Death
of a Bore
A
Hamish Macbeth Mystery
By
M C Beaton
Highland
Police Constable Hamish Macbeth is feeling lonely, but anxious.
His recent girlfriend has left the village and a newcomer, a writer,
has managed to stir up the villagers' ire. Hamish fears trouble
is coming. Hamish's fears prove true when the villagers are captured
on videotape tossing various food products at the writer, who later
turns up dead. In his efforts to prove that the killer is an outsider,
Hamish takes chances that might claim his job and his life.
As
usual, I found Death of a Bore to be both laugh-out-loud funny in
a number of instances and so engrossing in others that I read it
in one day. Ms. Beaton's style and masterful handling of Hamish
continues to delight. After twenty outings with the villagers of
Lochdubh, each time I pick of a Macbeth mystery, I'm eager to visit
"old friends." Most of the villagers I've become familiar
with are present and accounted for, including Hamish's former fiancée,
Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, who makes a cameo appearance.
Although
Ms. Beaton has yet to disappoint me as a reader, I am growing increasingly
disenchanted with the situation between Hamish and Halburton-Smythe.
Each time I think Hamish is over her and is ready to move on, Halburton-Smythe
makes a cameo that leads nowhere. My one criticism of the series
is the way Ms. Beaton uses Halburton-Smythe to keep Hamish romantically
stagnant. It's time to either rekindle the romance or permanently
end it.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
|
The
Book |
Mysterious Press / TimeWarner |
February
2005 |
Hardcover |
0-89296-75-1 |
Mystery |
The
Reviewer |
Mary Lynn |
Reviewed
2005 |
|