Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Beaton's devilishly droll 24th mystery to feature police constable Hamish Macbeth (after 2008's Death of a Gentle Lady), the Scottish Highlands' most stubborn (and romantically challenged) bachelor returns to his home village of Lochdubh from a disappointing vacation to discover a witch stirring up trouble. To Macbeth's annoyance, the sex-starved local men have fallen under the spell of Catriona Beldame, who turns out to be a runaway bride with a shady past. Macbeth longs to prove she's selling illegal (and bogus) remedies for sexual dysfunction, and warns her to stop if she is. Macbeth gets a shock when someone murders Beldame and sets her house on fire-soon after Macbeth is overheard to say he'd like to kill her. Three more murders of other women quickly follow. Could a serial killer be loose in sleepy Lochdubh? As usual, Beaton's crisp plotting and effervescent humor complement Macbeth's deft crime solving. (Dec.)
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Kirkus Reviews
The picture-postcard village of Lochdubh once more becomes a mecca for murder. Police Constable Hamish Macbeth (Death of a Gentle Lady, 2008, etc.) returns from a disappointing holiday in Spain to discover his beloved Highland village sunk in a miasma apparently caused by newcomer Catriona Beldame, dispenser of herbal potions and suspected witch. Fighting an unwanted attraction to Catriona, Hamish is furious when the local doctor tells him that she's been dispensing Spanish fly to many of the town's menfolk, and even threatens her when she won't heed his warning to stop. After Hamish discovers Catriona stabbed to death, her house goes up in smoke while he's waiting outside for the forensics team. The newest member of the team, smitten by him, joins the long line of women who want to further his career, not knowing that Hamish constantly weasels out of promotions in order to stay in his beloved Lochdubh, where he's now officially a murder suspect. As the bodies pile up, Hamish gets help from another of his ex-loves, reporter Elspeth Grant. Hoping against hope the murderer is not one of his villagers, he learns a lot more than he wants to know about the sex lives of the residents before he can figure out who's been on a killing spree. A sound mystery featuring a generous portion of Hamish's complicated relationships and the usual delightful Highland descriptions. Agent: Barbara Lowenstein/Lowenstein-Yost
From the Publisher
Praise for M.C. Beaton and the Hamish Macbeth series:
"It's always a pleasure to return to Lochdubh, the picturesque village in the Scottish highlands."—New York Times Book Review
"Superb entertainment, as rich and warming as a fine malt whisky, and every bit as addictive."—Houston Chronicle
"Macbeth is the sort of charcter who slyly grows on you...as you realize that beneath his unassuming exterior, he's a whiz at cutting through all the hokum."—Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
"Macbeth is the sort of charcter who slyly grows on you...as you realize that beneath his unassuming exterior, he's a whiz at cutting through all the hokum."
Houston Chronicle
"Superb entertainment, as rich and warming as a fine malt whisky, and every bit as addictive."
New York Times Book Review
Praise for M.C. Beaton and the Hamish Macbeth series:
"It's always a pleasure to return to Lochdubh, the picturesque village in the Scottish highlands."
APRIL 2009 - AudioFile
This latest episode in the Hamish Macbeth series has our village constable investigating the death of a mysterious newcomer who, for various reasons (some rather amusing), managed to anger a number of Lochdub's residents, including Macbeth himself. Graeme Malcolm's brisk narration suits the pace of the novel, in which character development takes a backseat to plot—although Malcolm might pause a little more on occasion in order to separate one scene from the next and to create a bit of suspense. He has some difficulty voicing the female characters, but he gives Macbeth a low, occasionally gruff voice and a restrained manner that contrast nicely the constable's dry humor. A.E.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
