Death of a Dustman: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery

I must admit to being rather addicted to the "cozy mystery" genre. They are a source of relaxation for me. These, the Hamish Macbeth series by M.C. Beaton, are some of my favorites. As other reviewers have pointed out, each of the twenty or more books are much the same. Same plot, same characters, same locations, etc. etc. That is okay though. I find this rather comforting. The various characters in Beaton's stories sort of become friends as you keep reading her books and this is always nice. With this offering, Beaton again delivers her large cast of quirky (and some not so quirky)folks who live in N. Scotland. This time we have a rather nasty "wee man" who happens to be the village trash collector. Through circumstances not of his doing, the village dustman is given a great amount of power, and naturally becomes quite a hated man in the local area. Needless to say, he turns up dead in one of his own dust bins. There are two nicely done murders in this one and for our hero, Hamish MacBeth, a very long list of likely suspects, in this case, most of the village. As with her other novels in this series, we are treated to a fimiliar cast of characters, some interesting twists, and a wee bit of dark humor thrown in for good measure. Hamish's love life remaina about the same..i.e. he is still clueless. As with her other novels, I enjoy this authors discription of the country side, food and people. She is a very good story teller and this is just the sort of work you need to read to sort of wind down. I do recommend it highly.

Isn't it fun to imagine that somewhere across the pond, lurks a lady who can churn out books one after another, in the same basic formula, but each a uniquely clever and original read? And she probably wanders about and no one knows of the mischief, mayhem and murder lurking behind the eyes of the deceptively normal lady? Once again, Ms. Beaton takes us along to meet the ever unambitious Hamish as he casts about the idyllic village of Lochdubh in the farthest northern part of the Scottish highlands. Where the people have their charms, secrets and nasty grudges, and there is almost always trouble simmering. To the usual wonderful cast of characters, the faithful reader meets Hamish's new constable Clary the Cook, the frightful Freda Fleming, Officer of the Environment, Lugs the Dog, a rich Greek reopening the Lochdubh hotel, as well as the Fergus McLeod and family. Ms. Beaton beautifully communicates a sense of place, a cadence of language and a refreshingly original formula cozy.

You won't be able to put the book down is the reason it will gather no dust. I really enjoyed this one. I have read them all up to now and am looking forward to the next one. Hamish is quite a character. He is trying to find out who killed the dustman and another murder takes place. Did the same person do both??? Hamish wades through the various people of his village asking questions and putting his thoughts together. He has a new assistant in this one but will he keep him and is the assistant someone who could have committed the murders? His true love Priscilla is around and pretty as ever. Of course Inspector Blair is always causing trouble for Hamish. A good book, you can feel like you are there. You can see the village in your mind and if you are like me, wish it were possible to live in a place like this.

What I would give to live in a place like Lochdubh where the local bobby actually cares for his fellow villagers! This is the deepest I have been able to see into Hamish in a long time. I have read all of this series and just finished this one last night. Couldn't put it down! The end has a twist to it, not something I was expecting. And Priscilla is back! Lucky Hamish. Ms. Beaton has given much more depth to our "bobby" than in previous books and I appreciate it. Having been to Scotland, I can see how realistic this story can be and how closely woven the Highlanders are. Looking forward to the next volume. But WHY aren't the 6 episodes of Hamish Macbeth made for British TV available here? I would love to see Robert Carlyle lumbering about the village. What's up, BBC? When does America get Hamish in the flesh (so to speak)?

Having just read a heart-thumping page-turning thriller, I felt the need to read something that would bring my blood pressure back to its normal rate. "Death of a Dustman," the most recent installment in M. C. Beaton's series about Hamish Macbeth, a police officer in a small village in the Scottish Highlands, was the perfect choice. This book has just the right mix of suspects, clues, romance and local color to keep you interested while not taxing your heart. Don't expect deep character analyses, complicated plots or dastardly villians. The darkest thing about this book is probably the weather. I have to give the book 5 stars because it delivered exactly what I expected...about three hours of non-stressful pure reading enjoyment. This is the perfect book to tuck into your beach bag or carry on luggage.