Customer Reviews

Death of a Bore (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, No. 21)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Can "Death of a Bore" truly be the twentieth Hamish Macbeth installment? Apparently so. But even though the books follow an almost strict formulae, and the regular characters don't really step out of the mold that M. C. Beaton has given them, the Hamish Macbeth mystery novels remain as fresh and as entertaining as ever, and loads of fun to read. "Death of a Bore" was no exception to the rule.

When novelist and soap opera writer John Heppel moves to Cnothan (a village neighbouring Lochdubh), he advertises to teach a seminar on how to become a famous and published writer. Hamish Macbeth smells a disaster in the making, but even he is unprepared for how disastrously everything goes. For John Heppel is a total bore, more interested in talking about himself and promoting his talents than in actually teaching and helping anyone who has signed up for his classes. And it isn't too long before the arrogant man angers everyone by insulting their efforts and putting them down brutally. Angry, the villagers vow revenge. And when Heppel is found dead in his cottage, the entire village of Lochdubh ends up on the suspect list. Hamish immediately discounts the very notion that one of his people could have murdered Heppel, and is sure that someone Heppel knew in the soap opera world murdered the tiresome man. But at the back of his mind, he cannot help but fear that his famous instincts may have blinded him in this instance, and that someone he knows and cares about may be a killer after all...

Rich in wit and dark humour, "Death of a Bore" was a joy to read from start to finish. The story is a little formulaic, with few surprises, but the joy of this series lies in all the eccentric and taking characters that people this series. And then of course, there is Hamish's romantic entanglements, as well as his run-ins with fellow officers and superior officers who are jealous of his talents and suspicious of his lack of ambition. Add to this Beaton's vivid, romantic yet realistic depiction of the Highlands; throw in a nice little cozy mystery, and a sardonic prose style, and you have a book that is guaranteed to give you a few hours of reading joy. I thoroughly enjoyed "Death of a Bore" from beginning to end, and would recommend it as a delightful read

I wholeheartedly agree with a fellow reviewer: It is hard to believe this is the 20th book in the Hamish Macbeth mystery series. It is hard to believe because M.C. Beaton's writing remains crisp and engaging throughout the entire series. In fact, her writing is so compeling that before you know it, you find yourself wanting to jump in the Range Rover alongside Hamish to drive to Cnothan to protect to the angry group of Highlanders from the tomfoolery of Hamish's superior officers.

In "Death of a Bore", just as in "Death of a Scriptwriter", M.C. Beaton gives the reader a wickedly real view of the artifical lives of the employees in the television industry. There are times when reading the book is like having a good gossip with a close friend over tea and toast. The images are so vivid that one cannot help but wonder whether M.C. Beaton, herself, is not writing from experience and her own desires to kill off scriptwriters after she worked with the entertainment industry in the making of the Hamish Macbeth television series for the BBC.

Like other books in the series, Beaton's "Death of a Bore" is filled with humor, especially when the village ladies, led by the vicar's wife, Mrs. Wellington, once again attempt to get Hamish married off.

All in all, the book is a good read. It teases your intellect with a mystery. It delights your sensitivities with satire as Hamish observes the world outside his beloved Highland village. The book tickles your funny bone when the village ladies are intent upon managing Hamish's life when he believes he is safely at home.

This is a truly wonderful series, and it remains fresh time after time. It always seems too long between books for me. Hamish is definitely my favourite copper, maverick though he may be. In this book we have a published writer who wants to hold a writing class in Lochdubh. Much to Macbeth's surprise a lot of villagers want to take this course. Macbeth goes to the first meeting to see what all the fuss is about, and finds out that the writer is an insufferable bore. Not only that, he gives Macbeth a bad feeling. Sure enough Macbeth's intuition is right, and the boring author is found murdered in his cottage. Macbeth has to wonder if any of his village friends was responisble for it. But he uses his not insubstanial brain cells, and manages to solve the crime. What a wonderful treat these books are! Ms. Beaton is truly the queen of the "Black Comedic murder". Now I can't wait until the next Hamish Macbeth mystery.

