Customer Reviews

Death of a Snob

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The Happy Wanderer health farm on the weird little island of Eileencraig is the setting for an odd cast of characters and (of course) a murder. Hamish MacBeth, police constable of the Highland village of Lochdubh, is implored by ex-fiancé Priscilla to come to the rescue of an acquaintance who runs and owns the health farm and has found herself the victim of a couple of "accidents." Hamish finds it a excellent excuse to mooch a free holiday. A wee fey truck along with Beaton's usual delightful dialogue, well drawn characters and starkly vivid landscape are only part of the charm of this story. The murder victim, is as always, totally unlikable, the suspects numerous, and the plot twists and turns but never loses its pace. Will this be the turning point for the unlucky in love Hamish? Or the final straw in the career of this ever un-ambitious police constable? A clever whodunit, with all the wonderful bits and pieces Ms. Beaton formulaically delivers in an artfully distinct manner.

This book is one of the best in the whole Hamish Macbeth series. I highly recommend it!

It's Christmas, and Hamish is sick. The unlikable Jane Wetherby from the island of Eileencraig thinks someone's trying to kill her. She runs a health farm, where lots of interesting characters are staying, all of whom, of course, become suspects in what leads to murder. DEATH OF A SNOB may be the 4th in the Hamish Macbeth series -- I've lost count. It's coprighted 1991. The awkward relationship between Hamish and Priscilla contines. This is a real cozy in the old tradition, with a group brought together on an island. It's fun, short, and light, but also moody and dark, with some elements of a real "thriller" thrown in, along with some fun characters. Once again, Beaton has made the nasty one so nasty that I'd have wanted to kill that one myself!

"Death of a Snob" is the sixth Hamish Macbeth novel. Hamish is invited by Jane Wetherby to spend Christmas with her on the island of Eileencraig in the Herbrides. She believes that someone may be trying to kill her and wants Hamish to determine if someone is indeed trying to kill her. She has other guests at her health farm; her ex-husband, John, Harriet Shaw, a writer of cookbooks, Ian and Sheila Carpenter, and Diarmuid and Heather Todd. Heather Todd is a terrible snob and is not friendly with anyone including her husband. Heather is found dead in the curve of an overhanging rock at the beach. Hamish notices that she has a broken neck and a bad bruise on the side of it. The police think it is an accident, but Hamish is convinced that it is murder. With the help of Harriet Shaw, Hamish investigates. This is a good read and a very good addition to the series.

Beaton continues to delight with her quaint Hamish MacBeth series.

This time around, Hamish spends Christmas on a tiny Scottish Island to help the friend of a friend... who's worried that she'll soon be harmed. Soon enough, there's a dead body, all right, but it's not who you expect and Hamish must solve the crime.

As with other stories early in this series, the incidental characters are paper-thin, but MacBeth, Priscilla and the Lochdubh regulars are nicely fleshed out and Beaton's writing makes for a fast yet fun read.

Police Constable Hamish Macbeth is miserable. He's sick . . . and no one seems to notice. He also is looking forward to visiting his family on his Christmas holiday . . . until he's warned off because his aunt who cannot stand him is coming from America. In a foul mood, he's not too excited when Priscilla Hallburton-Smythe asks him to talk to a guest, Jane Wetherby, at the family hotel (formerly the family castle) about two brushes with death and an inauspicious tea leaf reading. Meeting Jane, he's quickly impressed by her looks, her wealth, and her health farm (the Happy Wanderer) on remote Eileencraig. His mood lifts when he's able to inveigle an invitation for a free trip over Christmas to "look into things there." He leaves the exhausted Priscilla to trek to his parents' home to deliver Christmas presents in a terrible blizzard . . . and promptly forgets about her while becoming intrigued by the widowed cookbook author, Harriet Shaw, who becomes Dr. Watson to his Sherlock Holmes.

Naturally, Hamish is trying to fit in with the other guests . . . and not indicate that he's a policeman on holiday with a purpose. Choosing a cover as a forester, he's ripped up one side and down the other by one of the guests, Heather Todd, who is a social climbing communist sympathizer who favors any trendy left-wing cause for which she can hold a party. But you cannot blame Heather too much for her self-absorption: Her husband mainly likes to admire himself in the mirror. The other guests don't endear themselves to Hamish very much either. He soon wishes that he were anywhere else. And then, mysterious events start to occur. Jane disappears, and Hamish sets out to find her. Then one of the guests disappears and the search is even more challenging.

The mystery is a delightful one, with fair clues to help you figure out who did what to whom. The detection process is also fun. Hamish's attraction to Heather provides lots of amusing scenes. Priscilla's Christmas story will be one you'll long think about.

