Too much about Hamish's romances, not enough mystery. Also how many people live in these villages? With multiple and committed by someone in these villages, isn't the population shrinking.? In this one Hamish has not one, not two, but at least three women chasing him. Need more mystery and less romance.

This one is very surprising and enjoyed the tiny bit about the fairies again. Death of a Kingfisher had some fairies also. When I was in first grade I knew a girl who believed in fairies. It made me laugh!

A very enjoyable Hamish Macbeth mystery, probably one of my favourites so far:)

*This review can also be found on my book review blog, The Never-Ending TBR Pile.

Rumors. Accusations. Fear.

The village of Braikie has a poison pen writer amongst them and everyone is eyeing each other suspiciously. Hamish is aware and has been trying to identify the writer before they actually manage to accuse someone of something that is true, but a murder occurs before he can pinpoint the writer.

This story presented an unsettling look into the underbelly of village life, dredging up secrets and past lives that no one wants known. As Hamish digs deeper, he uncovers a surprise that veers his investigation in a direction he wasn't expecting.

As always, I enjoyed his interactions with the various characters and his exchanges with Elspeth are interesting. I believe she may have been introduced in previous books that I don't own at the moment, so I look forward to eventually getting those and seeing how she came into the picture and just what sort involvement she has with Hamish.

In all, another great addition to the Hamish Macbeth series, full of twists, secrets, and small village drama!

The Highlands are habitually rife with humor and delicious mystery between the covers of every Hamish Macbeth book from author M.C. Beaton. Constable for a patch of Scotland where gossip and superstition often exasperate Hamish Macbeth, he nonetheless loves his fair Lochdubh and its quirky residents. The mysteries are certainly fun, but it is the atmosphere which keeps readers coming back time and again. Finishing a Hamish book always seems to lighten our load and remind us it is the small things in life which really matter.

Jenny Ogilve arrives from London to eyeball the constable she's heard so much about from Priscilla, who has become engaged to someone other than Hamish. Jenny would like nothing better than to make Priscilla jealous by snagging the ever-elusive Macbeth. With reporter Elspeth diverting Jenny's amateurish attempts at every turn, however, and Hamish with a suicide to investigate, the task at hand becomes quite tricky. Once Hamish realizes what she's up to, he takes Priscilla's advice and lets her help him question the residents of Braike. Before this one is over, he'll wish he hadn't!

Hamish isn't buying the death of the Braike postmistress as suicide. A murder soon follows that death and Hamish suspects poison pen letters may somehow be at the heart of it all. The headmistress might have had a wee bit more interest in a couple of her female students than was proper, and the murder victim may have been having an affair. Jenny gets sidetracked while helping Hamish. leading to some typically hilarious doings; a perfect example of why readers love this series so much.

The dubious seer, Angus, the Currie sisters, Lugs and all the other quirky characters of Lochdubh we've come to enjoy visiting so much are all present in this one. The combination of mystery and humor with a Highland setting is irresistible. There is something wonderful between the covers of a Hamish Macbeth book that nearly defies description, and must be experienced by the reader. A fine entry in a marvelous mystery series. Highly recommended!

Hamish has to solve a double murder that's not all it seems. And he gets into his usual relationship jams. A quick enjoyable read.

Another romp in the highlands full of gossip, murder, Hamish, and crank villagers. I’m still shocked anyone is Alice in that village at this point

Since I’ve been re-reading these so fast that I forgot I had read this one, but since I’ve been reading these close together, I did not forget the fate of Fred Sutherland in Death of a Dentist, so that made me slightly grumpy, but I love these so much and I love the audiobook reader.

MY RATING GUIDE: 3.5 Stars.
1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/fairly good; 3.5= I ENJOYED THIS; 4= I liked it a lot; 5= I Loved this; it was great! (I SELDOM give 5 Stars).

The communities surrounding the small Scottish village of Lochdubh, Northern Scotland ~
Local Reporter Elswith & Jenny/Ginny, a Londoner friend of Miss Priscilla Halburton-Smyth, both assist Constable Hamish Macbeth in his latest case which begins with Poison Pen letters. But before long, Macbeth is investigating murder.

Comments ~
DEATH OF A POISON PEN, bk 19 in MC Beaton’s Constable Hamish Macbeth North Scotland Mystery series runs along the line of the other books in this series. Readers have have enjoyed the previous books will mostly likely enjoy DEATH OF A POISON PEN. A crime is committed, Macbeth investigates, his senior officer complains, Macbeth sifts through the evidence, shares whiskeys with his colleague, re-questions the villagers and eventually the case is solved. And again, Macbeth is tepid in his affairs of the heart. Nothing really new, but a formula that works.

The Constable Hamish Macbeth Mysteries is a Cozy Mystery series and DEATH OF A POISON PEN is a quick, easy, comfortable read which isn’t terribly dark. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook as I completed yard work outside nicely performed by Graeme Malcomb.

So here we have the first B&N Readouts selection for 2018, a mystery revolving around jealousy and murder, although the two are not in relation to each other. I'm enjoying the process of imagining the setting of this book, as it takes place in the Scottish Highlands, which sounds just beautiful (albeit dangerous) so far.

Although I'm beginning this series with the 19th book, so I suppose there are quite a few details and events that I've missed, regarding the main character, Hamish Macbeth. But, I never felt lost within the story and it was intriguing to see how the mystery played out. There were some definite twists and turns that took me by surprise as well. I did not care for the characters of Jenny Ogilvie or Pat Mallone, who were pretty much made for each other, both being incredibly jealous and vindictive in getting what they wanted, but I was happy that at least Pat got exactly what was coming to him in the end. I thought the mystery of the poison pen writer was well-planned and I liked the way Hamish went about solving it.

I enjoyed the Scottish slang in the book as well, although I had to resort to asking my 100% Scottish mother-in-law what "scunner" meant. However, I could pick up the gist of the meaning via the context it was used. (It's a not-so-nice description for a person, btw.) Overall, it was a nice read, and a fun glimpse into the atmosphere of the Scottish Highlands!

As usual, I enjoy all Hamish Macbeth books. In this one, Pricilla is putting off her wedding, a couple of people are killed and there are WAY too many suspects. In the middle of trying to find the killer, Hamish is being seduced by Pricilla's best friend, who is jealous of her life and thinks that capturing Hamish will bring her down a peg. Elspeth (sp?) is also still around, but will she stay or take a job at a better newspaper? Or will her competition beat her out of it?

I've come to enjoy both the stories and the writing. The only reason I don't give it five stars is that the general feel of the books is about the same. I do love that Hamish seems to be moving forward instead of being trapped in the same repetitive conversations and relationships. Well done!

Death of a Poison Pen by M. C. Beaton is a good book. I read this through a B&N serial read where a new chapter is delivered every day to my Nook. The plot and characters are well developed and I enjoyed the interaction of Hamish Macbeth with the townspeople. At times Hamish and others would revert to local dialect and I had to really concentrate to get the meaning of the dialog. Other than that, I found this book to be an easy read and I was trying to solve the murders along with Hamish.

This is a good cozy mystery and I enjoyed reading it. I recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries.