Death of a Gentle Lady (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, No. 24)

M. C. Beaton delivers again: "Death of Gentle Lady" may be her fourteenth Hamish MacBeth mystery, but the installment was as entertaining as previous books in the series.

To the villagers of Lochduh, Mrs. Margaret Gentle seems like a perfectly nice, gracious lady; only Hamish MacBeth seems immune to the lady's charms, having first hand knowledge of exactly how truly awful the lady really is. And when Mrs. Gentle attempts to get the local police station closed, thus forcing Hamish to leave Lochduh, Hamish decides to strike back: he proposes marriage to Mrs. Gentile's downtrodden maid, Ayesha. But when the wedding day dawns, Ayesha is a no show, and Mrs. Gentle turns up dead. In spite of the collected wisdom of the powers that be, Hamish is certain that the mystery of who killed Mrs. Gentle and why lies in the lady's background, and resolves to get to the bottom of the matter -- that is if he's not too distracted by Priscilla and her sudden chumminess with a visiting author...

Mystery-wise, there are probably more suspenseful reads out there, and there definitely have been more riveting Hamish MacBeth installments. However, what one has come to expect from Beaton and her MacBeth installments is an entertaining and charming read. And on that level, she delivers in spades. True, we do find old ground being revisited again (Priscilla or Elspeth?); and not only did the mystery subplot take a while to unfold, it also could have been tighter. But, on the whole, I found "Death of a Gentle Lady" to be an enjoyable and absorbing read, and really, isn't that the true test of a good read?

Oh well, I guess it was too good to last. Perhaps Beaton was too influenced by the badly done and thankfully short-lived BBC series depiction of her wonderful Hamish character.I had really enjoyed the character-development, wit, and human insights presented in the earlier books, but this one was really disappointing. Past mysteries were always a bit contrived but this one did not have anything in the way of the charm or writing skills of earlier books. The plot was overly contrived and the characters (including Hamish) were one-dimensional - caricatures rather than real people. Sadly, I think that the author is getting bored with Hamish and just churning stuff out for the publisher. I am really sorry about this because I really enjoyed most of the earlier works. Alas.

Here we have another visit with cunning unambitious Scottish PC Hamish Macbeth. Watch as author Beaton trots out the trademarks: Hamish's doting on his animals; his inability to ask either of the women in his life those four fatal words: "will you marry me?"; his ability to tell whopping lies and still appear charming; his wiles to score free meals. 14 or so novels into the series and these antics never vary: the more the series grows, the more it remains the same.

The most noticeable change is the tinges of violence Beaton has begun to stipple into her quirky Highland fingerpaintings. Handguns are brandished; there are bombs.

Then there are the gaffes as the author dabbles into criminal psychology. It's a glaring gaffe surrounding homosexuals as opposed to pedophiles.

These missteps signal that Beaton is venturing further into more complex forms of psychological suspense writing that are ill suited to her talents.

I do note the implausible way she allowed Hamish to trick his nemesis Blair into marriage. Could be trickery will be the only way to get Hamish to the altar, too.

I love most everyone of M.C. Beaton's books. I enjoy both Agatha
Raisin and Hamish MacBeth equally but this one with Hamish I did not
enjoy as much. It starts out very interesting with a lady that is
actually not very gentle at all. But there are numerous side bars
happening that it was hard to keep up at times. For me, it just wasnt
as cohesive as her other books.

It is always a pleasure to return to Lochdubh and the adventures of Hamish Macbeth, although that charming Scottish village does seem to have an inordinate number of murders. There are also any number of castles in the vicinity.

The characters are always interesting, and I do like the tours of the countryside. Ms. Beaton writes extremely well as Beaton or as Marion Chesney. However, the flaw in this book is with the plot. It seems to be a rehash of previous plots. A large and disparate family has gathered at the old manor house or castle to be informed or tested with respect to a will. The wealthy owner of the place is murdered, with all present having a good motive for the crime. I'll even go along with that, but I was disappointed here that Hamish, the local constable, solves the murder by some form of intuition. All his guesses prove correct. If there is a logical process to his thinking, the reader is not let in on it.

Too bad. The atmosphere, characters and writing are let down by the plot. As a result, this novel does not measure up to many of the previous books in the Hamish Macbeth series.

