Je viens de terminer le livre et j’avais presque envie de rire. Rarement lu une enquête et un dénouement aussi facile

This book is one of the most well-known cozies there are, so I bought it awhile ago when I found it on sale,a nd I don't regret it! This was a fun, fast-paced book that I devoured.

I loved the characters, especially Hamish. The fact that he wasn't the only POV this story was told from made him more likeable, in my eyes. Alice annoyed me, but I think she'd annoy anyone.

The setting was great, and so was the mystery. I wasn't too surprised at the killer, but there really weren't many suspects. so I don't think I would have ever been surprised by the killer. I really loved the way Hamish went around finding the killer, though, it really was a puzzle.

Overall a really good book I'll be looking for the next one!

Why have I never read any Hamish Macbeth books? They have been recommended to me several times over the years! I finally checked the first one out of the library after watching several episodes of the BBC TV show. Having just finished the first book in the series, I feel like I could dive into the series and read them all one right after the other. I can't do that since I have other books slated to be read first, but it sure would be enjoyable!

Speaking just of the book, it reminded me quite a lot of an Agatha Christie mystery - including an ensemble cast of suspects who each had an equally compelling motive for killing the very annoying gossip in their midst. Because of seeing the TV show first, I had a hard time picturing Hamish Macbeth with red hair and his dog as a "large slavering guard dog of indeterminate breed." But the differences between the TV show and the book didn't diminish my enjoyment of either.

After finishing the book, I felt like I'd taken a quick trip to the Scottish Highlands! I wish I could plan a trip there for real sometime soon, but I guess I'll have to settle for reading another in this series. I look forward to reading Death of a Cad sometime in the very near future.

I chuckled quite a few times while reading this book. While this one didn't make me chuckle, here is a favorite quote about Hamish Macbeth: "He was not going to be frightened because it was a murder investigation. All criminals were the same whether it was a theft in the school or poaching deer on the hills. You talked, asked questions, and listened and watched and waited."

Death of a Gossip is the first book in the Hamish Macbeth series by M. C. Beaton. Constable Hamish Macbeth was a laid-back village police officer who enjoyed the peace of Locdubh. However, Constable Hamish Macbeth peace was interrupted when Lady Jane Winters body founded in the Lake. Constable Hamish Macbeth had to think was the death of Lady Jane Winters murder or suicide. The arrival of the City law enforcement officers did not help Constable Hamish Macbeth investigation. The readers will continue to follow Constable Hamish Macbeth investigation to find out what happened to Lady Jane Winters.

Death of a Gossip is a lovely cozy mysteries and the first book I have read of M. C. Beaton, and I enjoy it. The portrayal of the characters in The Death of a Gossip by M. C. Beaton did a fantastic job of engaging me with the book from the beginning. I love how M. C. Beaton, intertwining her characters which ensured the engagement of the plot by her readers. I like the way, M. C. Beaton describes her settings which allow me to picture the area and the community. The Death of a Gossip was well written and researched by M. C. Macbeth, and in parts, I was unable to stop myself from laughing.

The readers of Death of a Gossip will learn about law enforcement procedures and their role in small rural communities in Scotland. Also, the readers of Death of a Gossip will see the devastation that gossip have on the people who are involved.

I recommend this book.

I really enjoyed the first Hamish Macbeth story, great cast of characters and a true old fashioned murder mystery in the Agatha C vein, but in a modern setting. Easy read, perfect for December, I’d say. Might do one more now.

A terrific first in the Hamish Macbeth series-a delightful whodunit (I did not even peg the right murderer!) introducing Scottish Highlander constable Macbeth. His dry wit and perseverance make him very likeable, and his relationship with Miss Priscilla Halburton-Smythe shows his vulnerable, dare I say, softer side. M.C. Beaton's knowledge of her native Scotland shines through with the beautiful locale and quirky characters. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Delightful little murder puzzle with Constable Macbeth and a cast of deranged characters in Loch Dubh. I'd forgotten how endearing the stories from M C Beaton can be

It's hard to dislike this book. But it's hard to think of it as anything more than cotton candy. The characters are pastiche, but fun pastiche in the jolly ol' highlands of Scotland. It's the very definition of a "cozy" mystery.

