Death of a Village: Amazon.ca: M. C. Beaton, Graeme Malcolm: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Scottish policeman Hamish Macbeth tries to avoid a dreaded promotion while solving assorted crimes and crossing swords with pretty reporter Elspeth Grant in his episodic 18th outing (after 2002's Death of a Celebrity). Macbeth knows something is amiss in the village of Stoyre, because the residents have become even more religious and closemouthed than usual. Discovering and rooting out the cause will cost him dearly. All Macbeth's talents are on display as he performs a heroic rescue, outwits some crooks and meets violence with violence. For all his nonchalance, the laconic Macbeth does his best to protect his people and preserve his way of life among them. Beaton fans will rejoice.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-The village of Lochdubh,in the Scottish Highlands, seems to be peaceful enough, but Hamish Macbeth, the local policeman, keeps uncovering criminal activity almost by accident. There is something fishy going on over in the isolated village of Stoyre, too. With a clear-eyed understanding of people and an uncommon degree of common sense, Macbeth solves these riddles almost effortlessly. His real problem is not crime, but avoiding promotion; each time he catches a wrongdoer or saves a child, he comes to the attention of his superiors, who feel his talents are wasted in Lochdubh. But his life there, with its cottage police station, his dog, his hens and sheep, and an attractive new journalist on hand, suits Macbeth very well. And though the villagers think him lazy and unambitious, they don't want to see him go, either, as they would lose their police station if he were transferred. The trademark charm of the series-quirky humor, eccentric characters, and dark overtones-is in full swing here; fans will be well pleased, and readers new to Lochdubh can enjoy this as a stand-alone volume.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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17 Reviews

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4.4 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars A TOWN WITHOUT PITY..., April 18 2012

By

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Death of a Village (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the nineteenth book in a series of cozy mysteries featuring lovable Highlander, Hamish Macbeth, in charge of law and order in the village of Lochdubh and its environs in the north of Scotland. As always, the book is laced with sly humor throughout that is engaging, and the dialogue creates a feeling of authenticity of place, making the book highly enjoyable. One does not read these books for their literary value. One reads them purely for the fun of it.

This time, Hamish is called to the isolated village of Storye, where something is just not quite right, as the normally god fearing, Calvinist population has seemingly taken fear of the Almighty to new heights, and are now seemingly fearful of everything. Just what is going on in Storye? Well, that is what Hamish tries to discover, that is, when he is not daydreaming about his ex-fiancée Priscilla, who is now engaged to be married to someone else, or sparring with local news reporter Elspeth Grant, who seems to have taken a shine to our local constable.

As with all cozy mysteries, it is not so much the mystery that is of import but the characters that revolve around the mystery, and the characters are certainly quirky and entertaining, adding to the charm of the series. With the oddly endearing Hamish Macbeth, the author has created a character that is a winner. I love this series of cozy mysteries!

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5.0 out of 5 stars You'll Find Out How a Village Can Die . . . Very Interesting!, Jun 8 2007

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 Village (Mass Market Paperback)

Death of a Village has to be the most intriguing title in the Hamish Macbeth series. In all of the other titles, there's a reference to a death of a single person . . . who can be spotted in the first few pages of the book. In this case, you'll have a strong suspicion which village is doomed . . . but you won't know what's coming until it happens.

Normally, Hamish Macbeth manages to solve one major crime during the course of a book. Well, in Death of a Village, Hamish is a positive crime-stopping superman . . . with a little help from his friends.

The book opens in an odd fashion: Hamish makes a rare visit to off-the-beaten-path Stoyre and finds a curious quiet and reticence in the town. But he's even more amazed to find that the church is full for services during the day on a Monday. That's some religious revival!

Intrigued by the change, Hamish recruits local reporter, horoscope writer, and frustrated Hamish-chaser, Elspeth Grant, to help him find out what's going on. Nosing around and taking in Sunday services reveals nothing out of the ordinary . . . except to confirm the curious quiet and reticence that Hamish spotted on the first visit. But, before long, there's a surprise in Stoyre. Hamish eventually decides to take a holiday and spend it in Stoyre to get the lay of the land.

His concern is quickly distracted by a break-in at the grocery in Braikie, where all the wine and spirits have been taken. But Hamish senses that something funny is going on. Using his initiative, Hamish checks out the records of the grocer's supplier and makes several surprising finds. But the success backfires when Hamish adds to his local reputation as a woman chaser.

Before the first case is done, he gets a call from a frightened Bella Comyn and her fear of her husband. Pretty soon, the husband is missing and Hamish is puzzled by odds and ends of the case. Sleuthing again leads to unexpected evidence.

A visit to a Lochdubh widow, Mrs. Annie Docherty, leads Hamish to hear a surprising accusation which he decides to investigate with Mrs. Docherty's help. It quickly becomes curiouser and curiouser.

Through all of these investigations, Hamish achieves successes that are quite impressive. Once again, promotion threatens and Hamish has to pull out all the stops to derail being uprooted from his beloved Lochdubh.

M. C. Beaton packed enough mysteries and action into this story to make three regular Hamish Macbeth stories.

If you like Hamish Macbeth, you'll love Death of a Village.

Highly recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner for Hamish, May 6 2004

By

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Death of a Village (Mass Market Paperback)

MC Beaton pens another winner with "Death of a Village". No one can write a village mystery like her, and her Hamish is a wonderful character. I like him more each time out. In this book Hamish is on a winning crusade against crime in his patch. He cracks open a fraud ring, a nursing home scam, saves a little girl's life in a catastropic flood and uncovers a salvaging ring that is stripping a German submarine from World War II that had been downed somewhere near the village of Storye which is a village on his patch. Usually nothing much goes on in Storye, but when Hamish makes a routine visit there, he finds that the villagers are secretive and scared. He and his young reporter friend Elspeth try to determine what is going on in the tiny village. Hamish is hard pressed to keep his good deeds "off the radar screen" so to speak because the last thing he wants is promotion to a larger police station. The only thing I'm sad about after reading this book is that I have only one left to read in this long-running series. The series has been a total delight!

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining story of Scottish rural police
Scottish police constable Hamish Macbeth likes his life and dreads the idea of a promotion. If only he could get his love-life under control, he thinks things would be about... Read more

Published on Oct 1 2003 by booksforabuck

5.0 out of 5 stars Elspeth turns on the charm
I thought that this latest installment of the Hamish Macbeth series is far better than the last few. Read more

Published on Aug 13 2003 by Mr. Mooney