Customer Reviews

Death of a Snob

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

 

 

It is Christmas time in Lochdubh, and the village constable, Hamish Macbeth, is laid low with a cold with no one to comfort him but his dog, Towser. Feeling sorry for himself, as he will be unable to visit his family for the holidays due to a change in circumstances, Hamish is also suffering the holiday blues.

When a visiting friend of Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Jane Wetherby, who runs a health farm on the remote and lonely Scottish island of Eileencraig, stops by for his professional advice, because she believes someone is trying to kill her, Hamish is all ears. Having no holiday plans, Hamish agrees to spend time at the health farm with some of her paying guests, even though he believes Jane is a little wacky.

Soon, Hamish is off to Eileencraig with Jane. Upon their arrival, they are greeted by sullen, unfriendly islanders. The guests at the health farm are no great improvement, as they clearly have issues with each other. One in particular, Heather Todd, is totally obnoxious and a dreadful snob. So, when Heather goes missing and is discovered to have met an untimely end, Hamish is not surprised. His only concern is to discover who the murderer is, before it is too late.

This is the sixth book in a series of cozy mysteries featuring lovable Highlander, Hamish Macbeth. 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. 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 with the oddly endearing Hamish Macbeth, the author has created a character that is a winner. I love this series of cozy mysteries!

Police Constable Hamish Macbeth is miserable. He's sick . . . and no one seems to notice. He also is looking forward to visiting his family on his Christmas holiday . . . until he's warned off because his aunt who cannot stand him is coming from America. In a foul mood, he's not too excited when Priscilla Hallburton-Smythe asks him to talk to a guest, Jane Wetherby, at the family hotel (formerly the family castle) about two brushes with death and an inauspicious tea leaf reading. Meeting Jane, he's quickly impressed by her looks, her wealth, and her health farm (the Happy Wanderer) on remote Eileencraig. His mood lifts when he's able to inveigle an invitation for a free trip over Christmas to "look into things there." He leaves the exhausted Priscilla to trek to his parents' home to deliver Christmas presents in a terrible blizzard . . . and promptly forgets about her while becoming intrigued by the widowed cookbook author, Harriet Shaw, who becomes Dr. Watson to his Sherlock Holmes.

Naturally, Hamish is trying to fit in with the other guests . . . and not indicate that he's a policeman on holiday with a purpose. Choosing a cover as a forester, he's ripped up one side and down the other by one of the guests, Heather Todd, who is a social climbing communist sympathizer who favors any trendy left-wing cause for which she can hold a party. But you cannot blame Heather too much for her self-absorption: Her husband mainly likes to admire himself in the mirror. The other guests don't endear themselves to Hamish very much either. He soon wishes that he were anywhere else. And then, mysterious events start to occur. Jane disappears, and Hamish sets out to find her. Then one of the guests disappears and the search is even more challenging.

The mystery is a delightful one, with fair clues to help you figure out who did what to whom. The detection process is also fun. Hamish's attraction to Heather provides lots of amusing scenes. Priscilla's Christmas story will be one you'll long think about.

The book's only weakness is that the victim is painted in harsher colors than are needed for the story. That creates a memorable character, but hardly a realistic one.

This is one of the best examples of a cozy Christmas mystery that I've read for awhile. Hamish is at loose ends on Lochdubh. He can't go to his parents' house since there is going to be an aunt there who hates him. Priscilla is too busy with her father's hotel, so he accepts an invitation to go to lonely, remote Eileencraig for the holidays. One of Priscilla's acquaintances has asked him to come in an unofficial capacity to investigate whether or not there is someone trying to kill her. While he's there another resident at the health farm turns up dead, and Hamish finds himself in the middle of a murder again. The best thing about this book is a native islander called Geordie and his possessed truck. Beaton never fails to amuse and Hamish is as adorable as ever.

It's Christmas, and Hamish is sick. The unlikable Jane Wetherby from the island of Eileencraig thinks someone's trying to kill her. She runs a health farm, where lots of interesting characters are staying, all of whom, of course, become suspects in what leads to murder. DEATH OF A SNOB may be the 4th in the Hamish Macbeth series -- I've lost count. It's coprighted 1991. The awkward relationship between Hamish and Priscilla contines. This is a real cozy in the old tradition, with a group brought together on an island. It's fun, short, and light, but also moody and dark, with some elements of a real "thriller" thrown in, along with some fun characters. Once again, Beaton has made the nasty one so nasty that I'd have wanted to kill that one myself!

Hamish McBeth is at loose ends for the holidays. His parents are being visited by an aunt who hates him and Priscilla is too busy with her new hotel to have time for him. When a friend of hers thinks that someone is trying to kill her, she invites Hamish to her posh Health Spa for the holidays to protect her, only she isn't the guest who is in danger.

As usual the author has written a mystery that the reader can get completely absorbed in. The characters are quirky and the setting properly ominous. Another great read.

"Death of a Snob" is the sixth Hamish Macbeth novel. Hamish is invited by Jane Wetherby to spend Christmas with her on the island of Eileencraig in the Herbrides. She believes that someone may be trying to kill her and wants Hamish to determine if someone is indeed trying to kill her. She has other guests at her health farm; her ex-husband, John, Harriet Shaw, a writer of cookbooks, Ian and Sheila Carpenter, and Diarmuid and Heather Todd. Heather Todd is a terrible snob and is not friendly with anyone including her husband. Heather is found dead in the curve of an overhanging rock at the beach. Hamish notices that she has a broken neck and a bad bruise on the side of it. The police think it is an accident, but Hamish is convinced that it is murder. With the help of Harriet Shaw, Hamish investigates. This is a good read and a very good addition to the series.

i believe this is an extraordinary book, with extreme detail.this is a good way to learn things about what police men have to do to solve a murder case!I think that Hamish MacBeth is a very stong willed sounding man

Beaton continues to delight with her quaint Hamish MacBeth series.

This time around, Hamish spends Christmas on a tiny Scottish Island to help the friend of a friend... who's worried that she'll soon be harmed. Soon enough, there's a dead body, all right, but it's not who you expect and Hamish must solve the crime.

As with other stories early in this series, the incidental characters are paper-thin, but MacBeth, Priscilla and the Lochdubh regulars are nicely fleshed out and Beaton's writing makes for a fast yet fun read.

The Happy Wanderer health farm on the weird little island of Eileencraig is the setting for an odd cast of characters and (of course) a murder. Hamish MacBeth, police constable of the Highland village of Lochdubh, is implored by ex-fiancé Priscilla to come to the rescue of an acquaintance who runs and owns the health farm and has found herself the victim of a couple of "accidents." Hamish finds it a excellent excuse to mooch a free holiday. A wee fey truck along with Beaton's usual delightful dialogue, well drawn characters and starkly vivid landscape are only part of the charm of this story. The murder victim, is as always, totally unlikable, the suspects numerous, and the plot twists and turns but never loses its pace. Will this be the turning point for the unlucky in love Hamish? Or the final straw in the career of this ever un-ambitious police constable? A clever whodunit, with all the wonderful bits and pieces Ms. Beaton formulaically delivers in an artfully distinct manner.

This book is one of the best in the whole Hamish Macbeth series. I highly recommend it!