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Summary: Death of a Glutton
Review: "Death of a Glutton" is the eighth Hamish Macbeth mystery by M.C. Beaton set in the Scottish Highlands town of Lochdubh. An exclusive dating service, Checkmate, is having some of their members meet at the Tommel Castle Hotel which is owned by Colonel Halburton-Smythe, father of Priscilla, of whom Hamish is very fond. The dating service is owned by two women, Maria Worth and Peta Gore. Peta is a terrible glutton, eating everything in sight, and making people so mad that they think of ways to get rid of her. When she is found dead with an apple stuck in her mouth, it is up to Hamish to find the murderer. As usual, he upstages Inspector Blair from Strathbane. I am reading these novels in order, and I think that this is the best one to date. It is highly recommended.
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Summary: Lots of quirky characters gathered at the manse.
Review: DEATH OF A GLUTTON is great fun. The glutton is immensely repulsive, and by the time the death occurs, you'll be ready to commit the murder yourself! I really like Hamish Macbeth more and more, and there's a fun interplay between Hamish and Priscilla. But I'm reading the series out of order, so I get confused by their on again/off again relationship. And that's a truly interesting element, so do try to read them in order. (I believe this is number 8 in a series that starts with DEATH OF A GOSSIP.) At 168 pages, this is a good, quick read -- short and a lot of fun.
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Summary: An tasty bit of stuff for the Hamish Macbeth fan...
Review: For a quaint Scottish town there's plenty of murders that take place there. Luckily, the unaspiring by astute constable Hamish Macbeth is on hand once again to woo the ladies, mooch coffee from Priscilla, be a thorn in Inspector Blair's side, and solve the mystery.Beaton's formulaic approach is ever apparent and her supporting characters are laughable, as always, beyond these two faults, however, the writing is much better than in previous stories. Beaton continues to shine and really shows her stuff not when she deals with the murder but as she develops the Macbeth character. In doing that she provides, once more, a light, fun, and well-worth-reading book.
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Summary: Slow Moving, quick thinking Hamish at his best.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Grant it we didn't get too much of the eccentric villagers in this one, but we still had Hamish. And he is his usual self here. Murder occurs at his beloved Priscilla's hotel when a party of people from a dating agency are in residence. The woman who is murdered is particulary odious. She's a huge, fat woman with terrible table manners, and it's almost a relief to everyone when she is found dead. Hamish needs to solve the murder in spite of Blair's incompetence, and he manages to put everything together to do that. Again, the book is totally carried by Hamish. What a character he is!
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Summary: Slow Moving, quick thinking Hamish at his best.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Grant it we didn't get too much of the eccentric villagers in this one, but we still had Hamish. And he is his usual self here. Murder occurs at his beloved Priscilla's hotel when a party of people from a dating agency are in residence. The woman who is murdered is particulary odious. She's a huge, fat woman with terrible table manners, and it's almost a relief to everyone when she is found dead. Hamish needs to solve the murder in spite of Blair's incompetence, and he manages to put everything together to do that. Again, the book is totally carried by Hamish. What a character he is!
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Summary: This story is like a gun, you hit , you aim, you run...
Review: Quirky, funny and fast moving, with a bit of revolting sense of humor on part of Petra's eatting habits, this is a good fast read, that will satisfy those who love mysteries, and those who enjoy a bit of a good humor now and then.
The only draw back is the amount of characters introduced. I had a bit of a hard time remembering who's who, but once I got into the story it all made sense.
I appreciated the fact that by the time the book ended and the guilty was revealed I wasn't saying "who's that?" Great read, M.C Beaton fans must dive into this one.
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Summary: Hamish Macbeth's Diet Revolution
Review: Well, perhaps not exactly a diet revolution, but even the reader will want to be the one to murder this disgusting glutton. Ms. Beaton once again weaves her highland magic, gathering together some real characters, killing off the figure who has absolutely no redeeming qualities, and letting the reader chase all the red herrings as Police Constable Hamish Macbeth (ever unambitious, ever the mooch, extremely unlucky in love and always in trouble with headquarters) takes us along for the ride. It is summer in the highlands of Scotland, and beautifully etched by the author, who sketches the characters with the same even hand. Delightful formula, but never exactly predictable.
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Summary: A Dating service invades Tormel Castle Hotel
Review: When a hunting party cancels their reservations to Tormel Castle Hotel, Priscilla takes a reservation from the Checkmate Marital Brokerage, much to her father's dismay. Maria Worth, who runs the agency, carefully made her plans to exclude her partner, Petra, a narcissistic glutton who alienates the paying clientele, using the agency as her own private dating service. Maria has carefully screened a few couples and hopes that the beautiful and remote highland setting will promote romance. Unfortunately, Petra finds them and brings along her beautiful and empty headed niece. Maria is afraid that all her plans will be upset. Petra grosses out all in the hotel including the chef, who bets the locals that he can make her eat anything including a dead cat(she does). Fortunately, the couples unite against Petra and her niece and pair off, not in the intended groups, but they are happy enough. One day Petra disappears and is found dead by the gravel quarry with an apple in her mouth. It is up to Hamish to solve the crime, and Priscilla's business. This is a very funny mystery. The characters are slightly bizarre, but believable and their romantic twists and turns are pretty amusing. Hamish is at his lazy best, trying to keep his village safe, and himself from being promoted again.
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Summary: A Dating service invades Tormel Castle Hotel
Review: When a hunting party cancels their reservations to Tormel Castle Hotel, Priscilla takes a reservation from the Checkmate Marital Brokerage, much to her father's dismay. Maria Worth, who runs the agency, carefully made her plans to exclude her partner, Petra, a narcissistic glutton who alienates the paying clientele, using the agency as her own private dating service. Maria has carefully screened a few couples and hopes that the beautiful and remote highland setting will promote romance. Unfortunately, Petra finds them and brings along her beautiful and empty headed niece. Maria is afraid that all her plans will be upset. Petra grosses out all in the hotel including the chef, who bets the locals that he can make her eat anything including a dead cat(she does). Fortunately, the couples unite against Petra and her niece and pair off, not in the intended groups, but they are happy enough. One day Petra disappears and is found dead by the gravel quarry with an apple in her mouth. It is up to Hamish to solve the crime, and Priscilla's business. This is a very funny mystery. The characters are slightly bizarre, but believable and their romantic twists and turns are pretty amusing. Hamish is at his lazy best, trying to keep his village safe, and himself from being promoted again.
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