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Hamish Macbeth #4
Morte di una moglie perfetta
Alto, magro, capelli rossi, occhi azzurri e ciglia lunghe, Hamish Macbeth sembra (e forse è) pigro, sembra (ma forse non è) confuso, sembra (e forse è) poco ambizioso, più interessato a restare nel suo villaggio con cani, pecore e galline che non a trasformarsi in un poliziotto cittadino in carriera. Hamish sta pregustando le delizie dell'estate delle Highlands, ma . quando l'amata Priscilla ritorna a Lochdubh al braccio di un nuovo fidanzato iniziano i guai, che si intensificano quando nubi di moscerini invadono il paese e definitivamente esplodono quando si trasferisce nel villaggio Trixie Thomas, esempio di domestica perfezione. Ben presto Trixie convince le altre signore a farsi portatrici di pasti sani, a schierarsi contro il consumo di alcol e tabacco e a pulire le case in modo maniacale. Ben presto gli uomini del villaggio insorgono e Macbeth deve risolvere un nuovo crimine: il misterioso avvelenamento della moglie perfetta.
175 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1989
622 people are currently reading
1811 people want to read
About the author
M.C. Beaton
340 books6,004 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 - 30 of 717 reviews
May 1, 2019
Another wonderfully cosy Hamish Macbeth mystery, this series is getting better with each book!
Newcomer Trixie Thomas arrives into Lochdubh with her forcible ideas of low-cholesterol meals and banning alcohol, she clearly ruffled the locals up the wrong was as it isn’t too long until she is found dead by poisoning!
I always like the mystery element of these books, they’re a quick breezy read.
As this is the fourth book in the series, I feel like I’m really starting to get to know all the characters too - I’m really looking their progression through the series.
One constant has always been the Scottish Highlands vividly brought to life, I’m really enjoying spending time with these people.
Newcomer Trixie Thomas arrives into Lochdubh with her forcible ideas of low-cholesterol meals and banning alcohol, she clearly ruffled the locals up the wrong was as it isn’t too long until she is found dead by poisoning!
I always like the mystery element of these books, they’re a quick breezy read.
As this is the fourth book in the series, I feel like I’m really starting to get to know all the characters too - I’m really looking their progression through the series.
One constant has always been the Scottish Highlands vividly brought to life, I’m really enjoying spending time with these people.
March 4, 2020
Ahh, the perfect wife. She vacuums while wearing pearls, she has a devoted husband, she is involved in her community and tries to make it a better place. People adore her, even when she bans all the things that make them happy. Like fried foods and smoking. She leads her cult of wives to follow her perfect example. But not everyone loves her. Because she ends up dead.
August 20, 2022
175 Pages of blissful satire.
What I appreciate about these novels is the economy of words to deliver a complete, highly entertaining story, and still experience a lot more than just a super fast-moving murder mystery.
So, after five years on the market, the Willet's place finally got sold. Paul and Trixie Thomas were the new owners and from the very first moment, Hamish Macbeth met them, the beautiful Scottish weather took a turn for the worse, and he knew it was an omen. There was an atmosphere of unrest and trouble.
It was soon clear that the placid Paul promised no danger, but wife Trixie was another matter. She was immediately passionately loved or loathed.
Trixie appeared to be a hardworking, friendly resident, but was, unbeknownst to the women in town, already setting up a symbiotic power arrangement between her and the women. She knew exactly how to conquer her troops. They were all chosen from the middle-class and lower-middle-class who had kitchens full of labor-saving devices and therefore more time on their hands.
Archie Maclean's wife was not one of them. She did not believe in the easy way of doing things. Her husband, Andy Maclean, had his luck rearranged with his wife, when he fell for Trixie's charms. He took that English woman out in his boat one night. ...
She called Hamish a glaiket loon.
Mrs. Kennedy called Hamish 'ye damp soda scone.'
Mrs. Maclean was famous for her 'whites', boiling everything and hanging it over the bushes in the garden to bleach further on a sunny day. Perhaps that was why Archie Maclean's clothes always looked too tight for him, reflected Hamish. She boiled his suits.
"We have a creator of violence in our midst. " warned Hamish—the village copper.
"It's often a way of committing suicide. You don't do it yourself but you drive someone else into doing it for you," said Priscilla.
"She is the perfect wife", said Mrs. Wellington, the church minister's wife.
She changed sensitive, insecure, never to think much of herself, Angela Brodie's life completely. A total turn around. Dr. Brodie did not welcome the new woman in his house. He refused to be married to a Trixie-proxy, the nasty, bully, domestic monster. ...
By the time the village properly woke up, everything had changed. One moment there was Nirvana in their slice of Heaven on earth. The next thing there were an Anti-Smoking League; A Bird Watching and Bird Protection Society; a Clean Up Lochdubh Campaign, and Lochdubh was declared to be a nuclear-free zone. "Protect Our Bats" and "Iain Gunn is a Murderer" were written on the banners confronting the farmer on his own land when he wanted to demolish an old ruin. A new breed of militants were born, and Trixie knew exactly how to organize those traditional housewives who felt despised in this new age, into a brigade of battle-hungry conquerors with their overweight bums forced into too tight jeans and badge-covered anoraks.
