Death of a Nag

Starred review from July 3, 1995
After a romantic disappointment and an undeserved demotion, Scots village bobby Hamish MacBeth, seen last in Death of a Charming Man, decides a week's holiday at the coastal village of Skag might be just the ticket. He's dead wrong, of course: the food is dire, and the man in the next room nags his wife so loudly and continuously that more than one person at the The Friendly House bed-and-breakfast wishes him dead, though only Hamish is heard threatening him. When this chap's body is found floating in the river Skag, Hamish is the prime suspect. While clearing his name, the lanky Scot has to deal with the widow, who's suddenly making eyes at a refined bachelor; two leather-skirted Glaswegian beauties intent on raising disco hell; and the rude revelation of one family man's secret life. Some holiday. Beaton has fine-tuned her MacBeth series into something altogether winning. In this 11th entry, her plot is top-notch, a few somber notes demonstrate her touch for understated compassion and, as always, Hamish and his highland cohorts are lovingly rendered.

July 1, 1995
Beaton's Hamish MacBeth stories are always good, but the latest is a standout. The plot is even better than usual, the characters are more engaging, and even the mostly dour and serious Hamish is funnier and more likable than usual. Hamish and the ravishing Priscilla Halburton-Smythe have ended their long engagement, and the townsfolk blame Hamish. To escape Lochdubh's wagging tongues, Hamish embarks on a short vacation at Friendly House, a bed-and-breakfast in the seaside resort of Skag. But instead of the relaxation and solitude he sought, Hamish finds he's involved in yet another murder case. The victim is a drunken, mean-spirited fellow lodger at Friendly House, and Hamish figures the murderer is most likely also on the guest list. Patient, stolid Hamish uses brains, intuition, and a keen understanding of human nature--as well as plenty of shoe leather--to ferret out the unlikely killer. A fine, well-told police procedural with plenty of human interest, Beaton's latest will appeal to a wide range of mystery fans. ((Reviewed July 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)