When
Hamish Macbeth is summoned to the home of a woman who says
she has been raped he does not expect to find it is all a
hoax. But Liz Bentley is a compulsive liar, as everybody in
the small village of Cromish already knows. Naturally Hamish
ignores her second panic stricken phone call, but this time
it was for real as Ms Bentley has been murdered. Thus begins
a tortuous trail of murders, clues and red herrings as Hamish
tangles with some more Highland lowlifes.
Thirty books and counting; this series shows no sign of running
out of steam. This was one of the strongest entries for some
time, with some interesting new characters, an involving plot
and plenty of satirical humor. I always think that one of
the best things about long running series is how part of the
treat with a new book is finding out what the series characters
have been up to. Hamish and Dick both have new love interests,
Blair is up to his usual tricks, and we get to see another
remote village. As usual readers are treated to a light, enjoyable
tale that is genuinely amusing and mercifully not cute. I
love the contrasting descriptions of the stark beauty of the
Highlands contrasted with the grim city of Strathbane. Reading
one of these books is like sinking into a warm bath or curling
up with a cup of tea in a favorite chair. Undemanding, agreeable
and rather addictive with the odd surprise or two to keep
the reader guessing. I hope this series runs and runs.
Reviews of other titles in this series
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#6
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