Steak and chips were off limits for men. Replaced by salad with goats cheese for dinner; no more traditional coffee. It will be dandelion coffee. Only nettle soup from now on. It was as if Trixie gave the women of Lochdubh an opportunity to persecute their husbands with a strong bullying streak. There was a sort of prohibition declared in town on all sinful pleasures, and only the men were targeted.
In the meantime, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe admired her new beau, John Burlington, the stockbroker, for his ambition and success. "I admire successful people, and talking about success, how's the case going, Sherlock", asked Priscilla of Hamish.
Hamish thought Burlington was a hairy ape, a Neanderthal. All Hamish wanted was to be unambitious, living in his beloved village with his dog, Towser, his chickens, and the peace and quiet around him. It was not clod-hopping stupidity or shyness that kept him there. His old Morris was now replaced with a Land Rover. What more could he ask for?
Angus Macdonald, the seer, turned from the fire and bent a penetrating gaze on Hamish. "She'll never marry you," he said to Hamish ...
Before you know it, someone was pushing up organic daisies. And the big bras moved in: the boorish, fat, Chief Inspector Blair (Mr. Patel called Blair a pillock), with his two sidekicks Detectives Jimmy Anderson and Harry Macnab. As usual Hamish was shown the door, and shortly after Blair's circus would begin to solve the murder. But it would be Hamish who brought the murderer in, and Police Superintendent Daviot from Strathbane, who realized the true brilliance of constable Hamish Macbeth in solving the case. Much to the annoyance of pompous Blair.
COMMENTS: I totally cracked up for the bird slide show presented by Lord Glenbader. And the revolt in the male population against their new enslavement and diets.
But there is also the dark undertones that kept me riveted. A wonderful light cozy experience.
What I appreciate about these novels is the economy of words to deliver a complete, highly entertaining story, and still experience a lot more than just a super fast-moving murder mystery.
So, after five years on the market, the Willet's place finally got sold. Paul and Trixie Thomas were the new owners and from the very first moment, Hamish Macbeth met them, the beautiful Scottish weather took a turn for the worse, and he knew it was an omen. There was an atmosphere of unrest and trouble.
It was soon clear that the placid Paul promised no danger, but wife Trixie was another matter. She was immediately passionately loved or loathed.
Trixie appeared to be a hardworking, friendly resident, but was, unbeknownst to the women in town, already setting up a symbiotic power arrangement between her and the women. She knew exactly how to conquer her troops. They were all chosen from the middle-class and lower-middle-class who had kitchens full of labor-saving devices and therefore more time on their hands.
Archie Maclean's wife was not one of them. She did not believe in the easy way of doing things. Her husband, Andy Maclean, had his luck rearranged with his wife, when he fell for Trixie's charms. He took that English woman out in his boat one night. ...
She called Hamish a glaiket loon.
Mrs. Kennedy called Hamish 'ye damp soda scone.'
Mrs. Maclean was famous for her 'whites', boiling everything and hanging it over the bushes in the garden to bleach further on a sunny day. Perhaps that was why Archie Maclean's clothes always looked too tight for him, reflected Hamish. She boiled his suits.
"We have a creator of violence in our midst. " warned Hamish—the village copper.
"It's often a way of committing suicide. You don't do it yourself but you drive someone else into doing it for you," said Priscilla.
"She is the perfect wife", said Mrs. Wellington, the church minister's wife.
She changed sensitive, insecure, never to think much of herself, Angela Brodie's life completely. A total turn around. Dr. Brodie did not welcome the new woman in his house. He refused to be married to a Trixie-proxy, the nasty, bully, domestic monster. ...
By the time the village properly woke up, everything had changed. One moment there was Nirvana in their slice of Heaven on earth. The next thing there were an Anti-Smoking League; A Bird Watching and Bird Protection Society; a Clean Up Lochdubh Campaign, and Lochdubh was declared to be a nuclear-free zone. "Protect Our Bats" and "Iain Gunn is a Murderer" were written on the banners confronting the farmer on his own land when he wanted to demolish an old ruin. A new breed of militants were born, and Trixie knew exactly how to organize those traditional housewives who felt despised in this new age, into a brigade of battle-hungry conquerors with their overweight bums forced into too tight jeans and badge-covered anoraks.
Steak and chips were off limits for men. Replaced by salad with goats cheese for dinner; no more traditional coffee. It will be dandelion coffee. Only nettle soup from now on. It was as if Trixie gave the women of Lochdubh an opportunity to persecute their husbands with a strong bullying streak. There was a sort of prohibition declared in town on all sinful pleasures, and only the men were targeted.
In the meantime, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe admired her new beau, John Burlington, the stockbroker, for his ambition and success. "I admire successful people, and talking about success, how's the case going, Sherlock", asked Priscilla of Hamish.
Hamish thought Burlington was a hairy ape, a Neanderthal. All Hamish wanted was to be unambitious, living in his beloved village with his dog, Towser, his chickens, and the peace and quiet around him. It was not clod-hopping stupidity or shyness that kept him there. His old Morris was now replaced with a Land Rover. What more could he ask for?
Angus Macdonald, the seer, turned from the fire and bent a penetrating gaze on Hamish. "She'll never marry you," he said to Hamish ...
Before you know it, someone was pushing up organic daisies. And the big bras moved in: the boorish, fat, Chief Inspector Blair (Mr. Patel called Blair a pillock), with his two sidekicks Detectives Jimmy Anderson and Harry Macnab. As usual Hamish was shown the door, and shortly after Blair's circus would begin to solve the murder. But it would be Hamish who brought the murderer in, and Police Superintendent Daviot from Strathbane, who realized the true brilliance of constable Hamish Macbeth in solving the case. Much to the annoyance of pompous Blair.
COMMENTS: I totally cracked up for the bird slide show presented by Lord Glenbader. And the revolt in the male population against their new enslavement and diets.
But there is also the dark undertones that kept me riveted. A wonderful light cozy experience.
October 26, 2025
Bardzo lubię takie klasyczne angielskie (choć w tym wypadku raczej szkockie 😀) kryminały. Jestem pozytywnie zaskoczona, bo dopiero odkryłam M.C. Beaton! Mała miejscowość, w której trudno o sekrety, inteligentny policjant zakochany w dziewczynie z wyższej sfery i zamęt jaki wprowadza pojawienie się nowego małżeństwa z perfekcyjną panią domu. Czyta się błyskawicznie, bo pisarka ma lekkie pióro I świetnie opisuje ludzkie charaktery.
March 20, 2010
Neuropsychologists tell us that humans reach their mental peak around age 27. Perhaps that explains my delight in the books of MC Beaton, since clearly I passed that milestone many moons ago. They certainly make no intellectual demands, nor are they filled with clever literary repartee, nor are they filled with obscure footnotes or references. They're just fun and the Hamish MacBeth series, the meanderings of a local Scottish bobby are (read with particular aplomb and accent by Davina Porter)a great way to enjoy an otherwise dull drive or chore. Plug yourself in to your Ipod and pass some very pleasant hours.
February 27, 2015
Having seen the title of the book of today, it came to me that for once we'll be having a truly nice person as the deceased. I anticipated, and I sat back, began to read, and wondered how this change would be handled. But, maybe the author just wants to people her books with victims that are only getting their just dessert. I adjusted my expectations and was satiated from the moment the perfect wife keeled over to the end.
The story reminded me of another series starring a Scottish cop. That's the Inspector Rebus series. Apart from their nationality, they don't have much in common, and shouldn't. But both policemen's creators began their careers in the 80's, and surprisingly Hamish's village has a domesticity that reminded me of Edinburgh. Such as the presence of a carpet in one of the locals' house. Is a carpet indicative of the 80's? Does it belong to that decade? It certainly seem so to me, at least for the fiction I've read.
Not everyone is created equal. It's true for M.C. Beaton's writing style, and that's a good thing. Anonymous characters, such as the dentist, don't get fleshed out much. Even Towser, Hamish's pet mongrel, has an arc of its own. E.g we get to know that the dog is a coward, but hates to disappoints its master, for whom he lives to please. There's quite a lot of character work on the slim book that I read, and I found myself paying attention. There's also a mention of a book within the book. John Parker, the made up writer, is writing fantasy. His synopsis seems fine, but maybe M.C. Beaton finds the genre ridiculous. Such type of details rescued the book from other forgettable fare. But this book scores high because it made me care about a character driven story and also because there's a lot of minutiae in such a short book.
The story reminded me of another series starring a Scottish cop. That's the Inspector Rebus series. Apart from their nationality, they don't have much in common, and shouldn't. But both policemen's creators began their careers in the 80's, and surprisingly Hamish's village has a domesticity that reminded me of Edinburgh. Such as the presence of a carpet in one of the locals' house. Is a carpet indicative of the 80's? Does it belong to that decade? It certainly seem so to me, at least for the fiction I've read.
Not everyone is created equal. It's true for M.C. Beaton's writing style, and that's a good thing. Anonymous characters, such as the dentist, don't get fleshed out much. Even Towser, Hamish's pet mongrel, has an arc of its own. E.g we get to know that the dog is a coward, but hates to disappoints its master, for whom he lives to please. There's quite a lot of character work on the slim book that I read, and I found myself paying attention. There's also a mention of a book within the book. John Parker, the made up writer, is writing fantasy. His synopsis seems fine, but maybe M.C. Beaton finds the genre ridiculous. Such type of details rescued the book from other forgettable fare. But this book scores high because it made me care about a character driven story and also because there's a lot of minutiae in such a short book.
June 5, 2017
This was my first MC Beaton novel. A few friends have been telling me to read these for years. Others have said there's nothing to these books--they're fluff. In fact, a lot of reviews said the same. So I expected something like a cozy mystery filled with cats or cooking or whatever, with not much of a puzzle or interesting characters or anything very meaty.