I guess, as I found by reading a couple other reviews here, that this is about the 21st book in this series. I just grab them off the library self as I get to them so am not at all sure which book follows which book. What is nice though, is that unlike some other "series books," you really do not have to read them in order, as each is a story which can stand alone. There are many reoccuring characters to be sure, but Beaton always manages to introduce another set of quirky highlnd folks in each of here Hamish books.

In this work, Death of A Bore, Hamish is faced with another murder (of course) and this time it is a newly arrived "famous" author who offers writing lessons, for a price, to members of the local area. The author is indeed a bore, actually an obnoxious twit, and by being so, there is no lack of suspects when he is found murdered.

We continue to follow Hamish's love life, what there is of it, and continue to follow some of the wonderful folks that inhabit his world. The plot is pretty simple, but, as always, fast paced and interesting.

This is one of those series that grow on you the more books of it you read. Picking up a Hamish Macbeth mystry is sort of like picking up an old friend. Highly recommend this very intertining book and this intertaining series.

It seems like a such a long time between books in the Hamish Macbeth mystery series, but such a short time actually reading the books. These books are light reading and can easily be read in an afternoon. The plots in all the books are a standard format with all the old characters from Lochdubb, a remote village in northern Scotland, and new characters added to each installment to add interest. The murder victim in this installment is a soap opera writer with an exaggerated opinion of his talents who offers to teach a writing class to the people of Lochdubb. He ends up first boring, then insulting, all of them, and his students are the prime suspects when he ends up being murdered. It's up to Hamish to solve the crime which he does with his usual flair. The villagers would like to see Hamish marry and settle down, but he always has romantic complications and is accused by one of his romantic interests of being more attached to his dog than he is to her. This is another good cozy mystery and an enjoyable read.

This is the twenty-first in a series of wonderful mysteries featuring the detective work of small town, Highland Scottish detective Hamish Macbeth, P.C. In this book, Hamish's life is troubled by a new arrival in the town, a boorish writer whose truest love is himself. But, when he is suddenly found dead, suspicion falls on citizens of the town. It's a sure thing that the Strathbane detectives will not get to the bottom of this thing, so it is up to Hamish to save the day, and bring a murderer to justice.

This is another homerun for M.C. Beaton (pseudonym of Marion Chesney). This book has all of the charm of the earlier books, staying in small town Scotland, and involving all sorts of interesting and quirky characters. Overall I thought that this was a great book, and a great mystery. If you like mysteries, or are merely interest in the Scottish Highlands, then you must get this book!

Pardon me, but I found this title to be inapt for the book. The victim, John Heppel, is a bad writer, acts in inconsiderate ways, displays immense egotism, and is generally despicable. But I didn't find him boring . . . just obnoxious. The book, too, is anything but boring.

What distinguishes this book from the run-of-the-mill mystery is the marvelous satirical humor displayed throughout. Hamish Macbeth avoids promotion. His superiors prove to be incompetent, unhappy, and in some cases driven to drink in this book. You can quickly see why he would be skeptical of becoming more like these people. John Heppel wins prizes for his books, has a great story about his gritty beginnings and attracts the interest of those don't know writing. In reality, the man is a phony in every dimension. M.C. Beaton has fun with that point in other ways as a local villager becomes sought after for a book that will be written in Gaelic, a language few can read, but which will look impressive on coffee tables in England. Women keep setting their sights on marrying Hamish, but it doesn't take much to distract them. Hamish finds his dog to be a better companion. It's a marvelously Scottish way of looking at the world that you'll enjoy.

What's the story about? Hamish is deeply concerned for writer John Heppel when Hamish notices that Heppel is offering a writing class. Doesn't Heppel know there's good telly on that night? Hamish, in turn, is astonished to find out that virtually the whole village has signed up for the class, hoping to become famous. The classes turn out to be a disappointment when Heppel displays disdain for his students. Refund is the word most often heard among the curses. In fact, many of the villagers in Lochdubh are captured on film threatening Heppel. When Heppel turns up dead, suspicion centers on Lochdubh . . . but Hamish is unconvinced. He wants to know more about a script that Heppel has written for Down in the Glen, a soap opera about Scotland. Why won't anyone show him a copy?

One of the most delicious moments in the story comes when Hamish gets a lead on information about the television show but is compelled to take the source of his lead out for a drunken evening. Another delightful scene involves Hamish going clubbing with the new schoolteacher, Frida. There's also a wonderful mini-story about a haunted island that will have you chuckling.

The book isn't a five-star novel, however. Why not? The murder plot is pretty silly and won't satisfy you. But the satire will keep you entertained nicely.

Poor Hamish MacBeth, unlucky at love, but incredibly lucky at murder. This delightful series, set in the tiny and somewhat homicidal town of Lochdubh is one of the best. You can't help but feel for poor Hamish, a seriously underambitious policeman who only wants to remain in Lochdubh, but keeps finding murders and murderers inhabiting his town. Makes you wonder why he wants to stay in Lochdubh. This time he finds the pompous, overbearing and thoroughly obnoxious 'Famous Writer' John Heppel, murdered by someone who didn't take criticism kindly. Although his archenemy, Inspector Blair is determined to take all the credit for solving the murder, as always Hamish comes through in the end. Unfortunately, Hamish is not so lucky when it comes to his involvement with his former fiancee Priscilla Halburthon-Smythe. She returns to Lochdubh (will this woman ever make up her mind?) at the same time as his former flame, Elspeth Grant, comes back to do a television story. Although Hamish is a champ at solving murders, the mysteries of women just seem to escape him. This is another great read from M.C. Beaton, just the thing for a rainy afternoon, a cozy fire, and a warm cup of whatever.

M.C. Beaton's series of novels set in Lochdubh in the Scottish Highlands, with gangly, red-haired, sloucher Hamish MacBeth as the detective are always entertaining and fun. This book is no different from any of the others in the series.

The books follow the same formula-- in this book it is the famous writer John Heppel who moves to a nearby village who raises MacBeth's hackles. Heppel offers a class in writing, and the villagers fall all over themselves to sign up, each filled with the notion that they will be the world's next great writer. However, the class is a sad disappointment when, instead of praising the efforts of the villagers, Heppel proceeds to mock and disparage their writing techniques.

Not too surprisingly, Heppel is killed shortly after the writing class, and as usual, MacBeth has to contend not only with finding the murderer, but taking care of his precious villagers and avoiding getting in the way of or getting any recognition from the new Superintendent from Strathbane, a woman who has definite designs on MacBeth.

These books are comfortingly familiar- the names and occupations of the victims change but everyting else is pretty much the same. MacBeth continues his romantic entanglements without letting himself commit to anyone. The village women try to interfere in MacBeth's lovelife. While solving the crime, MacBeth fixes little problems in the lives of the villagers. And when everything is neatly wrapped up, Hamish MacBeth goes back home, alone, to his dog. When the next book in the series comes out, this one will fade into the tapestry of the other Hamish MacBeth stories, where it, too, will be hard to distinguish from the others. But there's nothing wrong with formulaic familiarity if it is done well. And M.C. Beaton does it extremely well.

Scottish cop (constable on patrol) Hamish Macbeth has another murder on his hands. A successful, but unfeeling author by the name of John Heppel is killed on Macbeth's turf. At a session for hopeful writers, Heppel insulted a group of would be authors and made a lot of enemies. Any of the scorned would have liked to kill the man because of the despicable way that he ridiculed their work. Hamish can't believe any of his fellow villagers could do such a dastardly deed. He works hard to find the real killer and hopefully clear any of his villagers of the crime.

This is a really good series and filled with the delightful aura and appeal of Lochdubh, a small Scottish town where everyone knows one another.