"In the Highland village of Lochdubh, every season has its special flavor. Lanky, red-haired constable Hamish Macbeth relishes them all, but spring is the mos grand. ... the winter storms have blown out to sea, the loch is smoth as glass, and Macbeth is content with dog, cat, and cup of tea before his quiet life is shattered by love, lies -- and mruder.Most newcomers don't stay long in remote Lochdubh. They arrive filled with romantic notions of life in northern Scotland until boredom, dampness, and nosy villagers sent them running back to civilization. Hamish Macbeth is surprised when artist Effice Garrard sticks it out through the winter, especially since her cottage is so far up in the hills that it might take weeks before anyone would know if something happened to her. "By spring Macbeth fears something has. He takes his Land Rover out to check on her, and for once his uncanny sixth sense is wrong! Effie is fine -- if being a dreamer and a little odd don't count. That problem off his mind, Macbeth's attention turns closer to home. His old flame, Priscilla Hallburton-Smythe has returned to Lochdubh for a long visit, not that Macbeth still cares. And a landscape painter, up from Glasgow, is charming all the ladies in the area, including the elderly twins Nessie and Jessie Currie. Macbeth's famous intuition tells him trouble is in the air. And this time Macbeth is spot on."Effie Garrard is found dead, an apparent suicide. Although his superiors close the case, Macbeth feels in his bones it is murder. Worse, things begin going haywire in his own life. Another of his old girlfriends turns up in Lochdubh, his heart is being tugged toward an unwise passion, and he may be dreaming too much himself. Distracted by his personal affairs, Macbeth may not see an evil that's getting too close to him ... or a ruthless killer whose violence will give everyone nightmares."~~front & back flapsI love reading about people who don't have a good grip on reality, and then try to bend the world to match their fantasy. They always get their comeuppance in the end, which is satisfying because they seldom do in the real world. I did mention that I enjoy escapist literature, didn't I?Nice twists and turns in the plot, characters stay true to themselves, and a sense of being in that gorgeous country, as usual. The best thing about this series is that you can always count on it being cozy.
I like these cosy little mysteries. Beaton is oft compared to Agatha Christie and it's easier to see why.This series is mostly stays in the little Highland village of Lochdubh, patrolled by police constable Hamish Macbeth and peopled by repeating quirky characters. They're a little boilerplate but that's what makes them comfortable.In this episode, a youngish woman potter moves into a cottage in the village's far reaches. Meanwhile a plein air paitner who has a way with the ladies comes to paint. The two meet; she almost stalks him while he rebuffs her.Then Effie tells someone Jock the artist is going to marry her because she's pregnant.Shortly thereafter Effie the potter is found dead in the hills, an apparent suicide.But Effie wasn't a potter, she was claiming her sister's work as her own.She wasn't pregnant; she had built a whole relationship with Jock in her mind.And Jock's ex wife is in town, supposedly seeking child support.Meanwhile, Hamish is teamed with a young detective who thinking to get promoted through their bosses bedroom, and is developing a relationship with an art agent who represents Jock and was thinking of taking on Effie.It's a hotbed of sex and lies, all that's missing is the videotape.
What do You think about Death Of A Dreamer (2007)?
I've skipped around quite a bit in this series, and although I haven't had the continuity of the story about the local characters, I really enjoy these books. It seems that no matter what book I'm reading, Hamish Macbeth is either wooing, getting engaged to, or trying to soothe himself from breaking up with Miss Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. It's fairly predictable, but I haven't tired of his romantic entanglements yet. This story was entertaining and a quick read. It was filled with women after the red haired constable to the point where it was almost comical. The mystery itself was engaging and I am always impressed with Hamish's deductive reasoning and ability to gleam the most telling facts from local gossip. I will be sure to check out more of the stories in the Hamish Macbeth series as I come across them.
—Dolly
"Manana (with a tilde over the first "n", as in Spanish for 'tomorrow') is too urgent a word for a Highlander." I really busted up when I heard that quote from this again "laugh out loud" audio rendition of this book. No doubt about it, I am going to read ALL of these. (Or listen to them all on my weekly car trip to Phoenix and back.) This one was especially funny. This crime/detective story continues with Hamish Macbeth dealing with his different love interests, his pets, his neighbors, his co-workers, his bosses and his own lack of ambition and motivation--he can't even talk himself into taking his "dream" vacation!! This was the funniest of all I have read so far. I will start over from the first in the series, "Death of a Gossip", so I can have his story chronologically. In researching, I found a three-season television series was created in England based on this character and these books. They actually do read almost like a screen play at times. If you like having fun with murder, these are for you!!
—Karen
Ok, I gave it 4 stars, it was really more like 4.5 though. Well written, interesting characters, and good grief, the Scottish accent throughout the whole thing was amazing, especially when combined with some pretty good dry humour.I liked this well enough, I believe I could read a few more in the series. :)Oh yeah...I 'read' the audio book. One of the few times I can say you should listen to a book rather than read it, the accent you hear in your head as you read this to yourself isn't half as entertaining as actually hearing the real thing.
—Sharon
