Every M.C. Beaton Hamish Macbeth Book
Are you ever in the mood for a cozy mystery—or ready to dive into a 37-book series? M.C. Beaton has you covered. As spooky season settles in and fall begins, there’s no better time to pick up a Hamish Macbeth mystery. Curl up, get cozy, and let this charming Scottish Highlands murder series become your next reading obsession.
Constable Hamish Macbeth is one of several victims of Lady Jane Winters’s searing gossip column. Yet not even Hamish thought someone would permanently silence her—until her body is fished out of the river.
Now with the help of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish must find the murderer—but is he in over his head?
Secrets are dangerous…and killers usually strike again.
When Priscilla Halburton-Smythe brings her playwright fiance home to Lochdubh, everybody in town is delighted … except for love-smitten Constable Hamish Macbeth. But his jealousy will have to wait—because someone at Priscilla’s engagement party is found dead.
Now, Hamish has to act fast.
Can he save Priscilla from a miserable marriage—and catch a killer—before it’s too late?
The most hated man in Scotland is sleeping with the fishes—literally dumped into a tank filled with crustaceans. All that remain of the murder victim are his bones.
Hamish Macbeth sorely misses his beloved Lochdubh. But wherever Hamish goes, he’s bound to find a new case to solve. He’ll have to contend with a difficult detective chief inspector, a dark-haired lass who’s trying to seduce him, and a killer who will no doubt strike again . . .
Hamish Macbeth, the laid-back constable of Lochdubh, Scotland, has a new Land Rover to drive and a Highland summer to savor, but as fast as rain rolls in from the loch, his happy life goes to hell in a handbasket.
The trouble begins when his beloved Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns from London … with a fiance on her arm. His miseries multiply when clouds of midges (the diabolical Scottish mosquito) descend on the town.
Then a paragon of housewifery named Trixie Thomas moves into Lochdubh with her lapdog husband in tow. The newcomer quickly convinces the local ladies to embrace low-cholesterol meals, ban tobacco, 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, Macbeth must solve Lochdubh's newest crime—the mysterious poisoning of the perfect wife.
About the best that can be said of wealthy Maggie Baird is that inside her middle-aged body, there still beats the heart of a beautiful tart. So when her car catches fire with Maggie in it, there are five likely suspects right on the premises of her luxurious Highlands cottage.
Lochdubh police constable Hamish Macbeth has to question Maggie’s timid niece and four former lovers, one of whom Maggie had intended to pick for her husband. All five are equally poor—with ample motive and opportunity to monkey with Maggie’s car.
Now to find the killer, the astute lawman must apply his extraordinary insight into human nature. But when the evidence appears to point to the wrong person entirely, Hamish must dig down deep to stop the real murderer’s escape.
Believing that someone is trying to murder her, gorgeous Jane Wetherby asks Hamish Macbeth to spend Christmas with her and an exclusive group of friends at her Scottish island health farm.
With a cold in his head and no place to go for the holidays, Hamish accepts her invitation. He thinks the lady is a bit daft, but, arriving on the lonely isle of Eileencraig, he feels a prickle of foreboding.
The locals are openly threatening; the other guests, especially a terrible snob named Heather Todd, are barely civil. So when Heather meets an untimely end, Hamish knows he doesn’t have far to look for the culprit.
The only snag in his investigation is that all the guests were in the house when Heather vanished. Now, as mysterious events abound on Eileencraig, Hamish must work through the holiday sniffles to find the killer-or else it will be a very miserable Christmas indeed …
Admittedly, there’s a touch of black humor in the case. Rich, old practical joker Andrew Trent summons his kin to remote Arrat House in the dead of winter for a deathbed farewell. They arrive to find him in perfect health and eager to torment them with a whole new bag of unfunny jokes.
But this time the body that falls out of the closet is Andrew Trent’s own. And nobody’s laughing. Especially not Constable Hamish Macbeth, who is hard put to glean any information from Trent’s unappealing nearest and dearest. And when the lanky constable’s former flame, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, inserts her beautiful self into the case, Hamish must muster all his native guile to carry him through.
Fortunately, he has a few clever tricks up his own sleeve, which enable this most endearing of crime fighters to get the best, and last, laugh.
There's not a cloud in Constable Hamish Macbeth's sky, just plenty of warm sunshine and not quite enough of beautiful Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. But as eight hopeful members of the Checkmate Singles Club converge on Tommel Castle Hotel for a week of serious matchmaking, the clouds roll in.
The four couples, carefully matched by dating director Maria Worth, immediately dislike each other. The arrival of Maria's gross, greedy partner, Peta, kills the last vestige of romance. And as love goes out the window, murder comes in the door.
Peta soon slurps up her last meal, and Hamish is left with a baffling puzzle: Who shared the fateful outing that left Peta dead with a big red apple in her mouth? Surely not of those singles …
Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth’s life is going to pot. He has–horrors!–been promoted, his new boss is a dunce, and a self-proclaimed traveler named Sean and his girlfriend have parked their rusty eyesore of a van in the middle of the village. Hamish smells trouble, and he’s right as usual.
The doctor’s drugs go missing. Money vanishes. Neighbors suddenly become unneighborly. The tension only explodes after the itinerant Sean is found brutally beaten to death. Suspicion quickly falls on his girlfriend, but with nobody willing to talk, the canny Hamish faces the tough task of worming the facts out of the villagers.
As he uncovers a bizarre story around the murdered traveler, Macbeth knows he must find the truth soon, before the killer gets away for good.
All Sergeant Hamish Macbeth wants to do is fish and drink coffee with his fiance. Then a mysterious stranger moves into the neighboring village—a rich, unmarried heartbreaker, causing rivalry among the local women.
It is amusing until death threats, assault and murder shatter the tranquil countryside.
Hamish must investigate the darker side of love and desire.
From the author of the Agatha Raisin television series…
DEATH OF A NAG: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth is more dour than ever after losing both his promotion and his girl, the loyal Priscilla Halbourton-Smythe. A trip to a charming seaside inn with his dog Towser is meant to raise his sagging spirits. Instead, he arrives at “Friendly House” to find the ambiance chilling, the food inedible, and his fellow guests less than neighborly. There’s an amorous spinster, two tarty girls, a retired military man, a secretive London family, and Bob Harris, who so nags his wife, Doris, that everyone wants to kill him. Then somebody does. Soon Macbeth is called upon to act — to dig into the past and deep into the heart to deliver something more daunting than merely the culprit: Justice.
From the author of the Agatha Raisin television series…
DEATH OF A MACHO MAN: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
When Hamish Macbeth, local constable of the Scottish village of Lochdubh, tries to break up one of the many fights involving Randy Duggan, the ruffian challenges him to a fistfight. But on the chosen day, Duggan is found shot to death and Macbeth is rumored to be the likely suspect. Macbeth must find the murderer, clear his name, and restore his Highland paradise to its usual tranquility.
From the author of the Agatha Raisin television series…
DEATH OF A DENTIST: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
A blinding toothache sends Hamish Macbeth 120 miles out of Lochdubh to the dentist Frederick Gilchrist, only to find him dead. Since everyone is pleased the dentist is deceased–patients, several harassed women, and even his wife–Macbeth faces one of the more biting challenges of his career.
From the author of the Agatha Raisin television series…
DEATH OF A SCRIPTWRITER: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
HOLLYWOOD IN THE HIGHLANDSWith the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe away in London, Lochdubh Constable Hamish Macbeth pines for company during the long Scottish winter. He gets his wish — and more — when a troupe of flashy, urbane filmmakers clamors into the nearby town of Drim. Before long bedlam erupts around their make-believe mystery …and culminates in the sudden appearance of one very real corpse.
The initial suspect in the killing is one Patricia Martyn-Broyd, the aging mystery writer furious that her musty old cozies are getting a risque face-lift in their TV reincarnation. Yet, going behind the scenes, Hamish soon finds a town full of locals bitten by the movie bug and a cast of quarreling show business types, all harboring their own secrets, lies, and hidden agendas. And as the culprit strikes again, Hamish must quickly find the right killer — or script the wrong finale to a show gone murderously awry.
From the author of the Agatha Raisin television series…
DEATH OF AN ADDICT: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Former drug addict Tommy Jarret rents a Scottish chalet to check out reports of a sea monster. But when he is found dead of an apparent drug overdose, constable Hamish Macbeth suspects foul play. Teaming with Glasgow Detective Inspector Olivia Chater, Macbeth goes undercover and dives into the underworld to root out a cartel secretly entrenched in the Highlands.
Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
Death of a Dustman: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
The garbage collectors in Britain are still called dustmen, and Lochdubh’s dustman is an abusive drunk named Fergus Macleod. When Fergus is put in charge of a recycling center and dubbed the “environment officer,” Constable Hamish Macbeth smells trouble. Sure enough, Fergus soon becomes a bullying tyrant with his new power. And after his body is found stuffed in a recycling bin, no one’s sorry-including his long-suffering family. But Macbeth is surprised to find that many of the despicable dustman’s victims refuse to talk. And when violence strikes again, the lanky lawman must quickly unearth the culprit among a litter of suspects . . . before a killer makes a clean getaway.
Death of a Dustman: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
The garbage collectors in Britain are still called dustmen, and Lochdubh’s dustman is an abusive drunk named Fergus Macleod. When Fergus is put in charge of a recycling center and dubbed the “environment officer,” Constable Hamish Macbeth smells trouble. Sure enough, Fergus soon becomes a bullying tyrant with his new power. And after his body is found stuffed in a recycling bin, no one’s sorry-including his long-suffering family. But Macbeth is surprised to find that many of the despicable dustman’s victims refuse to talk. And when violence strikes again, the lanky lawman must quickly unearth the culprit among a litter of suspects . . . before a killer makes a clean getaway.
Lochdubh, a remote village reached only by a one-track lane, nestles serenely amid Scotland's hills … until well-known TV reporter Crystal French races into town in her bright BMW. Constable Hamish Macbeth, dourly wed to duty instead of the fiancee who dumped him, promptly gives her a summons for reckless driving.
Outraged, Crystal makes Macbeth's life a misery with a TV report on policing in the Highlands. When she also rakes up old local scandals for her new hit show, Macbeth notes that someone besides himself might be dead keen to stop her. Then someone does-with stealth and violence.
Now, finding out who did it will lead the laconic Macbeth down roads he never envisioned, into a dark story of passion and vengeance … and perhaps a crisis of the heart all his own.
Trouble is afoot in a Scottish fishing village as Constable Macbeth finds the pub empty, the church full, and the air permeated with fear.
With the help of a journalist, Macbeth begins to ferret out the truth.
When the residents of Lochdubh begin receiving poison pen letters, no one takes them seriously. But Constable Hamish Macbeth fears them, and his instincts prove correct when the postmistress is found hanging from a rope with a vicious poison pen letter at her feet.
Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
Death of a Bore: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Minor writer John Heppel has a problem–he’s a consummate bore. When he’s found dead in his cottage, there are plenty of suspects. But surely boredom shouldn’t be cause for murder, or so thinks Constable Hamish Macbeth.
Death of a Bore: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Minor writer John Heppel has a problem–he’s a consummate bore. When he’s found dead in his cottage, there are plenty of suspects. But surely boredom shouldn’t be cause for murder, or so thinks Constable Hamish Macbeth.
The rugged landscape of Scotland attracts dreamers who move north, wrapped in fantasies of enjoying the simple life. They usually don't last, but it looks as if Effie Garrard has come to stay.
When Constable Hamish Macbeth calls on her, he's amazed that she weathered the difficult winter. But Effie is quite delusional, imagining that she's engaged to local artist Jock Fleming. Later, Effie is found in the mountains, poisoned by hemlock.
Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
Death of a Maid: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Mrs. Gillespie is famous around the northwest of Sutherland for being the best charwoman ever. Of course, if anyone has any social pretensions one does not say charwoman, one talks about “my maid”. Hamish Macbeth wins Mrs. Gillespie’s services in a church raffle but spends most of the day trying to avoid her. She is a malicious gossip and she bangs around the furniture and clanks pots–he wonders how on earth she managed to get such a good reputation.
Then she is found dead in a large house belonging to a retired professor who was out the day she was killed. She has been struck down by a metal bucket of water. Remembering Mrs. Gillespie’s malicious gossip, Hamish is sure she delighted in finding out secrets and probably searched through the drawers of the houses she cleaned, which means everyone whose home she cleaned could be a suspect.
