Customer Reviews

Death of a Cad

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the second book of the Hamish Macbeth series, picking up a few months after THE DEATH OF A GOSSIP.

The story opens as Priscilla Halburton-Smithe is driving her new fiance home to Lochdubh for a weekend houseparty at her parents' house. Tensions soon develop at the party, including the inclusion (or intrusion depending on your point of view) of local constable Macbeth into the group. Naturally there is soon a death to investigate, one that of course confuses all but our hero.

This is very much in the long tradition of cozy series mystery. The murder victim richly deserves his fate, the characters of those involved is more important than the action, and there is a large cast of recurring characters. Our hero manages to solve the crime while overcoming the incompetance of his superiors. There is even an ongoing romance.

If 'cozies' are your cup of tea you will definitely enjoy this series and will want to read them all.

The Hamish Macbeth books are wonderful. I only came to discover the Hamish books after reading the thoroughly enjoyable Agatha Raisin series written also by M.C. Beaton. In Hamish's village of Lochdubh, curious characters abound and this helps keep the true killer's identity hidden to the very end. I have now read all of the Hamish books and I highly recommend "Death of a Cad" and "Death of a prankster" as two of the best. There is a television series loosely based on the books. It is very amusing but completely different (not mysteries at all); more an "All creatures great and small" without the livestock. I encourage everyone to give Hamish a try. The books are light yet clever. I can't wait for the next one!

I'm new to the Hamish Macbeth series. I read Death of a Poison Pen (set later than this novel) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Poison Pen had a lot of charm and funny characters, something this series is known for.
Death of a Cad is not quite as good as that one. It starts out as more of a typical mystery with the usual rich, English suspects sitting around in a big house. But once Hamish gets into the act, it gets a lot better. If this is the first book in the series you read, you'll still enjoy it, but if your impression is lukewarm, don't stop with this book. Read Death of a Poison Pen and other books in the series. I think you'll be charmed by the humor and characterizations. I plan to read more of this series.

M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series is wonderful! I think I even enjoy him more than Agatha Raisin. He's funny, charming and smart. In this book Hamish gets drawn into a murder that happens in the house of his ladylove, Priscilla. Priscilla comes back to Lochdubh from a job in London with a new fiance in tow. Hamish has to stay on the sidelines and watch his beloved with another man. He handles even this appalling situation with grace and humour. But then a death occurs and Hamish is sure it's murder. He sets out to find the killer, but before he does another murder happens. But, never fear, he does solve the murder in the end, and it was a surprise to me.

This is the second book in the series, and we begin to see Priscilla's and Hamish's relationship take form. Though there is that pesky murder to deal with, although that seems more like background to the drama of the two of them working their way delicately about one another. It turns a plot-driven mystery into more of a character study. I might not have minded, except there is nothing remotely redeemable about Priscilla through most of this book. She's whiny and stupid and vapid. She can't even think on her own, and I cannot imagine what Hamish sees in her - other than she is described as very beautiful. In a lot of ways this story seems much older than it is, set at a time in the more distant past than the 1980s (like when Henry thinks to himself that woman shouldn't drive or wear pants, and Priscilla's overwhelming drive to please her parents).

If you're a fan of strong female protagonists, steer very clear of this book. It will drive you insane. Even Hamish is not in top form, but it could be that it's still early in the series. In later books he seems more... understandable. And you still haven't met a lot of the more colorful and interesting villagers - in later books they very much round out the story, making them more engaging and interesting.

The book has some bright spots, though, with some good dialogue and a pretty good mystery at the end. I'd say it's firmly middle-of-the-road as far as cozy mysteries go, if you can get past Priscilla.

Death of a Cad is the second book in the Hamish Macbeth mystery series. M.C. Beaton has her tongue stuck firmly in her cheek as she creates a quasi-Wodehouse country-castle romp mixed up with a murder mystery. To make matters more fun, one of the leading characters, Henry Withering, is an acclaimed playwright based on his latest upper class drawing-room work.

Here's the set-up. Priscilla Hallburton-Smythe has taken up a job in London to be able to find eligible men. Henry Withering spots her and decides his publicity shots will look much better with her at his side. He quickly proposes and Priscilla accepts based on her desire to please Mommy and Daddy. On the way home to introduce him to family and friends, Priscilla begins to have her doubts about the wisdom of the match. Matters quickly degrade when an unpleasant dinner is followed the next morning by a death, an apparent accident. But Police Constable Hamish Macbeth, the pride of Lochdubh in the Scottish Highlands, is skeptical. Soon, his doubts turn into evidence of foul play. (And that's a pretty good pun for a hunting accident involving a grouse shoot -- even if the high and mighty have been complaining about the shortage of grouse . . . you could even say they've been grousing.)

There are three stories intertwined in the book:

1. The engagement
2. The murder mystery
3. Conflict between Hamish and his superiors

In typical country novel fashion, the engagement story is really the best. The humor is improved by being warm, broad and nonstop.

The intellectual content of the book is raised by the subtle ways that Macbeth tracks down the murderer while fending off his superiors.

The least interesting part of the book is the actual murder mystery.

But don't mind that, you'll have a lot of fun with this one.

If you like to listen to audio books, I suggest you also enjoy Davina Porter's deft reading of the tale. Ms. Porter's sense of timing is perfect . . . even if her accents struggle from time to time.

I can't get enough of the books featuring Constable MacBeth, of that tiny village in northern Scotland--and even of his mongrel dog, Towser, that snores when he falls asleep on the constable's feet. MacBeth is tall, red-headed, penurious, and appears slightly dense in the head. But beneath it all is a good mind and a kindly heart.

There is a murder at a castle built in Victorian times and decorated with armor and medieval flags of recent manufacture. The victim is a drunken, insulting, womanizing cad whom no one likes. At first his death is ruled a suicide, but then Hamish MacBeth has a look at the facts and determines otherwise.

The plot is good but not especially ingenious. most of the characters are wonderful, as are the atmosphere of Scotland in the fall, and the author's eye and ear for detail. Even MacBeth's dog is endearing in his way. Consider this sample:

"Hamish fried a couple of herring for his dinner and gave Towser a bowl of Marvel Dog, a new dog food given to him free by the local shop to try out. Towser ate a mouthful and then tottered around the kitchen, making dismal retching sounds."

There are a good many books in this series now: this book was the second, after "Death of a Gossip." I've read most of them and will read them all. They are marvelous entertainments.

First Beaton i've ever read. A good introduction; certainly i shall read some more of the Hamish Macbeth series. The characters are mostly well done, more especially those to the forefront of the picture ~ Macbeth, the local copper, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, daughter of the local landowners, Henry, her fiancé, and Captain Peter Bartlett, the cad whose death causes the mystery. Oddly, i felt the level of writing was high all the way through, until the last half dozen pages, as Macbeth revealed the solution to the mystery. At that point, or perhaps as the murderer stopped denying it and suddenly gloated in the denoument, the quality fell precipitously. Still, six out of two hundred pages isn't a bad per centage of lower quality.

This is the second book in a series of cozy mysteries featuring red-haired Highlander, Hamish Macbeth, the constable for the sleepy village of Lochdubh in northern Scotland. Hamish, who is smitten with the blonde and cold beauty of Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, daughter of the local laird, has just discovered that she has recently become engaged to snooty London playwright, Henry Withering.

When Priscilla brings Henry to Lochdubh to meet her family, they throw a party in his honor. Unfortunately, one of the house guests, the highly unpleasant Captain Peter Bartlett, meets an untimely end while on a grouse hunt. Although Detective Chief Inspector Bair quickly declares the death to be a suicide, Hamish begs to differ, persuading Blair, much to his chagrin, that it was, indeed, murder.

During his investigation, Priscilla's enthusiasm for her fiancé begins to wane, while Hamish just keeps looking better and better in her eyes, until the seeds of a budding romance are firmly sown. Moreover, the book is laces with sly humor that is engaging, keeping the mood of the book light and highly enjoyable.

As with all cozy mysteries, it is not so much the mystery that is of import but the characters that revolve around the mystery. While the mysteries are intriguing, they are the framework around which the characters evolve. In the endearing character of Hamish Macbeth, the author has created a sure fire winner, who is bound to win many fans of the cozy mystery genre.

"Death of a Cad" is just one book in a series about a Scottish Constable, named Hamish Macbeth, who lives in a small town in Scotland. The descriptions of the town and the residents are excellent and the story lines are simple, but plausible.

If you enjoy light mysteries with a background of Scottish scenery, you will enjoy this book and the many others in the series. Probably these series of books would be enjoyed more by women than men.