamish Macbeth and his village of Lochdubh through their paces. The Curry sisters continue to speak in chorus. Angela struggles with writing a new book. The women in Hamish's love life (ha!) Priscilla and Elspeth, are called into cameo roles.The "mystery" to me is why such a contrived piece of fiction as "Death of a Valentine" was ever published. Beaton continues her forays into the more complexities of psychosis and violent types of homicide. These genres are not suited to Beaton's flat, two-dimensional writing style. Coincidences abound. Guns are liberally sprinkled along with bodies dotting the Scottish Highlands. The editing is also slipshod. In one passage, character names are interchanged and this literary faux pas goes on for several pages. Beaton made a name for herself in the "cozy" mystery genre -- no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex. Most often, the crime takes place "off stage." The genuine mystery is why Beaton is trying to abandon a genre that has served her well for many years to become a poor woman's Ruth Rendell. |
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