Death of a Cad

February 1, 1987
Beaton's charming Constable Hamish Macbeth returns in the sequel to Death of a Gossip, a mirthful mystery set in the Scottish Highlands. Hamish's time is taken up with investigating a death at the Halburton-Smythe castle, and with subtly wooing the daughter of the house, Priscilla, who has brought her fiance Henry Withering to meet her parents and houseguests. Among them is Peter Bartlett, loathed by almost everyone present and found dead in the morning. The constable's inept superiors declare the death an accident, but Hamish produces evidence of murder, after which he eliminates all the suspects except the guilty one. In the course of these events, Priscilla's feelings for Henry weaken and, in contrast, flourish for Hamish, which gives hints of the next entry in the delightful series.

Constable Hamish Macbeth, a one-man police force in Scotland's Highlands, has a suspicious death on his hands. The victim is a cad staying at a local estate. The trouble is that everyone but Macbeth thinks it's an accident. Can he find out whodunit and woo the comely daughter of the estate? It takes Davina Porter a little time to settle into the Scottish accent of the main character. But when she does, her narration sparkles. Her voice is lyrical when it needs to be, but low and gruff when she becomes the male characters. Not only is her narrative pacing adept, but she succinctly captures the cadence of Scottish speech. P.B.J. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine