Death of a Travelling Man: Amazon.ca: M.C. Beaton: Books

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

In this excellent, eighth Hamish Macbeth mystery, the slightly lethargic, tousle-haired village copper in the Scottish Highlands has been promoted against his will. As Sergeant, he makes more money, but must suffer more work as well, not to mention the enthusiasm of his new helper, Police Constable Willie Lamont. Hamish rescues a young boy from the river and saves some stranded mountain climbers; he listens to a minister confess wavering faith, is plagued by a superior who resents his promotion and has repeated run-ins with a drifter who parks his van behind the minister's manse. The "devastatingly handsome" drifter charms four women out of their money and harasses Hamish's ladylove, Priscilla. When the bounder's body is found after a fatal bludgeoning, Hamish seeks out the young man's rock-singer girlfriend and unhappily discovers a blackmailing scheme that incriminates some locals. Beaton ( Death of a Glutton ) pens a cast of winning characters, even the pesky, malaprop Willie (whose aunt lives "in a condom in San Francisco"). But the star, as always, is the slow-moving, quick-witted Hamish.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

Beaton's quirky, charming Hamish Macbeth is even more appealing as expressed in Davina Porter's good-natured narration. The unique and sometimes eccentric residents of Lochdub, Scotland, take on lives and personalities of their own as Porter bestows idiosyncrasies on each. Of course, the very best is Macbeth; listeners are privy as he labors in his meandering way to solve yet another murder. Regular fans will become adept at frequently used Scottish words and expressions. Beaton's most irresistible talent is creating characters with whom everyone, regardless of age, state, or situation, can identify (and sometimes cringe at). This is the perfect choice for mystery buffs who enjoy humor and for all who love the Scots. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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8 Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Rank Struggles, Feb 16 2007

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)

Death of a Travelling Man is the ninth novel in the Hamish Macbeth series of comic mysteries by M.C. Beaton. Before describing the book, I strongly urge you to not start your reading of the series with this book. The subjects in this book reflect important transitions in the series, and you won't find the book nearly as entertaining as a standalone novel rather than a continuation. Stop reading here if you haven't read the earlier books!

At the end of Death of a Glutton, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth was still trying to get the central heating for his Lochdubh police station home that Chief Inspector Blair had promised in exchange for getting credit for solving an earlier murder. Anxious to get the central heating, Hamish took credit for a gutsy bluff that solved the death of the glutton. His reward? He was promoted to Sergeant and Police Constable Willie Lamont was assigned to "assist" him and live in the police station's spare bedroom.

Rarely since Shakespeare has anyone painted a portrayal of a person in power with greater comic wit than M.C. Beaton does with Willie Lamont. Three main gags dominate: Willie's desire to keep things neat and tidy; Willie's malapropisms; and Willie's idea of a romantic life.

Much of the pleasure of Willie's appearances is spoiled, however, by the portrayal of Hamish as being very upset by Willie. No one could be upset by Willie.

As the book opens, Hamish spots a recycled hippy van parked where it's not allowed. Planning to hurry the van and its occupants right out of town, Hamish is surprised to find that the driver, Sean Gourlay, is young, handsome, and well off. Gourlay is accompanied by a very foul-mouthed Cheryl Higgins who loves to shout "pig!" Hamish associates such "travellers" with layabouts who are collecting on the dole and sell drugs for an income. Hamish has a premonition that this traveller is bad news.

In the first half of the book, Hamish finds himself running the police business by himself while looking out for Willie, too. Desperate to get rid of Willie, Priscilla and Hamish work out a scheme that quickly backfires. In the background, Blair decides that it's time to take Hamish down a peg or two and comes close to succeeding.

In the meantime, Gourlay has charmed the minister and is camping behind the manse and siphoning off electricity to power his lights and telly. Gourlay soon has all of the older ladies in town in the palm of his hand. But the town doesn't seem as happy. Hamish reaches the end of his rope when Gourlay starts to show an interest in Priscilla and becomes a pest.

When Gourlay turns up bludgeoned to death by a sledge hammer, it looks bad for the villagers. Those with a motive have iron-clad alibis . . . except the villagers. How will Hamish handle investigating his friends and neighbors?

The mystery's resolution will probably strike you as a little far-fetched. M.C. Beaton wrote herself into a corner that required a pretty weird result. I graded the book down accordingly, but I found the book's ending to be a nice surprise.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Very Entertaining, Nov 25 2003

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

Death of a Travelling Man is an excellent addition to the Hamish Macbeth series. In it we see a newly promoted Hamish trying to put up with a trying police constable (P.C Willie Lamont). All Hamish wants is the privacy of his home back without the arduous efforts at cleaning by Willie. A man can't even relax in his home - Hamish thinks. Then something happens to really upset the applecart in the village of Lochdubh. A "traveller" arrives in town, and seems intent on staying. Hamish, for some reason can't stand the man, but all the village ladies seem to think he's marvellous, at first. Then it appears that some of the women in town have had a sudden change in personality, and the peace of Locdubh is ruined. When Sean, the traveller, is found bludgeoned to death in his trailer (or caravan as the English call it), Hamish can't help breathing a sigh of relief, but peace doesn't return and he realizes that it won't until he finds the killer. Hamish is his usual lovable and charming self, but he finds he has to get tough with some long term Locdubh residents in order to get to the truth. This is probably one of my favourite Hamish stories so far.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Death of a Travelling Man, April 3 2003

By	Ricky C. Nelson (Commerce, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Death of a Travelling Man" is the ninth Hamish Macbeth mystery by M. C. Beaton, a series set in the Scottish highlands in the town of Lochdubh. Hamish has been promoted to sergeant, and has a helper in P.C. Willie Lamont. With so little crime in Lochdubh Willie is usually either cleaning the station or spending time at the Italian restaurant with the lovely Lucia. Sean Gourlay and his girlfriend Cheryl Higgins roll into Lochdubh in an old bus converted into a travelling home. Hamish knows they are trouble and orders them to leave. The townspeople think he is being too harsh, and the pair soon park their bus in back of minister Wellington's home. Soon after their arrival, many of the women of the town start acting strangely. Four vials of morphine vanish from Dr. Brodie's office and one hundred pounds disappear from the Mother's Union. Then Sean is found murdered in the bus. Who killed him? Was it one of the women of the town whom Sean had been blackmailing? Was it Willie Lamont, who learns that Lucia had kissed Sean Gourlay? Could it have been Sean's girlfriend, Cheryl? Hamish once again sorts through everything and solves the murder. An interesting turn takes place in Hamish's relationship with Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. "Death of a Travelling Man" is an excellent novel and a very entertaining read.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun Hamish Mac Beth mystery
Hamish is trying to deal with his promotion and new constable Willie. Willie is a clean freak and is driving the laconic Hamish crazy. Read more

Published on Aug 30 2002 by Moe811

2.0 out of 5 stars Manages to be at once both slight and offensive.
Death of a Travelling Man is the first I've read of the Hamish MacBeth series, and it doesn't particularly inspire me to go back for seconds. Read more

Published on Jul 9 2001 by racapowski

5.0 out of 5 stars HAMISH MACBETH STRIKES AGAIN!!!
I have read nearly all the series up to and including this one. I think this may be the best one of all. Hamish now has a side-kick by th name of Willie Lamont. Read more

Published on Mar 7 2001 by Mac Blair

3.0 out of 5 stars A fun, readable story and a likeable character.
This is the 8th Hamish Macbeth novel (c 1993), but the first time I've encountered him. He's drawn with humor and compassion by the author of the Agatha Raisin books. Read more

Published on Jan 1 2001 by MLPlayfair