An engaging introduction to Constable Hamish Macbeth.

Hamish is so different from Agatha Raisin. He's utterly content to be mistaken as unintelligent and lazy. He mooches coffee and sandwiches from the nearby fishing school. He doesn't do much about local poachers because he (supposedly) does a bit of poaching himself. He's an easily dismissed man - despite his lanky frame and bright red hair - and that's just the way he likes it.

In reality, he's a kind man with an incredibly keen mind. Hamish's act allows him to disarm the suspects into revealing far more than they intend. Since no one thinks much of him as a copper, he can pop in and out without anyone guessing he's busily formulating theories. Theories he proves by calling on familial contacts far and wide to fill in the blanks on background checks and motivations. His methods are refreshingly unorthodox, yet completely logical: maintaining his persona of uselessness requires a fair amount of work.

The style of writing differs from the Agatha Raisin series. From the get-go, we're privy to several different points of view. The characters therefore seem more vivid, making it easy to fall headlong into the story. Varying the POV also gives Hamish an enigmatic air, sparking this reader's curiosity.

Oh, dear. Looks like another series binge-read is in order.

Coworker recommend this to me after overhearing me complain about the many-headed beast that is the "cozy mystery" genre. The various ultra-high-concept series that will have something like...I don't know...a dog walking college student who solves crimes involving pet owners and she majors in folklore and her mom is a famous physicist and so there are bits about urban legends and quantum mechanics...and while there is something so brilliant about such a specific formula, I often give up on them a chapter or two in. The writing chafes me, or the rhythm doesn't work for me, or I don't care about the characters and the (often) standard romantic fussiness (in the above fictitious example, there'd be a guy that works various oddjobs and a running gag about whichever oddjob he is currently working and they would take nine damned novels before their flirtation entered anything series and be broken up by book ten). They definitely have an audience, even rabid fans, but...I don't know. I am not the target audience of them. I just want to...understand.

This one, however, I liked. At first, I thought it would hit me in roughly the same way as all the others. The initial characterization and set-up felt a lot like the sort of thing I didn't like with my previous dabs into the more modern, more "cozy" mystery genre. As it got a chapter or two into itself, though, I found myself enjoying it more and more. Partially because Beaton's writing got better, but also because I found myself able to let go of a few of the twitches that tend to keep out of this subgenre. The use of a fishing holiday as set-up is alright. It allows a few good set-pieces to be worked in. It suffices, at any rate.

Sure, there are plenty of earnest-people-with-a-semi-dark-past and sure there are plenty cute-but-doomed romantic leads and sure there is a high-concept and no, at no point does this novel do anything new. But it works. It reads fast (thinking I was approaching the middle point, at most, I was surprised to see my Kindle report that I was 74% done) and, after chapter one, it reads well. It has enough meat to sustain itself, though in some places it banks on the kind of things that irk me (a lovesick woman's complete misreading of a sexual tryst and thinking really hard about what it means but never in quite an interest way, etc). It breaks a few of the "cozy" rules as I understand them: the murder is a bit gruesome (though they don't dwell on it), there's some sex and some cursing, and the amateur sleuth is actually in a position of authority rather than someone just stumbling in (he does stumble in, but isn't "just" doing it). This helped me to keep going, because it gives the book a little more "bite" and a little more real world practicality.

Generally, MacBeath is in that category of "weird but in a mostly endearing [to the audience] way detective", which is one of my favorite tropes (though there are plenty of other examples, so another one isn't really needed for my reading shelf on this trope's lonesome). Here, though, his weirdness has a slightly different flavor to it. We only get a taste at this stage but he comes across more as just a guy who likes what he likes rather than a mastermind who is hiding a secret genius to foil the badguys. In other words, he's just a bit weird, but likeable.

I'm going to continue with the next two books in the series, and see if I want to go any deeper.

This book is the first in M.C Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series and the first I have read featuring Hamish Macbeth. I decided to give this series a try as I enjoy the Agatha Raisin series so much and I was not disappointed.

I really enjoyed reading this and though it had some strong local characters as well as the fishing school "incomers" and it kept me guessing over who the murderer was.

I liked the Highland twist on the countryside murder mystery and will definitely read the rest of the series!

This was fun! No 2 already ordered from the Library.