Fourth in the Hamish Macbeth mystery series. I've read the first two, and skipped the third because the shop didn't have it when I picked up 1, 2, 4 and 5. I have no intention of looking for the third, because this is the last of the series I'll bother reading.[return][return]As with the other books, this has the lazy, amiable village policeman having to deal with murder coming to his otherwise sleepy village. In this case, Hamish spots Trixie Thomas as a potential murder victim fairly on, thanks to her behaviour. Trixie is the perfect housewife, who is so competent that she has time to run her new bed and breakfast business, scrounge up furniture from the locals to furnish her b&b that just happens to fetch a nice penny at the antiques auctions back in the big city, and take the other housewives in the village in hand -- frequently to the chagrin of their husbands, who liked life better before healthy diets, lack of smoking, and the taking up of causes came to the village. Hamish is not in the least bit surprised when she's found dead of poison.[return][return]While it's entertaining enough with some good set pieces and social observation, the characterisations are very thin and very stereotyped, a good many of the characters are not very likeable, and much of the humour is rather spiteful. And in this volume, it's much more noticeable that the characters the author doesn't like are predominantly women. I didn't comment on this in my main posts on the first two books, but it came up in discussion on one of the blog posts that you can see that MC Beaton dislikes other women. As I said in that comment thread, it wasn't that blatant in the first two I read, because a lot of her male characters are very unsympathetic as well. This is why I wasn't sure if it was authorial snobbery or misogyny in "Cad" -- it could well have been the author's dislike of certain types of people, where gender wasn't a factor in the types. But it's gratingly obvious after my third one that the author is contemptuous of other women, and I don't want to read any more of the books, even though I adored the tv series and do like some aspects of the books.
"The weather turns blustery the day Mr. and Mrs. Thomas move into the sleepy Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh, and other changes soon follow. Unemployed and English, the Thomases already have two strikes again them: The villagers have never liked newcomers. Only lonely Angela Brodie, the doctor's wife, welcomes the attentions of Trixie Thomas."Trixie, a model of domestic efficiency, turns Angela's life around--organizing her house, teaching her to cook nourishing vegetarian meals (much to the dismay of Dr. Brodie), even helping her perm her hair. Trixie soon takes the rest of the village in hand, as well, with her Anti-Smoking League, her new birdwatching society, and her general interference with the gentle, lazy rhythm of life in Lochdubh."Hamish Macbeth, the canny village police constable, doesn't let his own confusion over his feelings for lovely Priscilla Halburthon-Smythe cloud his perception of the villagers' growing resentment of the perfect housewife. And when resentment explodes into murder, the local reactions range from shock to secret satisfaction."The trouble for Hamish may be in finding someone who didn't wish Trixie dead and gone, in this latest outing for the p9oliceman rightfully hailed as a 'gem'."~~front flapA charming little mystery, with lots of surprises, and certainly a surprise ending. The author's usual tactic of creating a plethora of people with motives for murder keeps the reader guessing until the very last page.
What do You think about Death Of A Perfect Wife (2006)?
When an English couple moves to Lochdubh saying that they are on the dole and have moved to a long-deserted house to start a bed and breakfast to help make their way, the residents don't know what changes are about to happen to their peaceful hamlet. The wife goes around to their homes begging for any unwanted furniture to use in her bed and breakfast, but strangely the pieces she begs for are older pieces (as in valuable antiques). Hamish finds out later that she is selling these pieces to dealers and pocketing the money. As if this is not enough, she organizes the women into clubs and convinces them that they need to change their ways including feeding their families healthier foods which causes much discord and almost divorces among the husbands. Nearly every facet of their lives is under attack by this "perfect wife" and causes many to wish her dead.
—Carole
The main spotlight (on a regular) is on Angela Brodie, IMO, who had been a rare unconventional and sympathetically described woman in her other books as well, and even her husband's brief assholeness is feministically converted. I had forgotten even the marriage of the rawredhanded fisher-wife got a ray of hope, not just the bitterness.. While I despaired over critics seeing "black comedy" where there seemed to be nothing but mean-spirited retellings of daily bothers, Hamish remains on top, the village does seem to be a place to be happy for once, there's the dog and smart and caring Priscilla. Oh, whom he camouflage-kisses at some point, and who later oggles his surprisingly muscular torso as his long lashes fan over his cheeks in sleep. Back then I had hope for the series, I remember now. Having given up and clinging to tatters now, I point to three instances of potentially positive relationships.
—_inbetween_
Hamish's friend Angela has a personality melt-down due to the influence of a so-called "perfect wife" who challenges her to discard her bookish way of life and her haphazard housekeeping methods. The old Angela disappears and is replaced by a compulsive, cause-oriented, health-mad cook, permed within an inch of her life, who banishes her animals to the back yard and refuses to cook her husband's favorite unhealthy meals. Turns out the perfect wife is a bit of a crook. We're all on Angela's side and the real Angela eventually resurfaces after Hamish solves the murder. All is well in Lochdubh! If you're just going to read one of this series, this would be a fun one to choose!
—Sara
