Liked it

I enjoyed this book but not as much as Death of a dentist. I felt as if some of the minor plus are used to add fillers to the book.
None of the main women characters were likeable and I feel sorry for Hamish. Will he ever get the girls.
I read this book from the lending library and recommend it.

After listening to several of MC Beaton's earlier Hamish Macbeth mysteries, I really enjoyed them. I then got this one and was soo disappointed. FIrst of all, it was a different guy reading the book and wasn't nearly as good and then had to listen to the vulgar language and crude jokes.

I enjoyed these books because they were pretty clean and a great mystery. I couldn't even finish this one and just turned it off.

This one had me stumped. I mean at first I thought I knew who did the crimes, but then changed my mind. Then at the end I find out I was right at first. That made me like this story more for the smooth way it moved along and kept me second guessing myself. At least this one did not have a ton of murders as some of Mrs. Beaton's stories have. I listened to the Audio CD and enjoyed the voice actor. Great job.

3.5 stars. There is something figuratively and literally refreshing about returning to the Scottish Highlands when the temperature and humidity are soaring outside. It was a light read with a solid plot and an interesting cast of protagonists. The end, as sometimes is the case with this series, sort of came out of nowhere. But I will visit these characters again.

A very nasty book. I couldn't get past the first few chapters. Was the author making a statement about the Hamsish MCBeth TV show on BBC Scotland? It is certainly not like her books, but they cast Hamish well.

Death of a Scriptwriter by M.C. Beaton

Blurb

With the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe away in London, Lochdubh Constable Hamish Macbeth pines for company during the long Scottish winter. He gets his wish -- and more -- when a troupe of flashy, urbane filmmakers clamors into the nearby town of Drim. Before long bedlam erupts around their make-believe mystery ...and culminates in the sudden appearance of one very real corpse.

The initial suspect in the killing is one Patricia Martyn-Broyd, the aging mystery writer furious that her musty old cozies are getting a risque face-lift in their TV reincarnation. Yet, going behind the scenes, Hamish soon finds a town full of locals bitten by the movie bug and a cast of quarreling show business types, all harboring their own secrets, lies, and hidden agendas. And as the culprit strikes again, Hamish must quickly find the right killer -- or script the wrong finale to a show gone murderously awry.

My Opinion

These are short, fun reads with some great characters. I am working through this series as audiobooks and at roughly 5-6 hours they are finished before you know it. I think this is the first Hamish Macbeth book where I have a suspicion as to who the murderer was - I was still wrong.

Rating 4/5

نه نه نه و نه!
من گول نمره‌ی بالای کتاب رو نمیخورم و بهش یک ستاره بیشتر نمیدم. دو هفته اس که از مرینگ میرم سالزبورگ و این کتابو با خودم میارم تا تمومش کنم ولی امروز دیگه واقعا از دستش کلافه شدم.
من عادت دارم کتاب‌های سری رو شلخته بخونم. این بهم کمک میکنه که یک، از تخیل خودم کمک بگیرم و جاهای خالی رو پر کنم، دو، نشون میده که نویسنده چقدر تبحر داره که داستانشو برام تعریف کنه.
تا الان این روش کتابخونیم هیچ وقت ناامیدم نکرده بود تا این دفعه! هرچند مطمئن نیستم که مشکل از کتاب باشه. مطمئنم که از هر کدومش شروع میکردم احتمالا همین آش بوده و همین کاسه!
من هری پاتر، پوآرو، شرلوک هلمز و حتی مونتالبانوی عزیزمو همین طوری خوندم.
و حالا این کتاب…
من دوست دارم کتاب جنایی همون فصل اول تکلیفشو روشن کنه. ولی این کتابه ۲۰۰ صفحه‌ای تا حدودای صفحه‌ی ۷۰ حرفی از قتل نمیزنه.
کتاب پر از جزییات مسخره‌اس که ما میتونستیم همین جزییات رو با پلیس متوجه بشیم و نیازی نبود نویسنده پرچونگی کنه.
اگه الان به من بگن برو دانشگاه آکسفورد و در مورد مونتالبانو لکچر بده با کمال میل اینکارو میکنم. ولی در مقابل میتونم بگم هیچ شناختی از همیش مکبث ندارم.
نویسنده حتی زحمت نکشید ما رو با قهرمان کتابش آشنا کنه.
درنهایت، به نظرم پاتریشیا دقیقا خود نویسنده است، کتابی پر از جزییات خسته کننده.
حیف که دستم بستس و کتاب دیگه‌ای با خودم نیوردم. ؛(

This one, #14 (of almost 33!) is about dreams of small-village people, and even bigger-city people, for a rosier, more exciting life starring them. Dreams of being important for those precious fifteen minutes of fame. A bit of acting as an extra in a television film is enough to start life-changing things! Being given a line to say as an extra in the film is enough to get you a brick through your front window. There are no pets in this one and Priscilla is only a promise--she has put off her visit to the village. But there are several murders and a bit of a surprise denouement. One of the best!

Loved this wonderful tale

With the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe away in London, Lochdubh Constable Hamish Macbeth pines for company during the long Scottish winter. He gets his wish -- and more -- when a troupe of flashy, urbane filmmakers clamors into the nearby town of Drim. Before long bedlam erupts around their make-believe mystery ...and culminates in the sudden appearance of one very real corpse.
The initial suspect in the killing is one Patricia Martyn-Broyd, the aging mystery writer furious that her musty old cozies are getting a risque face-lift in their TV reincarnation. Yet, going behind the scenes, Hamish soon finds a town full of locals bitten by the movie bug and a cast of quarreling show business types, all harboring their own secrets, lies, and hidden agendas. And as the culprit strikes again, Hamish must quickly find the right killer -- or script the wrong finale to a show gone murderously awry.

The Hamish Macbeth books are great ones to keep by the bedside for "before you go to sleep" reads. They are certainly not mystery classics but are short, rather clever, and have some funny continuing characters.

Constable Hamish Macbeth lives in a tiny village in cold, and isolated Northern Scotland where nothing ever happens.......except for murders galore! He is a smart fellow but just wants to stay as a Constable since he enjoys that life and has turned down promotions time after time. During this adventure, a television film crew has moved into a neighboring village to adapt a story written by a rather unknown author whose books are dated and boring. But the director intends to turn this book into a rather pornographic program which throws the village into a furor. It so happens that the author of these books has a cottage nearby and comes to Hamish complaining and asking for advice. Ever helpful, Hamish becomes involved and then the murders begin.

Of course, the plot is totally off-the wall but that is what makes these little books so entertaining. And the ending comes as somewhat as a surprise. Pure fun for late night reading.

That was quite nice. I mean, listen Priscilla, I like you, but stories without you and the relationship drama are just better. We had a nice cast of suspects her, multiple murders, some cheeky critique of how some stories are warped into something unrecognizable when adapted for TV... the ending and the solution were somewhat disappointing, however.