Rating: 
Summary: Quirky characters make for a light, quick read
Review: First of the Hamish MacBeth series, this book introduces the quirky country constable who -- while not ambitious -- refuses to take a back seat to the big city Detective Inspector sent to solve Lochdubh's murder.It's a short, light, quick reading book that centers on the characters moreso than the murder. Luckily, Beaton's dialog is snappy, enough so that you can overlook some two-dimensionality in supporting characters and some all too heavy-handed contrivance plot-wise. Then too, the Hamish MacBeth character is so very interesting and well thought, that whatever character flaws there may be in the book, you don't care as long as you can spend some time with MacBeth.... ....And you do get to spend most of the last half of the book with MacBeth, puzzling out the mystery and scrounging free tea and sandwiches from the locals. Not a bad way to spend day.
Rating: 
Summary: major disappointment
Review: I am always in favor of a light hearted mystery, but I was very disappointed in this book. While the descriptive language in this book is positively delicious, I found the characters to be mousy, nervous, unbelievable and annoying to the point that I didn't really care what happened to them. The mystery element was not very well crafted either; each of the characters was given motive for murder in a not-very-subtle way, there wasn't much in the way of plot twists, and suspense was very minimal. No goosebumps or delicious anticipation here, just disgust over unrealistic insipidity of the characters' actions. I could very happily have stopped halfway through without caring that I didn't know how it turned out. Don't waste your time, if you want a fun mystery read, try one of Diane Mott Davidsons culinary mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: A Charming Cozy
Review: I have read all of the Agatha Raisin series, and I am a great fan of M.C. Beaton's style of cozy, but this is the first Hamish Macbeth book I've read. They are as different from Agatha Raisin as could be, but just as enjoyable. Macbeth is a poky Scottish village constable who appears to not know how to even tie his shoes, but when he sets his mind on discovering a murderer, he shows that he has a mind like a steel trap. He has the Miss Marple knack of being able to compare people and situations to those he is familiar with, and he has the added help of many relatives throughout the world that he can call on for information. In this book Hamish solves the murder of a very nasty woman who has come to the village for a week long fishing school. It turns out that she is a gossip columnist for a tabloid newspaper, and she is at this school to dig up dirt on the other students. A very nasty character indeed, and there is certainly no lack of suspects. Great fun!
Rating:
Summary: A Charming Cozy
Review: I have read all of the Agatha Raisin series, and I am a great fan of M.C. Beaton's style of cozy, but this is the first Hamish Macbeth book I've read. They are as different from Agatha Raisin as could be, but just as enjoyable. Macbeth is a poky Scottish village constable who appears to not know how to even tie his shoes, but when he sets his mind on discovering a murderer, he shows that he has a mind like a steel trap. He has the Miss Marple knack of being able to compare people and situations to those he is familiar with, and he has the added help of many relatives throughout the world that he can call on for information. In this book Hamish solves the murder of a very nasty woman who has come to the village for a week long fishing school. It turns out that she is a gossip columnist for a tabloid newspaper, and she is at this school to dig up dirt on the other students. A very nasty character indeed, and there is certainly no lack of suspects. Great fun!
Rating:
Summary: go for Agatha instead
Review: I love the Agatha Raisin series that M.C. Beaton also writes, but she dropped the ball on Hamish here. I expected a likeable, if flawed, main character. But Priscilla's got it all right: The boy's too lazy and grasping to ever amount to anything. Want a fun mystery read? Go for the Agatha Raisin series, instead. This book was so dreadful that I couldn't finish it; I can hardly believe the same author is responsible for both series.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun.
Review: Since I began reading these Hamish Macbeth mysteries out of order, it's given me a bit of perspective. In DEATH OF A GOSSIP, the early Hamish (c 1985) is funnier and more awkward, and Priscillla is even more fragile, airy, feminine, and perfect. The whole thing is a little more edgy than some later ones. Beaton creates really unlikable characters -- in this case, the gossip columnist is truly obnoxious. I would have killed her myself. But, unlike some other Beaton books, there's no sense of place this time -- that is, no sense of picturing exactly where everybody was. I always love Beaton's sense of humor. I laughed from page one: "People who travel up here to the wilds of Scotland expect to be instructed by some great hairy Rob Roy, making jokes about saxpence and saying it's a braw bricht moonlicht nicht and lang may your lum reek and ghastly things like that." All in all, a so-so mystery, but a very fun time with Hamish.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant, traditional British mystery
Review: This is a cozy in the classic sense of the concept. There's just about as little violence as you can have while still having a murder. The story centers around a small group of diverse characters, in this case a vacation fishing school class. And, this book introduces a slueth, Hamish MacBeth, who makes Columbo look like a millionaire. The victim, Lady Jane, has made everyone (including you, the reader) ready to kill her with her evil inuendos. But who did it? Anyhow, a solid read for a snowy day with a cup of cocoa. MacBeth has a considerable amount of charm and I'll be reading more in this series. The Scottish scenery doesn't hurt either.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant, traditional British mystery
Review: This is a cozy in the classic sense of the concept. There's just about as little violence as you can have while still having a murder. The story centers around a small group of diverse characters, in this case a vacation fishing school class. And, this book introduces a slueth, Hamish MacBeth, who makes Columbo look like a millionaire. The victim, Lady Jane, has made everyone (including you, the reader) ready to kill her with her evil inuendos. But who did it? Anyhow, a solid read for a snowy day with a cup of cocoa. MacBeth has a considerable amount of charm and I'll be reading more in this series. The Scottish scenery doesn't hurt either.
Rating: 
Summary: Agatha Christie wannabe
Review: This is the first book in the Constable Hamish Macbeth Series. The story takes place in Scotland and revolves around the people who are attending the Lochdubh School of Casting: Salmon and Trout Fishing. The school is run by John and Heather Cartwright who are working hard to make the school a profitable endeavor. The guests include an American couple, an attorney, a secretary, a 12-year-old boy, and ex-army major, and a debutante. These people would have probably gotten along if it had not been for Lady Jane Winters. Lady Jane knows a guilty secret about each of the guests and she is not hesitant to proclaim the secret to everyone. The guests all loathe her, so it is not surprising when she shows up dead, on the end of someone's fishing pole. Hamish Macbeth, the village constable, comes on the scene, but he is not nearly as interesting as Agatha Christie's inimitable Hercule Poirot. Also the solution to the identity of the murderer is pretty straighforward and doesn't have the clever twist that many mystery writers add.
Rating:
Summary: Agatha Christie wannabe
Review: This is the first book in the Constable Hamish Macbeth Series. The story takes place in Scotland and revolves around the people who are attending the Lochdubh School of Casting: Salmon and Trout Fishing. The school is run by John and Heather Cartwright who are working hard to make the school a profitable endeavor. The guests include an American couple, an attorney, a secretary, a 12-year-old boy, and ex-army major, and a debutante. These people would have probably gotten along if it had not been for Lady Jane Winters. Lady Jane knows a guilty secret about each of the guests and she is not hesitant to proclaim the secret to everyone. The guests all loathe her, so it is not surprising when she shows up dead, on the end of someone's fishing pole. Hamish Macbeth, the village constable, comes on the scene, but he is not nearly as interesting as Agatha Christie's inimitable Hercule Poirot. Also the solution to the identity of the murderer is pretty straighforward and doesn't have the clever twist that many mystery writers add.
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