+++ May contain spoilers+++
I have read this entire series and for the most part have found it enjoyable, but it is becoming more and more implausible and filled with less detecting and more of the "Oh I just stumbled on the conclusion" Situations thrown in not as red herrings but as dumb asides. One gathers that the main portion of the story takes place in a space of less than a month but a complete production of Macbeth is mounted, which served very little purpose other than to show someone's feet ! Total loss of memory from previous books -- Angela appears to have cleaned her kitchen for the first time however one of the series had her cleaning all the time - so she had forgotten this ? Places in the story where his cat and dog are with him and then suddenly they are at home but no explanation of how they got from being with him to not. We had to learn not once but twice how Elsbeth had been jilted - like we had forgotten the answer from 50 pages earlier. And what's up with two young people in the same book being sent to live with others and they were raped and abused. The time line of the life of Mrs Gentle was very skewed - if this killer was actually her first child he would have been in his mid 50s no doubt and yet he did say he looked for her after her marriage well did he do that at the age of 3 or was he an adult ? It was stated early in the book that Mr Gentle had died when Sarah was quite young so he must have been dead at least 40 years ! So was Mrs Gentle around 80 or 90 ? And what is up with the Russian police officer - oh come on I can't believe that the Russians would waste money sending her to the highlands to engage a policeman of no rank to come back to Moscow to study his methods. The plots with Blair are reaching the triteness of a villian tying a damsel to a railroad track. Please Ms Beaton tighten up the story lines a little - keep the charm and the wit but make the read a little more of an intelligent read -So far my only consolation is that I get these books from the library paying $7 for this would have been a tragedy.

M.C. Beaton has written more than twenty Hamish Macbeth mysteries, the first published in 1985, and the books inspired a series that aired on the BBC. I haven't seen the program, and Beaton's latest installment, Death of a Gentle Lady, is the first in the series that I've read. Hamish Macbeth is a constable in the village of Lochdubh in the Scottish Highlands. He lives in the police station with a dog and a near-feral cat. He's unmarried but pines intermittently throughout this book, at least, for two women with whom he apparently has long histories. He is clever enough that he might have moved up and out of Lochdubh based on his job performance, but he aspires only to remain in his beloved village, and he is forever battling to keep its small police station in operation.

In this outing Macbeth becomes acquainted with a certain Mrs. Margaret Gentle, an elderly widow who has recently bought a mock, cliffside castle in Macbeth's jurisdiction. She puts on a sweet-old-lady act that's won the rest of the villagers over, but Macbeth sees through it at once to recognize the bitty within. A double homicide later and Macbeth finds that he's the killer's next target, and the most likely suspect is among the Gentle woman's heirs. Meanwhile, the good folks of Lochdubh are staging an amateur production of Shakespeare's Macbeth; Hamish Macbeth's nemesis on the police force is harboring a grudge; and a Putin-esque Russian policewoman, visiting from Moscow, is hovering around the Gentle investigation--and giving Macbeth the willies.

Death of a Gentle Lady is a readable cozy with a likable sleuth, firmly bound with its Highland setting. The plot is interesting, though its twist occurred to me long before Macbeth caught on. The details of the crime are revealed in a stock let-me-tell-you-how-I-did-it-before-I-kill-you-type information dump, which is perhaps a bit sloppy. But I enjoyed the book and will likely be reading more in the series.

Beaton never fails to please. In this her latest adventure for Constable Hamish Macbeth, overseer of the lazy Highlands village that seems to attract more murders than St. Mary Mead, Beaton again sets a charming scene and fills it with intrigue. The characters who pass through the village--newcomers who seem to bring the bulk of the murder business--always bring their special idiosyncrasies and often an entourage of others to add to the challenge before Macbeth. The gentle lady in this book fits the bill. Hamish's heart is always involved and on the line. Two old loves are surprised to hear of Hamish's engagement to a lovely newcomer. Will Hamish at last find true love? Thank you, Ms. Beaton for another exciting visit to the village of Lochdubh. Make a pot of tea (or pour a dram) and sit yourself down to a delightful read.

M.C. Beaton wites an enjoyable little book. I do a lot of reading, I call Ms Beatons books brain candy. A short little read that takes you to Scotland or England depending on the series. Just the thing between long reads.

What can I say, I can't wait until another MC Beaton comes out. Be it Hamish or Agatha they both are enjoyable reading. Not too long and easy to curl up with.