Written by: M.C. Beaton
Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
Format: Unabridged

Off to a good start with Macbeth . .
Unfortunately for this one, 1/2 way through, but I couldn't finish -
vulgar language was ongoing and disruptive to any listening enjoyment
disappointed to have encountered this in the series ...

Grindell's narration is seamless and descriptive in voicing characters .
Unfortunately dialogue direction wasn't conducive to any listening enjoyment.
I anticipate an audiobook will be entertainment. This one wasn't.

Blackstone's recording was clear and even in volume, as expected.
Sadly, for this reader, the content is what was unexpected...

I just wish the author could have left her dubious political and social attitudes out of her writing... otherwise a good easy read.

2.8 stars !
It was good to see that even Hamish MacBeth gets stood up.
But the bittersweet relationship amongst the women in village Grim (sp?), although funny at times, got on my nerves after a while.
Unfortunately I found the conclusion disappointing.

I don’t think I’ve ever given a book a rating lower than 3 before. The only reason I didn’t give it 1 star is because I finished the book and didn’t completely hate it. It was an easy book to read, perfect for my holiday in Scotland, but I won’t be picking up another Hamid Macbeth book. The only reason I finished the book was because I wanted to find out whodunnit.

Not my favorite in the Hamish series, actually found it a bit boring.

I like these short mysteries.

I’m having a quandary with M.C. Beaton books at the moment - or this series, in that domestic violence frequently appears and there is often gaslighting of it rather than resolute condemnation. The weird thing is reading the “victim deserves it” attitude of some characters which frequently goes unchecked. I’ll persist for the moment but to be honest if it continues into future books I may have to walk away from this series.

Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec Sous le Feu des Projecteurs ?
"Les prochains épisodes paraissent à la fin du mois, je voulais donc me tenir à jour de cette série que j'apprécie tant et que je trouve toujours très réconfortante."

Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Toute une équipe de télévision débarque dans le secteur d'Hamish et vient semer le grain de sable qui ne manque jamais de faire dérailler les locaux ! Et les inimitiés sont tellement nombreuses que ce serait un miracle s'il n'y avait pas un meurtre..."

Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"Je crois que ce ne sera pas le plus mémorable des Hamish Macbeth mais ça ne m'a pas empêchée de prendre toujours le même plaisir à la lecture. Peut-être que cela vient du fait que la plupart des personnages sont détestables, il n'y a pas grand monde à sauver ici, ou du fait qu'il n'arrive pas vraiment grand chose au jeune policier lui-même, si ce n'est de se faire continuellement poser des lapins ce qui, je le confesse, m'a tout de même bien amusée. Quoi qu'il en soit, si vous aimez déjà la série, vous devriez passer un agréable moment. J'ai lu quelque part que c'était comme rendre visite à de vieux amis et c'est exactement ce que je ressens."

Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"Les points négatifs sont toujours un peu les mêmes aussi et j'ai hâte que Priscilla soit définitivement une page tournée mais est-ce que ce sera vraiment le cas un jour ? J'en doute de plus en plus."

http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...

We’ve now read a dozen of these formulaic stories about a low profile village constable, Hamish Macbeth, set in the north Scotland highlands. We know the characters and what to expect, and Beaton consistently meets those expectations with a light-hearted, but frequently intriguing, low-violence mystery.

“Scriptwriter” indeed follows the pattern – when a TV company decides to film a new series, based on the now mostly obscure novels of author Patricia Martyn-Broyd, they give the new scriptwriter too much control. He not only grossly alters the plot, changing the leading lady from an older aristocrat to a sometimes naked starlet (!), but also tries to tell everybody else how to do their jobs. When he and the starlet both turn up murdered, and another dead body is found, the police superiors decide it’s a murder-suicide – case solved. Hamish thinks all that is a little too pat; and we readers know more is at hand when only part-way through the book. Eventually, Hamish worms more information out of various parties and comes up with his own solution. Adding to the entertainment is his romantic interest in one of the assistant producers, who proceeds to stand him up for dinner at a fancy restaurant on like four different occasions.

So – another typical entry in this typically charming set of tales.

Thankfully, the second novel of the year was more enjoyable.

In this installment of the Hamish Macbeth series, we see Hamish feeling a little down in the dumps. He decides to befriend an author, Patricia Martyn-Boyd, and immediately regrets it, as Patricia is a vain and rude woman. However, things are soon about to become more interesting, when a film crew decides to film a television series in the Highlands, based on Patricia's novels.

What results is MC Beaton at almost the top of her game. This novel is full of black humour, a well-crafted mystery, and outrageous characters. And, for once, the side-plots add to the story and not diminish it. I really enjoyed the side-plot involving the vicar of Drim's wife. In fact, I think I may have enjoyed that more that the main story. The only thing I don't like in these stories is the way the suspects are introduced one after the other before the murder happens. We're given a few paragraphs for each character on why they hate the victim. It's probably a quick way of doing it, but I'd prefer the suspects come out in the story naturally.

There were a few regulars from Lochdubh making an appearance, but not many. I always enjoy seeing them again, so am hoping they'll make more appearances.

Looking forward to more visits to Lochdubh.

This series just never gets old for me.  I love that I can pick up any book in the series and get a fun mystery full of over the top dramatic characters and good old reliable Hamish.  This one actually really stumped me, because there just seemed to be so many suspects.  I do wish we got to see a few more locals in this book, but I enjoyed the movie set theme and the pompous film people.

I think M.C. Beaton started getting better as a writer with these last two books. The plots are a little tighter, the characters fleshed out a little, and Hamish is becoming less of a caricature and more of a person. Or maybe I've just grown to like the series more. Sometimes it's a bit difficult to keep track of all the villages and all the highlanders and their strange ways. But I love how all the loose ends come together and the mystery gets solved, if not Hamish's love life, which suffers quite a few blows this time around.

In all the books written by Beaton, under whatever name, her favorite word is "waspish." It's used several times in EVERY. SINGLE. BOOK.