The charm of the Scottish Highlands and a truly likable detective offer airy bliss for mystery lovers in M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series.
For anyone not familiar with this fine series, Hamish Macbeth is a constable in the Highland village of Lochdubh, and much of the enjoyment for the reader is derived from the quirky interactions between Hamish and Lochdubh's residents. The lanky and red-haired Hamish is a bachelor the entire village would like to see romantically attached. There seems to be no end of choices, but Hamish can never quite settle his heart on just one. While being a quite gifted investigator, he makes his crime solving abilities appear as fortuitous happenings in order to remain under the radar, so that he may remain in his beloved Lochdubh with his animals, including a wild Highland cat he has attempted to domesticate with shaky results.
In Death of a Dreamer, village tongues are wagging when a local artist named Effie, a dreamer who lives in her own world, claims to be marrying a visiting artist named Jock. He denies offering to marry her, however. He has an ex-wife with a grudge, and a female agent named Betty to whom Hamish is more than a bit attracted, which of course creates more village gossip.
Hamish smells trouble on the Highland winds and it isn't long before Effie's somewhat sad existence comes to an end. When old flame Priscilla returns and Hamish has Glasgow reporter Elspeth to deal with as well, will he be too distracted to get at the truth? Having a C.S.I. team which gets inebriated at the local pub, leading to Jedi fights with blue-lights substituting for light sabers, doesn't help our favorite constable much. Adding another spanner to the works, Hamish is teamed with a rather ambitious colleague named Robin, which is certain to lead to trouble in a village like Lochdubh.
Everyone writes off Effie's death as a suicide at first, but Hamish knows better. The deeper he looks into Effie's past, and her interactions with people, the longer his list of suspects becomes. A second death occurs before Hamish's wild cat saves the day in this fun and enjoyable mystery.
Filled with charm, politically incorrect humor and a quirky atmosphere which will leave you pining for a visit to Scotland, this is a fine series somewhere between a cozy and a traditional detective story. If you like your mysteries to leave a smile on your face, then Hamish and Lochdubh is a place you'll want to visit as often as possible. Highly recommended!