Review by Booklist Review
A Macbeth utterly lacking in ambition and a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands that is murderously hard on outsiders form the witty premise of this series. Through 20 mysteries, Hamish Macbeth, police constable of tiny Lochdubh, has retained his stout common sense and disdain for those who scramble after power. Macbeth's stolid character serves as perfect counterpoint to both the scheming, sneering higher-ups in the police and his sometimes hysterical villagers. The virus that sets off the latest fever in Lochdubh is a visiting fiction writer who promises fame and fortune for those who enroll in his writing class. Writer John Heppel, however, soon alienates everyone with his arrogance and condescension. After publicly humiliating several would-be authors in his writing circle, Heppel is found dead in his cottage, his tongue symbolically blackened. Macbeth dexterously paddles through myriad motives, a media blitz, and police power plays to find the murderer. Delightful. --Connie Fletcher Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Only established fans will enjoy M.C. Beaton's Death of a Bore: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery, this predictable series' soporific 21st installment (after 2004's Death of a Poisoned Pen), in which the contrary constable investigates the mysterious death of a self-styled "literary writer" and world-class bore in that Scottish Shangri-La, the village of Lochdubh. Should the U.K. TV series based on Beaton's Hamish Macbeth novels reach the U.S., expect more readers to wake up and pay attention. Agent, Barbara Lowenstein. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
After a writer moves to the Scottish village of Lochdubh and initiates a well-attended writing circle, then browbeats the participants, most of whom are friends of policeman Hamish Macbeth, one of them murders him. Hamish gets the case, but must tread carefully. And new female boss Heather comes to town and complicates matters by trying to get involved with Hamish. For most collections. Beaton lives in England. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Egotistical TV personalities, an obnoxious boss, and a tidal wave of villagers bent on marrying him off can't stop Constable Hamish Macbeth from finding out who murdered Lochdubh's writer-in-residence. John Heppel has written Tenement Dust, an account of growing up poor in Glasgow, and his script for the soap opera Down in the Glen is being filmed by Strathbane Television. No wonder the village hall is packed to the rafters for his writers' workshop. Unfortunately, his brutal critiques of their works prompt the villagers to pelt him with tomatoes, leaving Hamish (Death of a Village, 2002, etc.) a plethora of suspects when Heppel turns up dead in his crofter's cottage in nearby Cnothan. Detective Chief Inspector Blair wants Hamish to pound the pavement in Lochdubh and interview the likes of twin spinsters Jessie and Nessie Curran. But Hamish's eye is trained on Strathbane, where producer Harry Tarrant hectors secretary Alice Patty but is fiercely protective of the late scriptwriter, and prima donnas of both sexes, from actresses Ann King and Patricia Wheeler to director John Gibson, have tantrums on and off the set. Meanwhile, schoolteacher Freda Garrety has her eye trained on Hamish. So does reporter Elspeth Grant, Hamish's ex-girlfriend, who thinks maybe she made a mistake leaving the highlands for urban opportunity in Glasgow. Quirky but well-plotted: Hamish's 20th offers humor, intrigue, and local color galore. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
