Customer Reviews

Death of a Macho Man

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When blustery, braggart Randy Duggan takes a holiday cottage in Lochdubh, little does he know his days are numbered. In the short time before this macho man meets his maker, he manages to get the locals, men and women, all riled up. He even challenges the local constable, Hamish Macbeth, to a fight. Waiting patiently for his opponent at the appointed time, little does Hamish know that the macho man will not be making any more appointments.

Unfortunately, Detective Chief Inspector Blair is determined to wreck Hamish Macbeth's career and manages to get him off the investigation. Still, Hamish will not be silenced, working behind the scene to discover just who hated the macho man enough to murder him in cold blood.

This is the twelfth book in a series of cozy mysteries featuring lovable Highlander, Hamish Macbeth, the constable for the sleepy village of Lochdubh in northern Scotland. In this book, village life takes center stage and the village characters beguile the reader, giving the book that cozy feel. Moreover, readers will enjoy the dynamics between Hamish and is ex-fiancée, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, as they try to achieve a détente and resolve their relationship. The book is laced with sly humor throughout that is engaging, keeping the mood of the book light and highly enjoyable.

As with all cozy mysteries, it is not so much the mystery that is of import but the characters that revolve around the mystery. While the mysteries are intriguing, they are the framework around which the characters evolve. In the endearing character of Hamish Macbeth, the author has created a sure fire winner, who has won over the many fans of the cozy mystery genre.

It's amazing to me that a novel first published in 1997 could so accurately predict the unfortunate events of May 20, 2011.

I hope someone knows that Roddy Piper was up to today.

RIP Randy Savage

It's always a challenge keeping a mystery series fresh. Many times readers will react negatively to changes you put in place. In Death of Macho Man, M.C. Beaton does something few mystery writers could accomplish: She builds up enough plot complications for two mysteries and lets her characters be much more active than usual. The result is immensely satisfying for giving you more of what you like about Hamish Macbeth stories: Mysterious deaths; unexpected motives; romantic complications; prickly interactions with Priscilla Halburton-Smythe; failed attempts by Detective Chief Inspector Blair to get Hamish fired; by-play with the Lochdubh villagers; and exciting action sequences. Don't miss this book!

As usual, an outsider is causing problems in Lochdubh. Randy Duggan claims to have been a professional wrestler in America and likes to brag about his exploits. He has plenty of muscles and tattoos, but his stories don't always ring true. Duggan can usually gain an audience by buying drinks all round with his wad of cash. But after awhile, even free drinks begin to pale as Randy's need to brag nonstop in unconvincing ways becomes boring. Physical confrontations start and Hamish has to sort things out. Duggan wants a piece of Hamish and Hamish makes the mistake of agreeing to fight Duggan while Hamish is off duty. The whole area gets a bet down and arrives to watch the fun. Things turn nasty, however, when Duggan is found dead with his head blown off by a shotgun. Naturally, Hamish is the top suspect.

From that taut beginning, the story builds in intensity as Hamish works in secret to find the real killer. Priscilla Halburton-Smythe has her biggest role in many books, and all of the challenging dimensions of their relationship are put to a test (including teaching Hamish how to use a computer). The mystery deepens as Hamish begins to find out unpleasant facts about two local residents. Everything is up in the air once the pathologists realize that Duggan has had plastic surgery. What was he trying to hide?

A great subplot in the book is the attention paid to Hamish's relationships with his friends among the villagers. As the investigations continue, Hamish finds himself in trouble with the villagers as well as with the police leaders in Strathbane.

You'll also like seeing Hamish become a lot more reckless and less lazy. It shows a side of him that only occasionally is revealed in the earlier books.

Highly recommended!

This is the twelfth entry in the Hamish Macbeth series, and it's a winner! Probably my favourite so far. I just don't know how MC Beaton does manage to keep Hamish and his series so fresh and delightful. She is a superb author and characterizes like no one else in the business! In this book Hamish is up against a village bully and braggart, and then the bully turns up dead. All of the police force believe they have their killer (after all he even confessed), but only Hamish doesn't think they've got the right man. He goes out sleuthing on his own, and sets himself up against all the police brass. He is at his best in this book, and for those who haven't had the pleasure of entering Hamish's world, this book wouldn't be a bad place to start. Quite Wonderful!

