Death of a Celebrity (Hamish Macbeth Series #17)

by M. C. Beaton

Overview

Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.

Death of a Celebrity: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery

Murder on the Telly Lochdubh, a remote village reached only by a one-track lane, nestles serenely amid Scotland's hills...until well-known TV reporter Crystal French races into town in her bright BMW. And Constable Hamish Macbeth, dourly wed to duty instead of the fiancee who dumped him, promptly gives her a summons for reckless driving.

Outraged, Crystal makes Macbeth's life a misery with a TV report on policing in the Highlands. When she also rakes up old local scandals for her new hit show, Macbeth notes that someone besides himself might be dead keen to stop her. Then someone does-with stealth and violence. Now, finding out who did it will lead the laconic Macbeth down roads he never envisioned, into a dark story of passion and vengeance...and perhaps a crisis of the heart all his own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780446612043
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	01/01/2003
Series:	Hamish Macbeth Series , #17
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	169,063
Product dimensions:	6.74(w) x 10.88(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

M. C. Beaton has won international acclaim for her New York Times bestselling Hamish Macbeth mysteries. The BBC has aired 24 episodes based on the series. Beaton is also the author of the bestselling Agatha Raisin series, which will air as an eight-episode dramatic series on Sky1, starring Ashley Jensen. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband. For more information, you can visit MCBeaton.com.

Editorial Reviews

There's more than heather shaking in Lochdubh when Constable Hamish Macbeth investigates the murder of a gorgeous television reporter whose inflammatory reportage and unscrupulous investigative tactics have incensed the entire village -- and left no shortage of suspects.

bn.com

For readers who prefer their whodunits more cute than action-packed, Beaton delivers the 17th installment in his constable Hamish Macbeth series (after 2001's Death of a Dustman). Stodgy "town bobby" Hamish protects and serves the quaint Scottish highlands village of Lochdubh which sees a lot of crime for a one-horse town and outwits the Strathbane big-city police in this story of multiple murders and TV ratings. Seeking better numbers and national notice, the local station hires the glamorous and catty Crystal French, who presents some very nasty programs about what really goes on in a highland village. Needless to say, this doesn't please the local folk, and soon enough, Crystal is found murdered. Suspicion vacillates between the townspeople and the television people (including the woman whose job Crystal had taken), who have quite a few secrets of their own. Hamish sniffs around and formulates theories ("It's because I'm a village constable that I solved your murders for you. I know people better than I know police procedure"), but just when he thinks he's getting somewhere, there's another murder. Things become increasingly complicated, including Hamish's love life: local reporter Elspeth Grant is sweet on Hamish, even if he's too dense to realize it. With teasing epigrams at the start of each chapter, a good dose of Britishisms and light suspense that carries through details both quotidian (Hamish's traffic patrol and his dog Lugs) and faintly exotic (psychics and gypsies), this book is one to be enjoyed with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit. (Jan. 9) FYI: Beaton is also the author of Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (Forecasts, Oct. 1) and other titles in the Agatha Raisin series. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Constable Hamish Macbeth (Death of a Dustman) has theories about who murdered nosy BBC television reporter Crystal French. Although ordered to drop the case, he can't help but see clues in the local astrology column and elsewhere. A great series. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Another puzzle for homespun Hamish MacBeth, sole lawman in the village of Lochdubh, Scotland, where his residence and the town police station are one and the same. Hamish is determined to keep it that way, disdaining any promotion that would take him elsewhere (Death of a Dustman, 2001, etc.). Luckily, there's enough malfeasance to keep him busy close to home. Looking to increase its audience, the television station in nearby Strathbane has hired glamorous Crystal French, a BBC researcher from Edinburgh, to take over the programming from Felicity Pearson. When Crystal proposes a series called "Behind the Lace Curtains," exploring whatever seamy pasts can be found among the town residents, her preliminary interviews provoke panic and even a suicide. But the village is still more shocked when Crystal is found dead in her car, another apparent suicide to everyone but Hamish, whose suspicion of murder is soon confirmed. A jealous Felicity becomes the chief suspect until she is found shot to death on the town dock. As he runs a quiet war with his superiors, Hamish gets help in his investigations from local columnist Elspeth Grant, whose research helps him unearth the past events behind the present decorous carnage.

Kirkus Reviews