I was surprised to find good, tight writing, and lovely descriptions of the Scottish countryside that made me feel like I was there. The novel even had a theme about people who were comfortable being themselves and people who weren't, which blended series characters and plot characters nicely. I enjoyed spending time with all of them. The mystery was well done--not a complicated puzzle, but with a good variety of suspects and motives and clues. Good pacing--no extra words or over-long subplots. As I said, tight writing. Very enjoyable.
I was surprised to find good, tight writing, and lovely descriptions of the Scottish countryside that made me feel like I was there. The novel even had a theme about people who were comfortable being themselves and people who weren't, which blended series characters and plot characters nicely. I enjoyed spending time with all of them. The mystery was well done--not a complicated puzzle, but with a good variety of suspects and motives and clues. Good pacing--no extra words or over-long subplots. As I said, tight writing. Very enjoyable.
June 4, 2018
Ecco una nuova serie della infaticabile M.C.Beaton (ma quanto guadagna?).
Il primo. Carino, ma vedremo se tiene la distanza. Un po' più giallo della Aghata Raisin ma sempre leggero e rinfrescante. Per una lettura gradevole e totalmente senza penseri. Il poliziotto scozzese è simpatico al punto giusto. Qualche piccola incogruenza, ma in un 'romanzificio' come quello della Beaton (mi immagino schiere di collaboratori ciascuno con il proprio incarico) qualche dettaglio può sempre scappare.
Vedremo...
Ps. Per le solite, misteriose e innervosenti ragioni ecco una serie che viene tradotta dall'editore italiano partendo dal numero 4. Ma perchè?!
Il primo. Carino, ma vedremo se tiene la distanza. Un po' più giallo della Aghata Raisin ma sempre leggero e rinfrescante. Per una lettura gradevole e totalmente senza penseri. Il poliziotto scozzese è simpatico al punto giusto. Qualche piccola incogruenza, ma in un 'romanzificio' come quello della Beaton (mi immagino schiere di collaboratori ciascuno con il proprio incarico) qualche dettaglio può sempre scappare.
Vedremo...
Ps. Per le solite, misteriose e innervosenti ragioni ecco una serie che viene tradotta dall'editore italiano partendo dal numero 4. Ma perchè?!
June 8, 2022
Read by Shaun Grindell. More murder fun with Hamish McBeth. He's considered an somewhat lazy man by the people who know him, but he has plenty to do keeping an eye on the folks of Lochdubh, tending his croft and his chickens and solving the occasional murder. How much more ambitious should he be?
He has the life Paul and Trixie Thomas seem to be looking for when they move to the village. Then Trixie gets a little too involved trying to improve things around the community. Her meddling becomes annoying enough that someone decides to stop her.
He has the life Paul and Trixie Thomas seem to be looking for when they move to the village. Then Trixie gets a little too involved trying to improve things around the community. Her meddling becomes annoying enough that someone decides to stop her.
May 10, 2022
DEATH OF A PERFECT WIFE
M. C. Beaton
SO finally! The perfect woman is murdered. I wonder if it was because she was perfect or if that is tongue in cheek? I think you will need to read it to find out, but you won't regret it. This is really a quick fun read and Hamish is such a great character. Beaton spends some time building those great characters and getting the mystery just right. So far, this series has been a stable 4 star read.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
M. C. Beaton
SO finally! The perfect woman is murdered. I wonder if it was because she was perfect or if that is tongue in cheek? I think you will need to read it to find out, but you won't regret it. This is really a quick fun read and Hamish is such a great character. Beaton spends some time building those great characters and getting the mystery just right. So far, this series has been a stable 4 star read.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
August 5, 2015
I have been enjoying this series. This one did a nice job of really clearly showing how Hamish feels about his desire to stay where he is and not be pushed into an upward mobility he does not want. Interesting characters and a nice mystery. Lots of involvement with the village, good spurts of humor that are character inspired. Growth in relationships too.
August 7, 2024
This is an especially good one which I read in record time as I could not put it down. It is an early one but I am not sure of which number it is in the series. The first dog that Hamish owned is in it and he was Towser.
I see now that it is number 4.
I see now that it is number 4.
September 3, 2009
One day I shall go to the Scottish Highlands, and there had darn well be a murder, because Beaton has led me to suspect that there is murder EVERYWHERE! I truly, truly loved this one, where a born reformer comes to town to open a bed-and-breakfast, and begins to make over the housewives of Lochdubh. Angela Brodie, the doctor's disorganized, bookish wife, becomes her most devout disciple, and even the even-keeled doctor wants to murder this "perfect wife."
January 23, 2023
The "perfect" is ironic. The whole point of this series seems to be to portray various women with as misogynist a lens as possible then kill them off. This book also promotes toxic marriages verging on DV. Macbeth is a lazy, self-satisfied cop and.....
yeah there was literally nothing about this to love. Cosy misogyny in a rural setting. It's not even well written. It's mercifully short.
