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Hamish Macbeth #38
Death of a Groom
THE BRAND NEW MYSTERY IN THE BESTSELLING HAMISH MACBETH SERIES!
It is February and the Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh has been turned into a winter wonderland by an unexpected snowstorm.
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth has his work cut out trying to keep the roads in the village open - something that is made all the more difficult when an influx of outsiders arrive in Lochdubh for a high-society wedding.
The wedding is taking place at Tommel Castle Hotel on Valentine's Day and it promises to be one of the most extravagant events the village has ever seen. The bride is the daughter of Colonel George Halburton-Smythe, the hotel's owner.
But on the night of the wedding - just when the ceilidh dancing is getting started - the groom is found dead in the dining room, with the cake-cutting sword plunged into his chest.
Hamish suddenly has a murder investigation on his hands - and one with a very long list of suspects. Access to the village is shut down, so that no one can leave until the case is closed.
But with the rumour mill at Lochdubh in overdrive and multiple theories abound, can Hamish separate fact from fiction in order to catch the killer?
It is February and the Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh has been turned into a winter wonderland by an unexpected snowstorm.
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth has his work cut out trying to keep the roads in the village open - something that is made all the more difficult when an influx of outsiders arrive in Lochdubh for a high-society wedding.
The wedding is taking place at Tommel Castle Hotel on Valentine's Day and it promises to be one of the most extravagant events the village has ever seen. The bride is the daughter of Colonel George Halburton-Smythe, the hotel's owner.
But on the night of the wedding - just when the ceilidh dancing is getting started - the groom is found dead in the dining room, with the cake-cutting sword plunged into his chest.
Hamish suddenly has a murder investigation on his hands - and one with a very long list of suspects. Access to the village is shut down, so that no one can leave until the case is closed.
But with the rumour mill at Lochdubh in overdrive and multiple theories abound, can Hamish separate fact from fiction in order to catch the killer?
240 pages, Hardcover
Published February 10, 2026
64 people are currently reading
5134 people want to read
About the author
M.C. Beaton
350 books6,056 followersLike her on Facebook!
Learn more on her website!
Marion Chesney Gibbons
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Marion Chesney, Charlotte Ward, Sarah Chester.
Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.
Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
Learn more on her website!
Marion Chesney Gibbons
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Marion Chesney, Charlotte Ward, Sarah Chester.
Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.
Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 11, 2026
Hamish is still Hamish, Lochdubh is still Lochdubh
When M.C. Beaton, died, I was afraid that we’d lost Hamish Macbeth forever. I knew she had found someone to continue writing the series, but I was concerned that overtime the new author would change things. He hasn’t. This is one of the few series that’s continued after the original author’s death that is carries on in the same tradition. That is so important with this series. This is a true Hamish Macbeth mystery, it is fun to read, and fun to follow, and I am so pleased that I am able to continue my relationship with Hamish.. The story is nicely twisty and ends well.
When M.C. Beaton, died, I was afraid that we’d lost Hamish Macbeth forever. I knew she had found someone to continue writing the series, but I was concerned that overtime the new author would change things. He hasn’t. This is one of the few series that’s continued after the original author’s death that is carries on in the same tradition. That is so important with this series. This is a true Hamish Macbeth mystery, it is fun to read, and fun to follow, and I am so pleased that I am able to continue my relationship with Hamish.. The story is nicely twisty and ends well.
February 6, 2026
This is the 38th book in the Hamish Macbeth series created by the late-M. C. Beaton and the 6th book "written with" R. W. Green.
In this outing, a Valentine's Day wedding at Tommel Castle Hotel coincides with a major snow storm, which essentially shuts down travel to and from Lochdubh until the roads can be cleared.
At the wedding reception, the bride discovers her new husband's body, run through with a sword. Hamish's list of suspects includes not only the wedding party and guests but also some townspeople, whom the groom has rubbed the wrong way.
Although this wasn't the strongest book in the cozy mystery series, I was still happy to have visited Lochdubh and to have seen how Hamish dealt with not only his new girlfriend but also two of his past fiancees! Good fun and a great way to pass a few hours.
The audiobook was performed by David Monteath, who took over from the late Graeme Malcolm. Though Monteath puts his own spin on the characters, he does a decent job. I just need to get over myself -- I loved Malcolm's characterizations. Monteath held my attention and kept the story moving forward. I really have no complaints.
Thanks to Hachette Audio for the review copy.
In this outing, a Valentine's Day wedding at Tommel Castle Hotel coincides with a major snow storm, which essentially shuts down travel to and from Lochdubh until the roads can be cleared.
At the wedding reception, the bride discovers her new husband's body, run through with a sword. Hamish's list of suspects includes not only the wedding party and guests but also some townspeople, whom the groom has rubbed the wrong way.
Although this wasn't the strongest book in the cozy mystery series, I was still happy to have visited Lochdubh and to have seen how Hamish dealt with not only his new girlfriend but also two of his past fiancees! Good fun and a great way to pass a few hours.
The audiobook was performed by David Monteath, who took over from the late Graeme Malcolm. Though Monteath puts his own spin on the characters, he does a decent job. I just need to get over myself -- I loved Malcolm's characterizations. Monteath held my attention and kept the story moving forward. I really have no complaints.
Thanks to Hachette Audio for the review copy.
February 15, 2026
Return to Lockdubh to visit Hamish as he solves a tricky murderous wedding over Valentine’s Day weekend at the Tommel Castle Hotel. You’ll get to see the seer, Archie, the doc, the Currie sisters, Priscilla, Elsbeth, Jimmy, Daviot, plus the two previous constables now employed at the castle, and a whole castle-full of wedding guests.
It’s a fast-paced weekend when murder changes the wedding guests’ lives. Hamish and the hotel staff have to work fast to keep everyone in place as they try to figure out whodunit, while a snow blizzard keeps them stranded.
While I miss MC Beaton style and tone, the author has kept all the primary characters’ personalities and allowed them to shift with the storyline. Indeed Hamish is less of an independent maverick, working more harmonious with Jimmy and others. Hamish has a live in constable at the station that wasn’t immediately written out of policing, and Hamish has a love interest.
If you’re starting with these later books, there’s lots to love about these quick cozy mysteries. If you’ve devoured them all (maybe more than once like me) from the beginning, you will still love a quick visit to Lockdubh.
It’s a fast-paced weekend when murder changes the wedding guests’ lives. Hamish and the hotel staff have to work fast to keep everyone in place as they try to figure out whodunit, while a snow blizzard keeps them stranded.
While I miss MC Beaton style and tone, the author has kept all the primary characters’ personalities and allowed them to shift with the storyline. Indeed Hamish is less of an independent maverick, working more harmonious with Jimmy and others. Hamish has a live in constable at the station that wasn’t immediately written out of policing, and Hamish has a love interest.
If you’re starting with these later books, there’s lots to love about these quick cozy mysteries. If you’ve devoured them all (maybe more than once like me) from the beginning, you will still love a quick visit to Lockdubh.
February 11, 2026
Hamish to Priscilla: Of course you’re not a suspect.
Hamish to other police officers: Of course Priscilla is a suspect.
If there were any lingering doubts, he’s definitely over her.
This outing was a bit claustrophobic, since everyone was snowed in at the hotel for most of the book. Otherwise it’s a serviceable mystery with the usual comic relief from Angus and the Currie sisters.
February 18, 2026
I always enjoy these books. Hamish is such a great character. Looking forward to the next one!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews