Once again death and murder finds its way to Lochdubh. And while series protagonist, Hamish MacBeth, may bemoan the encroachments of both crime and newcomers to his idyllic village, I can only rejoice that there finally is another enjoyable Hamish MacBeth mystery to curl up with and unwind.
To the villagers of Lochdubh, newcomer Effie Garrard comes across as being romantic dreamer. After all, why else would a talented artist decide to move up to the remote Highlands lock, stock and barrel? But it is only when another artist, bluff and energetic Jock Flemming moves into the village that everyone begins to suspect that there may be something not quite right with Effie. First she starts stalking Jock Flemming, then she let's slip that they're engaged, and then finally that she's pregnant with his child! Jock, of course angrily denies all of Effie's claims, and when after a confrontation with Jock, Effie is found dead on a mountain cleft, the common wisdom is that she committed suicide. But even though the police have closed the case, Hamish's instincts tell him that there is more to Effie's death than meets the eye, and that she was actually murdered. And so he starts investigating, and discovering that a great many people seem to have a lot to hide. Unfortunately, the investigation also seems to be going no where. And then there is another murder; and one, Hamish is convinced that is connected to Effie. The puzzling thing for Hamish though, is how the murderer is able to pull of these killings without being spotted. Hamish seems to be up against a very skillful and determined killer with nerves of steel, but one, nonetheless he's determined to apprehend at all cost...
Even though the storyline was a rather uncomplicated one, with few complex twists and turns, "Death of a Dreamer" did prove to be a very absorbing read, and one that did keep me guessing for a bit. So that even though Hamish relied heavily on his famous intuition (with some clues) to solve the case, this didn't detract at all because the charm of "Death of a Dreamer" (and indeed the series) lies in the interactions between all the characters in the novel, Hamish's propensity to make a mess of his romantic life, and the lightly ironic yet crisp tone of the author's prose style. All together, these made "Death of a Dreamer" a wonderfully absorbing and enjoyable read, and just the right change of pace for someone (me) who has been starting but not finishing some rather badly written and very gory mysteries! All in all a very pleasurable 4 star read.
