Death of a Village

January 6, 2003
Scottish policeman Hamish Macbeth tries to avoid a dreaded promotion while solving assorted crimes and crossing swords with pretty reporter Elspeth Grant in his episodic 18th outing (after 2002's Death of a Celebrity). Macbeth knows something is amiss in the village of Stoyre, because the residents have become even more religious and closemouthed than usual. Discovering and rooting out the cause will cost him dearly. All Macbeth's talents are on display as he performs a heroic rescue, outwits some crooks and meets violence with violence. For all his nonchalance, the laconic Macbeth does his best to protect his people and preserve his way of life among them. Beaton fans will rejoice.

June 1, 2003
Adult/High School-The village of Lochdubh, in the Scottish Highlands, seems to be peaceful enough, but Hamish Macbeth, the local policeman, keeps uncovering criminal activity almost by accident. There is something fishy going on over in the isolated village of Stoyre, too. With a clear-eyed understanding of people and an uncommon degree of common sense, Macbeth solves these riddles almost effortlessly. His real problem is not crime, but avoiding promotion; each time he catches a wrongdoer or saves a child, he comes to the attention of his superiors, who feel his talents are wasted in Lochdubh. But his life there, with its cottage police station, his dog, his hens and sheep, and an attractive new journalist on hand, suits Macbeth very well. And though the villagers think him lazy and unambitious, they don't want to see him go, either, as they would lose their police station if he were transferred. The trademark charm of the series-quirky humor, eccentric characters, and dark overtones-is in full swing here; fans will be well pleased, and readers new to Lochdubh can enjoy this as a stand-alone volume.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2003
Beaton adds a new twist to the standard murder-in-a-village plot. Something strange is happening in the quiet fishing village of Storye. A pervasive air of evil seems to linger over the cottages and the kirk of this unremarkable hamlet in the Scottish Highlands. Determined to expose the reason why the taciturn local residents are actively discouraging tourists, quirky Constable Hamish Macbeth decides to vacation in Storye for a few days. Leaving his comfortable home base in Lochdubh for more primitive digs up the coast, he himself becomes the victim of foul play. When an elderly woman is seemingly frightened to death by an inexplicable apparition, Hamish must uncover a secret the entire town is dying to protect. In addition, the less-than-ambitious Macbeth does his best to avoid a promotion after he solves a string of smaller mysteries artfully interwoven into the main plot. Another delightful installment in a perennially entertaining series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)