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Death of a Charming Man (Hamish Macbeth #10)
by
M.C. Beaton
With this tenth book in a series that fans of British mysteries have come to relish more than fish 'n chips and a pint at the pub, M. C. Beaton returns with another baffling case for Hamish Macbeth, the stubborn, red-haired, one-man police department of the Highland village of Lochdubh.
Praised for her wonderful characterizations, wry humor, and authentic local color, M. C...more
Praised for her wonderful characterizations, wry humor, and authentic local color, M. C...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
July 1st 1995
by Grand Central Publishing
(first published July 1st 1994)
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Reading the Hamish Macbeth series is like putting on your favorite, cozy pajamas and drinking a cup of tea--very enjoyable. Hamish again avoided getting married, kept his police station intact in Loch Dubh, and figured out "who done it" in this charming mystery set in the Scottish Highlands.
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Just finished Death of a Charming Man by M.C. Beaton. I am in love with Hamish Macbeth-the lazy policemen of this altogether charming series. And no one else will have him: this appears to me to be a perfect relationship. For the good detective as well who enjoys doing as little as possible and solving the occasional murder to punctuate his happy idleness.
Death of a Charming Man a puzzle of how he got his comeuppance
The above title by M C Beaton is another in a long line of charming murder mysteries in which a rather lazy Scottish policeman, Hamish Macbeth, always manages to solve.
In this one, the grim little town of Drim is set agog by a stunningly attractive young man who enjoys pitting one admirer against the others. Every female with a breath is coloring her hair and working out at the local exercise studio to reduce the size of her bum. O...more
The above title by M C Beaton is another in a long line of charming murder mysteries in which a rather lazy Scottish policeman, Hamish Macbeth, always manages to solve.
In this one, the grim little town of Drim is set agog by a stunningly attractive young man who enjoys pitting one admirer against the others. Every female with a breath is coloring her hair and working out at the local exercise studio to reduce the size of her bum. O...more
OK, maybe I'm overating this book a bit. But I just love the way M.C. Beaton writes. I loved her Agatha Raisin character, and now I've read my first Hamish Macbeth.
Samples:
1) There were a lot of strange places in the Highlands of Scotland where the very earth gave out a bleak atmosphere of misery, as if years of hardship had been recorded in the ancient rock and thin poor soil.
2) He looked at her with loathing. "Go and jump in the loch," he said rudely. "Women! They should all be strangled at b...more
Samples:
1) There were a lot of strange places in the Highlands of Scotland where the very earth gave out a bleak atmosphere of misery, as if years of hardship had been recorded in the ancient rock and thin poor soil.
2) He looked at her with loathing. "Go and jump in the loch," he said rudely. "Women! They should all be strangled at b...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The nice thing about M.C. Beaton’s lengthy list of Hamish Macbeth mysteries is that one knows what to expect and then the author delivers. Hamish is a small-time cop in a small northern Scottish village – and most of the time he loafs about town socializing, as crimes tend to be few and far between. When (typically) a murder occurs, he uses little but tongue, ears, and a bright mind to solve each case, to the horror of his big-town superiors who view his successes as little but dumb luck.
In “Cha...more
In “Cha...more
Fun, light reading. Trying to work my way through the Hamish Macbeth series as I am finding them such an enjoyable, cozy read.
I will admit. Hamish Macbeth is a guilty pleasure - these stories are very engaging and I enjoy the glimpses into the scenery and life in the Highlands of Scotland. Someday I'd like to visit. In this story, Hamish also makes a trip to England, to London and Cambridge, among others. And though the author doesn't describe those areas as much, I've visited those areas before and it brings back fond memories. The squabbles amongst the women in this story are petty, but make for an entertaining tale....more
A beautiful young man moves into a ghastly nearby village and immediately sets out to seduce the middle aged women in the town and set them against each other, then seems to disappear in the night. Only Hamish Macbeth thinks he has been murdered and he has to go on vacation to solve the mystery. Along with the problem of the murders is the problems between Priscilla and Hamish. They are on a collision course and things come to a head in this mystery.
This is just the kind of cozy mystery you wan...more
This is just the kind of cozy mystery you wan...more
Taking a break from my challenge reading, I picked up M. C. Beaton's Death of a Charming Man at our library's used bookstore. This one is all about a posh English chap who has moved to the most unlikely of places--the backwater village of Drim, in Police constable Hamish Macbeth's patch. It isn't long before Peter Hynd has the town's matron's giggling like teenagers, visiting their hairdressers more often than most of us visit the grocery store, buying fancy undies, and working out at the local...more
I didn't have this one figured out until Hamish Macbeth spelled it out for me. This is the tale of a beautiful bachelor who moves to the village Drim and has all the locals in an uproar. The women all competing for his attentions and the men jealous and trying to protect their marriages. I found it very interesting that while I was listening to this book, a similar drama was unfolding in my daughter's 7th grade class (minus the murder of course)! Life imitates art.
A charming young man takes up residence in the village of Drim and procedes to charm and seduce the middle-aged women of the village. He turns up missing and Constable Hamish Macbeth suspects foul play. When one of the middle-aged women dies in an apparent accident, Hamish takes on that investigation. at the same time he is having second thoughts about his own engagement as his fiance tries to remake him. After all, he is not an ambious man.
Set in Scotland with a less than perfect police official. The book unwinds a tale of distrust of an outsider by the males of the village and the "magical" effect on the female population. When said outsider disappears we find a village that has come together again - at least it appears so from the outside. Meanwhile, less than perfect police official is having problems of his own.