God grant me the memory NEVER TO READ THIS SERIES AGAIN
yeah there was literally nothing about this to love. Cosy misogyny in a rural setting. It's not even well written. It's mercifully short.
God grant me the memory NEVER TO READ THIS SERIES AGAIN
August 3, 2025
Nel tranquillo villaggio di Lochdubh, incastonato tra i paesaggi mozzafiato delle Highlands scozzesi, l’estate sembra promettere solo passeggiate tra le pecore, tè fumanti e una certa dose di ozio ben calibrato. Il poliziotto locale Hamish Macbeth, ruvido e affettuoso, è pronto a godersi questo ritmo lento, almeno finché una serie di eventi non scuote la quiete del paese: il ritorno dell’ex fidanzata in dolce compagnia, un’invasione di moscerini e, soprattutto, l’arrivo di una donna che sembra uscita da un manuale di perfezione domestica. Trixie Thomas non ci mette molto a rivoluzionare le abitudini delle donne del villaggio, scatenando una piccola rivoluzione. Ma quando la novella paladina della virtù viene trovata morta in circostanze sospette, Hamish dovrà rimettere insieme i pezzi di un puzzle che profuma di ironia, apparenze e piccoli grandi segreti di provincia.
Mi è piaciuto molto questo giallo, perfetto per chi cerca una lettura leggera ma ben costruita. L’ambientazione scozzese è un valore aggiunto: le Highlands con i loro paesaggi, i villaggi pittoreschi e quella comunità così vivace e caratteristica riescono subito a catturare. Hamish Macbeth è un protagonista sui generis: un po’ impacciato, poco ambizioso, ma incredibilmente intuitivo e umano. Ti entra nel cuore proprio per come si muove con semplicità e intelligenza in mezzo a situazioni assurde e personaggi sopra le righe.
L’indagine ha quel sapore che amo nei cozy mystery: pochi sospettati, dinamiche di paese, dialoghi frizzanti e una vena ironica che attraversa tutta la storia. Ogni personaggio ha una sua particolarità, anche caricaturale a tratti, ma sempre funzionale alla trama e al tono scanzonato del romanzo. Insomma, non è un thriller da fiato sospeso, ma è uno di quei gialli ideali per rilassarsi, per sorridere e per lasciarsi accompagnare da un protagonista che, senza fare troppo rumore, riesce a fare tutto bene.
Mi è piaciuto molto questo giallo, perfetto per chi cerca una lettura leggera ma ben costruita. L’ambientazione scozzese è un valore aggiunto: le Highlands con i loro paesaggi, i villaggi pittoreschi e quella comunità così vivace e caratteristica riescono subito a catturare. Hamish Macbeth è un protagonista sui generis: un po’ impacciato, poco ambizioso, ma incredibilmente intuitivo e umano. Ti entra nel cuore proprio per come si muove con semplicità e intelligenza in mezzo a situazioni assurde e personaggi sopra le righe.
L’indagine ha quel sapore che amo nei cozy mystery: pochi sospettati, dinamiche di paese, dialoghi frizzanti e una vena ironica che attraversa tutta la storia. Ogni personaggio ha una sua particolarità, anche caricaturale a tratti, ma sempre funzionale alla trama e al tono scanzonato del romanzo. Insomma, non è un thriller da fiato sospeso, ma è uno di quei gialli ideali per rilassarsi, per sorridere e per lasciarsi accompagnare da un protagonista che, senza fare troppo rumore, riesce a fare tutto bene.
July 14, 2012
Fourth in the Hamish Macbeth mystery series. I've read the first two, and skipped the third because the shop didn't have it when I picked up 1, 2, 4 and 5. I have no intention of looking for the third, because this is the last of the series I'll bother reading.[return][return]As with the other books, this has the lazy, amiable village policeman having to deal with murder coming to his otherwise sleepy village. In this case, Hamish spots Trixie Thomas as a potential murder victim fairly on, thanks to her behaviour. Trixie is the perfect housewife, who is so competent that she has time to run her new bed and breakfast business, scrounge up furniture from the locals to furnish her b&b that just happens to fetch a nice penny at the antiques auctions back in the big city, and take the other housewives in the village in hand -- frequently to the chagrin of their husbands, who liked life better before healthy diets, lack of smoking, and the taking up of causes came to the village. Hamish is not in the least bit surprised when she's found dead of poison.[return][return]While it's entertaining enough with some good set pieces and social observation, the characterisations are very thin and very stereotyped, a good many of the characters are not very likeable, and much of the humour is rather spiteful. And in this volume, it's much more noticeable that the characters the author doesn't like are predominantly women. I didn't comment on this in my main posts on the first two books, but it came up in discussion on one of the blog posts that you can see that MC Beaton dislikes other women. As I said in that comment thread, it wasn't that blatant in the first two I read, because a lot of her male characters are very unsympathetic as well. This is why I wasn't sure if it was authorial snobbery or misogyny in "Cad" -- it could well have been the author's dislike of certain types of people, where gender wasn't a factor in the types. But it's gratingly obvious after my third one that the author is contemptuous of other women, and I don't want to read any more of the books, even though I adored the tv series and do like some aspects of the books.