Death of a Maid: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Mrs. Gillespie is famous around the northwest of Sutherland for being the best charwoman ever. Of course, if anyone has any social pretensions one does not say charwoman, one talks about “my maid”. Hamish Macbeth wins Mrs. Gillespie’s services in a church raffle but spends most of the day trying to avoid her. She is a malicious gossip and she bangs around the furniture and clanks pots–he wonders how on earth she managed to get such a good reputation.
Then she is found dead in a large house belonging to a retired professor who was out the day she was killed. She has been struck down by a metal bucket of water. Remembering Mrs. Gillespie’s malicious gossip, Hamish is sure she delighted in finding out secrets and probably searched through the drawers of the houses she cleaned, which means everyone whose home she cleaned could be a suspect.
Gentle by name, gentle by nature. Everyone in the sleepy Scottish town of Lochdubh adores elderly Mrs. Gentle … everyone but Hamish Macbeth, that is. Hamish thinks the gentle lady is quite sly and vicious, and the citizens of Lochdubh think he is overly cranky. Perhaps it's time for him to get married, they say.But who has time for marriage when there's a murder to be solved?
When Mrs. Gentle dies under mysterious circumstances, the town is shocked and outraged. Chief Detective Inspector Blair suspects members of her family, but Hamish Macbeth thinks there's more to the story, and begins investigating the truth behind this lady's gentle exterior.
Returning from a vacation, Constable Hamish Macbeth senses a dark cloud of evil hanging over his Scottish village of Lochdubh. Newcomer Catriona Beldame has cast a bewitching spell over the town, causing the local men to visit her cottage at all hours of the night and infuriating the women.
Hamish suspects that she is a great danger to the town. Before he can prove that Catriona is truly wicked, she is brutally murdered—and Hamish becomes the prime suspect in the case. The constable will call upon the assistance of a pretty female forensic expert as he attempts to clear his name … and perhaps even find some romance.
But when more violence breaks out, loyal Hamish must use all his detective skills to restore peace to his beloved village.
Amazing news has spread across the Scottish countryside. The most famous of highland bachelors, police sergeant Hamish Macbeth, will be married at last. Everyone in the village of Lochdubh adores Josie McSween, Macbeth’s newest constable and blushing bride-to-be.
While locals think Josie is quite a catch, Hamish has a case of prenuptial jitters. After all, if it weren’t for the recent murder of a beautiful woman in a neighbouring village, there wouldn’t be a wedding at all. For it was a mysterious Valentine’s Day package—delivered to the victim before her death—that initially drew Hamish and Josie together on the investigation.
As they work side by side, Hamish and Josie soon discover that the woman’s list of admirers was endless, confirming Hamish’s suspicion that love can be blind, deaf … and deadly.
In the south of Scotland, residents get their chimneys vacuum-cleaned. But in the isolated villages in the very north of Scotland, the villagers rely on the services of the itinerant sweep, Pete Ray, and his old-fashioned brushes. Pete is always able to find work in the Scottish highlands, until one day when Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices blood dripping onto the floor of a villager's fireplace, and a dead body stuffed inside the chimney.
The entire town of Lochdubh is certain Pete is the culprit, but Hamish doesn't believe that the affable chimney sweep is capable of committing murder. Then Pete's body is found on the Scottish moors, and the mystery deepens.
Once again, it's up to Hamish to discover who's responsible for the dirty deed—and this time, the murderer may be closer than he realizes.
Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
Death of a Kingfisher: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods "The Fairy Glen," and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph of a kingfisher rising from a pond on the cover.
It isn't long before coach tours begin to arrive. But just as the town's luck starts to turn, a kingfisher is found hanging from a branch in the woods with a noose around its neck. As a wave of vandalism threatens to ruin Braikie forever, the town turns to Hamish Macbeth. And when violence strikes again,the lawman's investigation quickly turns from animal cruelty to murder.
Death of a Kingfisher: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods "The Fairy Glen," and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph of a kingfisher rising from a pond on the cover.
It isn't long before coach tours begin to arrive. But just as the town's luck starts to turn, a kingfisher is found hanging from a branch in the woods with a noose around its neck. As a wave of vandalism threatens to ruin Braikie forever, the town turns to Hamish Macbeth. And when violence strikes again,the lawman's investigation quickly turns from animal cruelty to murder.
Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
Death of Yesterday: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
When a local woman tells Sergeant Hamish Macbeth that she doesn't remember what happened the previous evening, he doesn't begin to worry. She had been out drinking, after all, and he'd prefer not to be bothered with such an arrogant and annoying woman. But when her body is discovered, Hamish is forced to investigate a crime that the only known witness–now dead–had forgotten.
Death of Yesterday: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
When a local woman tells Sergeant Hamish Macbeth that she doesn't remember what happened the previous evening, he doesn't begin to worry. She had been out drinking, after all, and he'd prefer not to be bothered with such an arrogant and annoying woman. But when her body is discovered, Hamish is forced to investigate a crime that the only known witness–now dead–had forgotten.
Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
Death of a Policeman: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Local police stations all over the Scottish Highlands are being threatened with closure. This presents the perfect opportunity for Detective Chief Inspector Blair, who would love nothing more than to get rid of Sergeant Hamish Macbeth. Blair suggests that Cyril Sessions, a keen young police officer, visit the town of Lochdubh to monitor exactly what Macbeth does every day. Macbeth hears about Blair's plan and is prepared to insure that Cyril returns back to headquarters with a full report. But Cyril is soon found dead and Hamish quickly becomes the prime suspect in his murder.
Death of a Policeman: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Local police stations all over the Scottish Highlands are being threatened with closure. This presents the perfect opportunity for Detective Chief Inspector Blair, who would love nothing more than to get rid of Sergeant Hamish Macbeth. Blair suggests that Cyril Sessions, a keen young police officer, visit the town of Lochdubh to monitor exactly what Macbeth does every day. Macbeth hears about Blair's plan and is prepared to insure that Cyril returns back to headquarters with a full report. But Cyril is soon found dead and Hamish quickly becomes the prime suspect in his murder.
Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
Death of a Liar: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is alarmed to receive a report from a woman in the small village of Cronish in the Scottish Highlands. She has been brutally attacked and the criminal is on the loose. But upon further investigation, Hamish discovers that she was lying about the crime. So when the same woman calls him back about an intruder, he simply marvels at her compulsion to lie. This time, though, she is telling the truth. Her body is found in her home and Hamish must sort through all of her lies to solve the crime.
Death of a Liar: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is alarmed to receive a report from a woman in the small village of Cronish in the Scottish Highlands. She has been brutally attacked and the criminal is on the loose. But upon further investigation, Hamish discovers that she was lying about the crime. So when the same woman calls him back about an intruder, he simply marvels at her compulsion to lie. This time, though, she is telling the truth. Her body is found in her home and Hamish must sort through all of her lies to solve the crime.
Hamish Macbeth, Scotland’s most quick-witted but unambitious policeman returns in a new short story from New York Times bestselling author M.C. Beaton
Knock Knock, You’re Dead! A Hamish Macbeth Short Story
Mrs. Morag McPhie hits upon the idea of selling some of her old furniture to raise money to visit her daughter in Australia. But when a dead body turns up, Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth wonders if the antique business is even more cutthroat than he thought…
Knock Knock, You’re Dead! A Hamish Macbeth Short Story
Mrs. Morag McPhie hits upon the idea of selling some of her old furniture to raise money to visit her daughter in Australia. But when a dead body turns up, Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth wonders if the antique business is even more cutthroat than he thought…
Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
James Harrison has recently moved to a restored hunting lodge in Sutherland with his gorgeous private nurse Gloria Dainty. When Hamish visits Mr. Harrison to welcome him to the neighborhood, the old man treats him very rudely. Gloria apologizes for her employer's behavior, and Hamish takes the plunge and invites her out for dinner.
On the appointed evening, Hamish waits for Gloria at the restaurant. And waits. Gloria never shows up. Four days later, Gloria's body washes up on the beach near Braikie. Now without a date and without his former policeman Dick Fraser (who left the force to buy a bakery), Hamish must find out who killed the beautiful new resident of Sutherland, and why, before the murderer strikes again….
James Harrison has recently moved to a restored hunting lodge in Sutherland with his gorgeous private nurse Gloria Dainty. When Hamish visits Mr. Harrison to welcome him to the neighborhood, the old man treats him very rudely. Gloria apologizes for her employer's behavior, and Hamish takes the plunge and invites her out for dinner.
On the appointed evening, Hamish waits for Gloria at the restaurant. And waits. Gloria never shows up. Four days later, Gloria's body washes up on the beach near Braikie. Now without a date and without his former policeman Dick Fraser (who left the force to buy a bakery), Hamish must find out who killed the beautiful new resident of Sutherland, and why, before the murderer strikes again….
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth–Scotland’s most quick-witted but unambitious policeman–returns in M.C. Beaton’s new mystery in her New York Times bestselling series. From the author of the Agatha Raisin series.
When Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth hears reports of a haunted castle near Drim, he assumes the eerie noises and lights reported by the villagers are just local teenagers going there to smoke pot or, worse, inject themselves with drugs. Still, Hamish decides that he and his policeman, Charlie “Clumsy” Carson, will spend the night at the ruined castle to get to the bottom of the rumors once and for all.
There’s no sign of any ghost…but then Charlie disappears through the floor. It turns out he’s fallen into the cellar. And what Hamish and Charlie find there is worse than a ghost: a dead body propped against the wall. Waiting for help to arrive, Hamish and Charlie leave the castle just for a moment–to eat bacon baps–but when they return, the body is nowhere to be seen.
It’s clear something strange–and deadly–is going on at the castle, and Hamish must get to the bottom of it before the “ghost” can strike again…
When Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth hears reports of a haunted castle near Drim, he assumes the eerie noises and lights reported by the villagers are just local teenagers going there to smoke pot or, worse, inject themselves with drugs. Still, Hamish decides that he and his policeman, Charlie “Clumsy” Carson, will spend the night at the ruined castle to get to the bottom of the rumors once and for all.
There’s no sign of any ghost…but then Charlie disappears through the floor. It turns out he’s fallen into the cellar. And what Hamish and Charlie find there is worse than a ghost: a dead body propped against the wall. Waiting for help to arrive, Hamish and Charlie leave the castle just for a moment–to eat bacon baps–but when they return, the body is nowhere to be seen.
It’s clear something strange–and deadly–is going on at the castle, and Hamish must get to the bottom of it before the “ghost” can strike again…
Nobody loves an honest man–or that was what police sergeant Hamish Macbeth tried to tell newcomer Paul English. Paul had moved to a house in Cnothan, a sour village on Hamish's beat, where he immediately started to stir up outrage among his neighbors.
Paul first attended church in Lochdubh and told the minister, Mr. Wellington, that his sermons were boring. He then told tweedy Mrs. Wellington that she was too fat and should set a better example in these days of increasing obesity. Angela Brody was told her detective stories were pap for the masses and that she should write real literature instead. He accused Hamish of having dyed his fiery red hair. He told Jessie Currie–who compulsively repeats all the last words of her twin sister–that she needed psychiatric help.
"I speak as I find," he bragged. A refrain of "I could kill that man," could be heard from Lochdubh to Cnothan.
And someone did.
Now Hamish is faced with a bewildering array of suspects, this time without the services of his clumsy policeman, Charlie, who resigned from the force after one too many confrontations with Hamish's incompetent boss, Chief Inspector Blair. But can Hamish find the killer on his own?
Paul first attended church in Lochdubh and told the minister, Mr. Wellington, that his sermons were boring. He then told tweedy Mrs. Wellington that she was too fat and should set a better example in these days of increasing obesity. Angela Brody was told her detective stories were pap for the masses and that she should write real literature instead. He accused Hamish of having dyed his fiery red hair. He told Jessie Currie–who compulsively repeats all the last words of her twin sister–that she needed psychiatric help.
"I speak as I find," he bragged. A refrain of "I could kill that man," could be heard from Lochdubh to Cnothan.
And someone did.
Now Hamish is faced with a bewildering array of suspects, this time without the services of his clumsy policeman, Charlie, who resigned from the force after one too many confrontations with Hamish's incompetent boss, Chief Inspector Blair. But can Hamish find the killer on his own?
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth’s new constable, Dorothy McIver, may be the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Completely bewitched by her sparkling blue eyes, Hamish spends the summer traveling with her up and down Sutherland until finally, he can take it no longer. He gets down on one knee beside the Land Rover and begs her to marry him—and to his amazement and delight, she says yes.
But just as the town of Lochdubh gets ready to celebrate, Hamish finds himself with a new murder on his hands. If he doesn’t find the killer fast, Hamish’s dream wedding could become a nightmare.
When Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is sent to investigate reports that the wealthy new laird of the remote Naglar House has disappeared, north-west Scotland is hit by the worst storm in living memory. The road is washed away, phone lines are down, mobile reception is dead and his police radio is out of order.
He is trapped with the laird's high-class house guests. Then he discovers the laird's body.
Forced to remain overnight at the house, Hamish interviews each of the guests and pieces together an alarming picture of clandestine infidelity, vicious jealousy, deadly revenge, lust, greed and fear.
It begins to look like all of the guests had good reason to want the laird dead, but which one of them actually did the deed?
Kate Hibbert is all too eager to lend a hand to her neighbors. Although she has been a resident of the sleepy village of Lochdubh for only a year, in that time Kate has alienated one too many of its residents with her interfering—and not entirely well-intentioned—ways.
When Kate’s neighbor sees her lugging a heavy suitcase to the bus stop, he hopes that the prying woman is leaving for good. But two weeks later, Kate’s cousin arrives in town with the news that Kate has gone missing—and she demands that the local police step in.
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is called in to investigate the disappearance, and soon he is befuddled by a storm of lies, intrigue, and scandal … and the sneaking suspicion that Kate was someone much more sinister than she claimed.
Torn between loyalty to Lochdubh and his job, Hamish begins threading his way through a maze of deceit, quickly finding himself on the trail of a ruthless, treacherous murderer. If he catches the killer, peace can return to the village. If he fails, he will lose everything: his job, his home, and the life he so loves in Lochdubh.
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is worried about how the folks will react to his new assistant officer; the enigmatic American James Bland, whose true mission is to track down the members of a Russian spy network. In the meantime, he and Bland deal with it the usual crop of traffic incidents, lost wallets, lost dogs, and lost people, but a spate of burglaries committed by a man dubbed “Spiderman” give Hamish cause for serious concern.
Hamish has to use all of his contacts and every ounce of his Highland guile to find the robber and protect the village.
All Hamish Macbeth wants is a quiet life in his peaceful home in the Highland village of Lochdubh. But when his newly-assigned constable arrives, he presents Hamish with a surprise and a secret.
Getting to the bottom of the secret becomes the least of Hamish’s problems when he meets a family who have a score to settle with a sinister man who has mysteriously gone missing. Discovering a murdered woman’s body puts further pressure on Hamish, especially when it becomes clear that the murdered woman and the missing man are linked.
To Hamish’s horror, he then finds himself working on the murder case with the despicable Detective Chief Inspector Blair–his sworn enemy–who has been drafted in under curious circumstances.
With a growing list of suspects, ever more bewildering circumstances and Blair hindering him at every turn, Hamish must find the murderer before anyone else falls victim.
Never has a quiet life seemed further from his grasp!
It is February and the Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh is dealing with heavy snow and freezing temperatures. Sergeant Hamish Macbeth can handle the weather, but with a surprise influx of high-society visitors for a Valentine’s Day wedding at Tommel Castle Hotel, he has bigger problems.
The guest list includes not one, but two women from his own romantic past! And Hamish isn’t the only one disrupted by the arrival of the wedding party. The groom—the supposedly suave and sophisticated Darius Palmerston—is involved in a series of incidents in the local pub. Tensions between guests and villagers escalate until, shortly after the lavish wedding ceremony, a body is found in the hotel dining room.
The gruesome killing means Hamish suddenly has a murder investigation on his hands, one with a very long list of suspects.
Everyone’s favorite Scottish Highland constable returns in the next installment in the #1 New York Times bestselling Hamish MacBeth series.
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is enjoying an unseasonably fine spring with Claire by his side. Yet while Claire seems happy to think about the future, Hamish is still coming to terms with just how much she means to him. Then a body is discovered beneath a remote cliff and any chance of a quiet life disappears . . .
The victim, wealthy businessman Kieron O’Brien, has been shot dead while photographing a nesting pair of white-tailed eagles. Beside him lies one of the birds, also killed by a rifle shot.
As outrage sweeps through the Highlands, Hamish finds no shortage of suspects.
But the strangest clue comes from O’Brien’s recovered camera. Hidden among photographs of the eagles is one final image: a distant figure aiming a rifle directly at the photographer.
With pressure from his superiors and rumours spreading like wildfire across Lochdubh, Hamish must discover who pulled the trigger before the killer strikes again.