A very handsome man, Peter Hynd, arrives in Drim, near to Lochdubh, causing the local ladies hearts to flutter and the men to get jealous. When Hynd disappears local police constable Hamish Macbeth is suspicious, even though his superiors aren’t interested.
An entertaining read with the usual high standard of writing, character development and dry humour.
An entertaining read with the usual high standard of writing, character development and dry humour.
The morals of the nearby village of Drim play fast and loose when a very beautiful young man plops himself into the middle of a group of mostly *not* charming men (and women). In addition to following his instincts about murder, Hamish also endures many personal trials, beginning with the new electric cooker his almost-fiancee foists upon him.
Beaton is high on plot and mystery, but low on motivations in this book. Still, it's a fun few hours among the clannish, gossipy Scotland villages.
Robin A...more
Beaton is high on plot and mystery, but low on motivations in this book. Still, it's a fun few hours among the clannish, gossipy Scotland villages.
Robin A...more
Ok this is the last one - started it this afternoon - didn't get very far. Nothing to do with the book but with a puppy that wakes up at the crack of dawn. I dozed off.....whoops.
All done and dusted, for now. I am sure that future stories will be checked out from the library. I quite enjoyed my little binge of Ham MacB...but now for something completely different.....queue Monty Python music.
All done and dusted, for now. I am sure that future stories will be checked out from the library. I quite enjoyed my little binge of Ham MacB...but now for something completely different.....queue Monty Python music.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
10/07/07
TITLE/AUTHOR: Death of A Charming Man by M. C. Beaton
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Mystery/1994, 298 LP pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: #10 Hamish Macbeth
TIME/PLACE: 1990's, Lochdubh, Scotland
CHARACTERS: Policeman/Hamish Macbeth
FIRST LINES: Hamish Macbeth opened the curtains of his bedroom window, scratched his chest lazily & looked out at the loch. It was a bleached sort of day, the high milky-white cloud w/ the sun behind it draining colour from the loch, from the surrounding hills,...more
TITLE/AUTHOR: Death of A Charming Man by M. C. Beaton
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Mystery/1994, 298 LP pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: #10 Hamish Macbeth
TIME/PLACE: 1990's, Lochdubh, Scotland
CHARACTERS: Policeman/Hamish Macbeth
FIRST LINES: Hamish Macbeth opened the curtains of his bedroom window, scratched his chest lazily & looked out at the loch. It was a bleached sort of day, the high milky-white cloud w/ the sun behind it draining colour from the loch, from the surrounding hills,...more
This book seemed more of a "real" mystery, who-dunnit type than the previous ones. It was a bit darker. Also his problems with Priscilla made it a less funny and more traditional tale, in my opinion. All that said, Beaton has a great character in Hamish Macbeth and I really like these tales.
Love Hamish Macbeth! Can’t wait for the next book to be published. It seems M.C. Beaton aka Marion Chesney never lacks the inspiration for a good story. I even liked the BBC series although it was way too short and Robert Carlyle looked nothing like his character as described in the book.
Well, it was OK - I can't say more than that really. I feel like I've read too many of these books now and what started off as charming is becoming a bit dull. I can see that the author is trying to develop the story surrounding the main characters but I think I've read enough. Shame!
I just enjoy reading Hamish Macbeth bungle his way through the glens!
This book explains his relationship with Priscilla and why the engagement is no more.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. As I am reading I can just imagine every village inhabitant as M C Beaton describes them so well.
This book explains his relationship with Priscilla and why the engagement is no more.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. As I am reading I can just imagine every village inhabitant as M C Beaton describes them so well.
This was a great mystery with a clever twist at the end. It was very frustrating to have Hamish and Priscilla's relationship unravel throughout the book, but I suppose there are so many other books in the series, there should be ups and downs. Still, poor Hamish.
I never knew you could write/read in an accent. It was nice to read the accent and feel like you were in the highland Scotland. This is only my 2nd M.C.Beaton book but found this to be an enjoyable easy read like the first.
Hamish MacBeth lives on! I love reading about this small village constable and Scotland! He is endearing by his constant yearning for Priscilla and how he quietly goes about solving murders.
I love spending time with the characters in this book. I laugh, get angry and sad with all the characters. there is just something about these books that keeps me coming back.
This was a quick read. I occasionally like British village mysteries, as they tend to remain pleasantly bucolic. This was no exception, and I enjoyed the diversion.
This book was similar to the last one "Death of a Travelling Man" so much so that when I was listening to them, I actually switched to the Charming Man story and didn't realize it for a several minutes! I am enjoying this series:)
Not bad, and a delightfully creepy atmosphere as Hamish Macbeth attempts to figure out just how a good looking Englishman has disrupted a Scottish village.
This story was a lot of fun. I had the audio version and I really enjoyed the narration. Och, but noo may wee inner blether is o' the clype brogue....
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Also writes as:
Marion Chesney (real name)
Jennie Tremaine
Sarah Chester
Helen Crampton
Ann Fairfax
Marion Gibbons
Charlotte Ward
M. C. Beaton has been hailed as "the new Queen of Crime." She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Agatha Raisin mysteries, which began with The Quiche of Death and also include As the Pig Turns and Busy Body, set in the English Cotswolds, as well as the Hamish M...more
More about M.C. Beaton...
Marion Chesney (real name)
Jennie Tremaine
Sarah Chester
Helen Crampton
Ann Fairfax
Marion Gibbons
Charlotte Ward
M. C. Beaton has been hailed as "the new Queen of Crime." She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Agatha Raisin mysteries, which began with The Quiche of Death and also include As the Pig Turns and Busy Body, set in the English Cotswolds, as well as the Hamish M...more
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