June 19, 2016
Yet more proof that you can tell a decent story in less than 250 pages. These books are such quick easy reads.
This one deals with the demise of Trixie Thomas, who has just moved to the village with her husband Paul from London to set up a B & B. She's immediately on the scrounge for any furniture anyone might want to get rid of - this didn't seem quite right to me. They were claiming they were skint - but she was grinding coffee beans in a brand new grinder. So, something wasn't right.
Trixie quickly takes the village women in hand - showing them how to be the perfect housewife. Stopping their husbands from smoking or eating terrible food. Trying to protect bats in a local ruin. She virtually destroys the local doctors marriage by turning his wife into a carbon copy of her (the woman was easily led though).
So, it's not entirely surprising that she's found dead one day - poisoned (although the doctor wants to claim it was her heart). With some many who would want her dead it's up to Hamish to find out who actually did it. Arsenic poisoning. There are a couple of red herrings thrown in. But the actual solution was rather heartbreaking (it's sad that the killer was happy to go to prison - as he'd be looked after - that's all he wanted, someone to look after him).
I'm glad that Hamish appears to have gotten over his obsession with Priscilla (whether he was stay that way remains to be seen, probably not). Priscilla has finally realised what she's lost - now she knows that Hamish was in love with her. Does that mean she'll try and get him to fall back in love with her? Now she knows that Hamish is happy where he is, with no ambition to move to Strathbane will she stop trying to change him?
Another very clever little story.
This one deals with the demise of Trixie Thomas, who has just moved to the village with her husband Paul from London to set up a B & B. She's immediately on the scrounge for any furniture anyone might want to get rid of - this didn't seem quite right to me. They were claiming they were skint - but she was grinding coffee beans in a brand new grinder. So, something wasn't right.
Trixie quickly takes the village women in hand - showing them how to be the perfect housewife. Stopping their husbands from smoking or eating terrible food. Trying to protect bats in a local ruin. She virtually destroys the local doctors marriage by turning his wife into a carbon copy of her (the woman was easily led though).
So, it's not entirely surprising that she's found dead one day - poisoned (although the doctor wants to claim it was her heart). With some many who would want her dead it's up to Hamish to find out who actually did it. Arsenic poisoning. There are a couple of red herrings thrown in. But the actual solution was rather heartbreaking (it's sad that the killer was happy to go to prison - as he'd be looked after - that's all he wanted, someone to look after him).
I'm glad that Hamish appears to have gotten over his obsession with Priscilla (whether he was stay that way remains to be seen, probably not). Priscilla has finally realised what she's lost - now she knows that Hamish was in love with her. Does that mean she'll try and get him to fall back in love with her? Now she knows that Hamish is happy where he is, with no ambition to move to Strathbane will she stop trying to change him?
Another very clever little story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2020
I read this book following a friend's recommendation in Goodreads and frankly I was expecting another type of book. But when I got to the end I have to say that I liked the book. The "noir" story is quite soft but the idea is very good; who of us has never known a woman (or even a man, of course) who seems irreproachable, supermoral, ethical, who even tries to change people for the better and to change the world by fighting for vegetarianism, the ban on smoking and in favor of bats? Many of us, surely. And how many of us later found out that this person was actually a cheater? Who secretly gorged herself on food and who even cheated people? Well, the plot is this; but the beauty of the book is also that of the Scottish highlands, the land of the Gaeli, with breathtaking landscapes, where impressive mountains are alternate with immense green plains, with certain spectacular landscapes that who has been there knows well. And then the friendliness of the Scots, combined with the gossip typical of every small village in the world. Let's also put on an almost-love-story between Hamish McBeth, the cop, and Priscilla, a rather snobbish young lady. And in the end there is also room for some food for thought on Man's ambition to make a career and his happiness, which often do not go hand in hand at all. The novel is, for all intents and purposes, an Agatha Christie-style noir, where the killer is not the classic butler, but where there is arsenic poisoning anyway. A simple and beautiful novel, which can be read very quickly. And if you liked it, know that the writer made a series of thirty episodes….
September 25, 2020
OK, I know this isn't great literature, but cozy mysteries are just so satisfying as entertainment. We have an odious individual, in this case it is a newcomer to Lochdubh, Trixie, who is determined to organize and reform all the women into being something more valuable than housewives, because we all know that being a good wife and mother is equal to being a big zero. So all the dissatisfied women of the village are now marching against farmers, smokers, drinkers and all enemies of the environment.
Their husbands now get to eat health food, because their wives know what's good for them and they don't.
In the meantime, Trixie is denuding the houses of "old furniture" to "furnish" her bed and breakfast. However, most of the furniture seems to end up at auctions sold for hundreds of dollars, while Trixie, poor thing, can't afford to pay the original owners of the furniture anything.
On top of that, Trixie seems to take special delight into causing the women to suspect that their husbands are all panting in lust after her, even flirting, and perhaps more?