The book's only weakness is that the victim is painted in harsher colors than are needed for the story. That creates a memorable character, but hardly a realistic one.

This is one of the best examples of a cozy Christmas mystery that I've read for awhile. Hamish is at loose ends on Lochdubh. He can't go to his parents' house since there is going to be an aunt there who hates him. Priscilla is too busy with her father's hotel, so he accepts an invitation to go to lonely, remote Eileencraig for the holidays. One of Priscilla's acquaintances has asked him to come in an unofficial capacity to investigate whether or not there is someone trying to kill her. While he's there another resident at the health farm turns up dead, and Hamish finds himself in the middle of a murder again. The best thing about this book is a native islander called Geordie and his possessed truck. Beaton never fails to amuse and Hamish is as adorable as ever.

Down with a cold, an already grumpy Hamish Macbeth discovers he can't go home for Christmas in one of the most hilarious yet poignant entries in this marvelous mystery series by M.C. Beaton. This is most definitely one of my all time favorites in this delightful series set in the Scottish Highlands. Feeling sorry for himself and nye on the verge of death, at least in his own mind, Hamish will see a light at the end of his predicament which will lead to a windy and eventful holiday in Eileencraig.

When a miserable Macbeth discovers he can't go home for Christmas because a relative who intensely dislikes him is also coming, things could not look bleaker for our favorite constable. Even a visit from Priscilla can't cheer the bloke up, especially since she is sending an acquaintance by for him to help in spite of the fact he is so near to death's door! Jane is all cleavage and legs, espousing trendy babble from magazines. Hamish immediately dismisses her feeling that someone might want her dead this holiday season until he realizes there will be a big Christmas feast at her Happy Wanderer health farm in Eileencraig. Perhaps the lass is in danger after all!

The guests include Jane's ex and an odd assortment of people which prove to be the ingredients for murder, not a fun holiday. There is one bright spot as Hamish hits it off with a cookbook writer named Harriet and together they try to enjoy themselves despite the others. But when the terribly annoying Heather is found with her neck broken down the cliffs, and the locals in charge want to rule it an accident, a call to Jimmy has Blair coming down near Christmas just in case his least favorite constable is right. Hamish knows it was murder, but since it was dark, and she and Jane had switched yellow jackets, he must first discern if her death was murder by mistake.

While Hamish and Harriet try to discover the who and what of it all, Priscilla offers to deliver his presents to his parents and siblings and ends up having the best Christmas of her entire life! The mystery will end in Glasgow, and may have more to do with a trashy romance novel than searing passions. A fun feel of Christmas pervades this one, and more than a touch of poignancy at the conclusion. Hamish will run headlong into romantic disappointment as is so often the case in the series. Priscilla could prove the remedy but once again she and Hamish are just out of sync enough to leave everything up in the air. At least Towser remains as a constable's best friend to comfort him.

My wife and I each took a Macbeth mystery on a brief getaway to the Blue Mountains recently and I'm glad I chose this one. It was a delight from start to finish. Beaton always writes with a keen and observant eye for human nature, and never have the situations been quirkier or Hamish's reactions to them more bitingly hilarious than in Death of a Snob. Hamish Macbeth fans will find humor and charm at the description of him speaking quite seriously to a Fiat truck! Readers will find themselves laughing out loud in the beginning and wondering who did it near the end. A genuinely wonderful entry from a wonderful mystery series.

What is it with men and colds? Men who could brush off a gunshot wound will be felled by the slightest sniffle; it's amazing. Hamish is a perfect example of that in this book, and while it might seem like it should be annoying, it's really not. It's more of a 'shake your head and chuckle' feeling. And maybe it's nice to see that even a fictional character - one you're supposed to like - can still have faults.

We also learn more about Hamish and his family in this story, which makes up for the lack of village characters. The cast on the island is all well and good, but they're not the same as the crazy bunch at Lochdubh (but then, how many murders can Lochdubh have before it's a ghost town?). I will admit I loved the character of the truck, though I thought the relationship with Harriet just didn't quite ring true (I can't tell you exactly why, it just felt off).

The mystery itself was interesting, though not one I think is particularly solvable by the reader (if that is important to you). It had just enough twists to keep it interesting, but not so many you get frustrated. On the whole, a very decent cozy and a good addition to the Hamish series.

Hamish McBeth is at loose ends for the holidays. His parents are being visited by an aunt who hates him and Priscilla is too busy with her new hotel to have time for him. When a friend of hers thinks that someone is trying to kill her, she invites Hamish to her posh Health Spa for the holidays to protect her, only she isn't the guest who is in danger.

As usual the author has written a mystery that the reader can get completely absorbed in. The characters are quirky and the setting properly ominous. Another great read.