This is the twelfth in a series of mysteries featuring the detective work of small town, Highland Scottish detective Hamish Macbeth, P.C. A loudmouthed bruiser of a man has established himself in Lochdubh, but when he starts to bully those smaller than himself (everyone), Hamish decides that it is time to deal with him. But, when the man is found dead (drugged, tied up, and blasted with a shotgun), Hamish sets out to find out who did it and why. And when a second person is murdered, the plot continues to thicken...

Being a dyed-in-the-wool Hamish Macbeth fan, I can tell you that this is another great Hamish mystery, just as good as the rest. The story was quite fascinating, and I have always enjoyed M.C. Beaton's (pseudonym of Marion Chesney) Highland setting - the characters are quite fascinating as is the environment of the Highlands themselves. Overall I thought that this was a great book, and a great mystery. If you like mysteries, or are merely interest in the Scottish Highlands, then you must get this book!

Randy "Macho Man" Duggan has arrived in Lochdubh and is causing no end of trouble. He was at first welcome in the little village, as he was very generous at the local bar. People were also amused by his tall stories. But, he never let anyone else talk and bullied anyone else who tried. Hamish caught him dropping a retired schoolteacher into the water and tried to stop him. He ended up challenged to a fight that would only lose him his job and possibly a few teeth. On the day of the fight, however, Randy didn't show. Archie McLean found him dead in his rented cottage and Hamish is the prime suspect according to Blair. Hamish has to find out what really happened and in the process, finds another murder and has a run in with a master criminal, Gentleman Jim.

This was as usual a very quick and entertaining read. Priscilla is at her best here, keeping Hamish at arm's length, yet helping him every step of the way. Lochdubh is the murder capital of the Scottish Highlands.

Hamish MacBeth is allowed a little more scope for action in this novel than in most of the others I have read so far. In this one he gets to save Priscilla from a handsome and hideous villain, win a hill climbing race when he is terribly tired and out of shape, get shot at in the process, go undercover in the Glasgow slums, return to Lcohdubh via helicopter, and solve the crime of the century! I am able to recount all this without really ruining this for other readers because it is not really a surprise. The fun of reading M. C. Beaton's books about Hamish is not in "who done it" but in how it unravels. The unravelling is just as good as ever here. I continue to get great satisfaction out of this series.

Another great one by M. C. Beaton about Hamish MacBeth. I have read several of the MacBeth series and the Agatha Raisin series. They both are good but I think MacBeth is a little better. Agatha has gotten to jump in to many beds in the last couple of books. Hamish is his usual self, lazy but smart in solving murders. He can't stand the "Macho Man" and they are set for a fight, but do they get that far??? Later "Macho" is found dead. Was it Geordie, Annie,Andy, Willie, Archie or Rosie? It really could be someone else. Hamish get shot at!!!!! Goodness.... I liked the ending, keep hoping Hamish and Priscilla end up together, maybe in the last book. Beaton lets me see the village, the people and the countryside in my mind. I always enjoy a new Hamish book. Keep on Keeping on.

"Reading a Hamish Macbeth book is like taking a vacation in the Highlands to enjoy the local color and heather-scented air," according to the book's liner notes. Well, possibly. Nonetheless M.C. Beaton's "Death of a Macho Man" continues the Macbeth saga in the small village of Lochdubh, Scotland. It follows Beaton's "tried and true" formula for her Macbeth books, of course. That said, this series is still a most readable, most interesting set, and I wouldn't think of missing one. In this one, naturally the macho man, after threatening, taunting, aggravating, and bullying (not to forget bragging) the locals--which on one occasion leads to a very nasty fight--our man comes up dead. Randy Duggan is so obnoxious that he even gets under Hamish's skin. Duggan issues a challenge to Hamish to settle their differences with a boxing match! Of course, everyone in the village is excited about this! But on the night of "the big fight," Duggan is found shot to death--which takes care of the boxing match! But it also sheds great suspicion on Hamish. And from here on out, Beaton's "main man" is on the trail to find out who really did kill him (not that there weren't plenty of other suspects, as well!). Again, we meet up with Hamish's ex-fiancee Priscilla and his nemesis Sergeant Blair. Lochdubh and its denizens soon become "family" with this series! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

tatooed fighter, dubbed Macho Man, ends when the wrestler is found shot to death in his cottage. The murder trail leads to a shadowy and unsavory past involving the lives of a salty fisherman, a respectable matron and a host of buried secrets. This is one of my favorites!