Needless to say, Trixie doesn't survive halfway through the story and it's up to Hamish to figure out, which one of the many people who said they'd love to see her dead, actually followed through.
In the meantime Hamish and the local aristocratic belle, Patricia, are still in denial over their feelings for each other, which creates the inner plot line that travels through all the Hamish MacBeth stories.
I like Hamish. He's solid gold and I personally think Patricia's a bit stupid not to fully appreciate it.
Their husbands now get to eat health food, because their wives know what's good for them and they don't.
In the meantime, Trixie is denuding the houses of "old furniture" to "furnish" her bed and breakfast. However, most of the furniture seems to end up at auctions sold for hundreds of dollars, while Trixie, poor thing, can't afford to pay the original owners of the furniture anything.
On top of that, Trixie seems to take special delight into causing the women to suspect that their husbands are all panting in lust after her, even flirting, and perhaps more?
Needless to say, Trixie doesn't survive halfway through the story and it's up to Hamish to figure out, which one of the many people who said they'd love to see her dead, actually followed through.
In the meantime Hamish and the local aristocratic belle, Patricia, are still in denial over their feelings for each other, which creates the inner plot line that travels through all the Hamish MacBeth stories.
I like Hamish. He's solid gold and I personally think Patricia's a bit stupid not to fully appreciate it.
March 23, 2021
Macbeth vs. the Incomers
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (2013) of the St. Martin's Press hardcover original (1989)
After discovering M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery series due to the Estonia cameo in Death of Yesterday, I started to seek out the earlier books by finding several at Toronto's Sleuth of Baker Street. I enjoyed those and found them to be an especially delightful diversion during this continuing pandemic. My next plan was to go back and read the series in order. I then discovered the rather terrific bonus that most of the books are available for free on Audible Plus, a service that I had previously been underwhelmed by (some early attempts with longer books had audio difficulties, with book narrations freezing in midstream). Beaton's shorter books (usually 4 to 5 hours on audio) seem to be perfect for this medium.
Death of a Perfect Wife is the fourth of the series and continues the audiobook editions with the voice of Shaun Grindell in an ongoing excellent performance. Macbeth's calm life in Lochdubh is upset by the recent arrival of a pair of incomers who set up a bare bones bed & breakfast while scrounging for furniture from the other residents. The wife particularly seems set on riling up the resident female community with household makeovers. Macbeth has to solve a murder and restore order as usual.
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (2013) of the St. Martin's Press hardcover original (1989)
After discovering M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery series due to the Estonia cameo in Death of Yesterday, I started to seek out the earlier books by finding several at Toronto's Sleuth of Baker Street. I enjoyed those and found them to be an especially delightful diversion during this continuing pandemic. My next plan was to go back and read the series in order. I then discovered the rather terrific bonus that most of the books are available for free on Audible Plus, a service that I had previously been underwhelmed by (some early attempts with longer books had audio difficulties, with book narrations freezing in midstream). Beaton's shorter books (usually 4 to 5 hours on audio) seem to be perfect for this medium.
Death of a Perfect Wife is the fourth of the series and continues the audiobook editions with the voice of Shaun Grindell in an ongoing excellent performance. Macbeth's calm life in Lochdubh is upset by the recent arrival of a pair of incomers who set up a bare bones bed & breakfast while scrounging for furniture from the other residents. The wife particularly seems set on riling up the resident female community with household makeovers. Macbeth has to solve a murder and restore order as usual.
September 20, 2014
The trouble begins when Highland Constable Hamish MacBeth's beloved Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns from London . . . with a boyfriend on her arm. Then a paragon of housewifery named Trixie Thomas moves into Lochdubh with her lapdog husband in tow. Crying poor, Trixie is cadging furniture and household goods from the locals, supposedly to furnish "The Laurels", in which she and husband Paul are starting a lodging house. But then why are none of the donated items (and she is very choosy about what she accepts) ever seen in the house? Trixie also quickly establishes herself as a leader of the local ladies, causing them to embrace low-cholesterol meals, ban tobacco, save the bats, and begin bird-watching. Soon the town's fish-and-chips-loving men are up in arms. Now faced with the trials of his own soul, and an unwanted offer of promotion, Macbeth must solve Lochdubh's newest crime-the mysterious poisoning of the perfect wife.(less)
I just love MC Beaton and her Hamish MacBeth tales. They are lovely "cosies". The characters are endearing (even the irritating Trixie).
I have decided after reading two at random, to start from the beginning.....
Audio book.
I just love MC Beaton and her Hamish MacBeth tales. They are lovely "cosies". The characters are endearing (even the irritating Trixie).
I have decided after reading two at random, to start from the beginning.....
Audio book.
September 21, 2021
2014 REVIEW - RATING: 4 STARS
So far my favourite book in the series...Trixie is a fun character to dislike and the havoc she causes in the small village is so realistic that I was annoyed. Highly recommend this novel and series.
2021 REVIEW - RATING: 4 STARS
Hamish Macbeth is back as the constable of Lochdubh, Scotland and all is smooth sailing till Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns from London with another fiancé in tow. Then Trixie Thomas and her passive husband moves into the village. She sees herself as a "paragon of housewifery". Soon she talks the women of the village to ban certain "bad" behaviour, and change the women behave. The men are up in arms against Trixie and maybe one of them has murdered her. Another annoying character that you secretly hoped was going to the victim. Loved this one.
So far my favourite book in the series...Trixie is a fun character to dislike and the havoc she causes in the small village is so realistic that I was annoyed. Highly recommend this novel and series.
2021 REVIEW - RATING: 4 STARS
Hamish Macbeth is back as the constable of Lochdubh, Scotland and all is smooth sailing till Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns from London with another fiancé in tow. Then Trixie Thomas and her passive husband moves into the village. She sees herself as a "paragon of housewifery". Soon she talks the women of the village to ban certain "bad" behaviour, and change the women behave. The men are up in arms against Trixie and maybe one of them has murdered her. Another annoying character that you secretly hoped was going to the victim. Loved this one.
August 4, 2017
Och but another great mystery with Hamish in the Highlands ferreting out the murderer ahead of his nemesis Detective Chief Inspector Blair! The scene with the villager Iain Gunn and his bulldozer was so amusing. I wonder what will happen with Miss Pricilla Halburton-Smythe and Hamish now....
March 23, 2016
Sometimes, Macbeth just wants to slug the bad guy instead of bothering with handcuffs and paperwork. So he does. This series is a blast of fresh air within the cozy/police procedural genres.
November 18, 2017
Did anyone else feel like the person writing this book hated women?
January 24, 2018
Now we're on a roll. The narrator is so much better than the one for the first two book and the mysteries continue improving as well. Light and enjoyable.
April 26, 2020
Sooo much misogyny. The author must despise women, which made it difficult to concentrate on the mystery. I don’t think I will read another in this series.
March 26, 2023
I have no idea if I like M C Beaton books or loathe them, because there's always something in them that irritate me, and something that makes me appreciate them. So I'll continue reading them.
April 11, 2020
M.C. Beaton è una conferma, e devo dire che, a giudicare da questo primo romanzo che leggo in questa serie, Hamish Macbeth è anche più interessante di Agatha Raisin. Non so, sarà che è meno pasticcione nelle indagini (dopo tutto, Hamish è un vero poliziotto); sarà che l'ambientazione scozzese è molto intrigante, ma questo libro mi è piaciuto tanto che non vedo l'ora di cominciare il prossimo, mentre dalla droga di Agatha Raisin mi sto pian piano disintossicando, dopo aver letto 25 casi circa (in cui, malgrado il trascorrere degli anni, Agatha continua a essere sulla cinquantina!)
Comunque il caso poliziesco è più chiaro e ben articolato e, sebbene ci siano numerosi sospettati, il lettore non si perde nei meandri delle indagini come capita quando si legge Agatha Raisin, che alla fine risolve il caso perché inciampa letteralmente nell'assassino che vuole farla fuori.
Sono un po' incavolata con Astoria, che ha deciso di cominciare a tradurre la serie a cominciare da questo caso, che è il quarto. E infatti all'inizio è evidente che il lettore italiano si trovi davanti a un'ambientazione che dovrebbe essere nota, ma invece non lo è affatto.
Comunque il caso poliziesco è più chiaro e ben articolato e, sebbene ci siano numerosi sospettati, il lettore non si perde nei meandri delle indagini come capita quando si legge Agatha Raisin, che alla fine risolve il caso perché inciampa letteralmente nell'assassino che vuole farla fuori.
Sono un po' incavolata con Astoria, che ha deciso di cominciare a tradurre la serie a cominciare da questo caso, che è il quarto. E infatti all'inizio è evidente che il lettore italiano si trovi davanti a un'ambientazione che dovrebbe essere nota, ma invece non lo è affatto.
April 29, 2018
1. Definitely listen to this series...Shaun Grindell is great. I know some of the books have a different reader, but you will get caught up in the beautiful Scottish accents and scenic descriptions.
2. At first, I loved the "Harlequin romance" length of the books in this series...but I am thinking that maybe, just maybe, they are not long enough.
3. Don't expect the mystery to drive the story. In fact, in this book, no one is even murdered until almost halfway through the story. This book is definitely about the characters (and boy, are they characters!).
4. Start saving your money...because I really, REALLY want to go to Scotland now. This book does for Scotland what Rhys Bowen's Constable Evan Evans series does for Wales (PS...Read that one too!)
This one might even be 4.5 stars...I am loving this series!
2. At first, I loved the "Harlequin romance" length of the books in this series...but I am thinking that maybe, just maybe, they are not long enough.
3. Don't expect the mystery to drive the story. In fact, in this book, no one is even murdered until almost halfway through the story. This book is definitely about the characters (and boy, are they characters!).
4. Start saving your money...because I really, REALLY want to go to Scotland now. This book does for Scotland what Rhys Bowen's Constable Evan Evans series does for Wales (PS...Read that one too!)
This one might even be 4.5 stars...I am loving this series!
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