Another light hearted and charming book in the Hamish MacBeth series.

I love/hate when I recognize the elements going into the solution but only after they are pointed out again!

This one wasn't as gripping as the first two I read. Hamish wasn't in Lochdubh and I missed the quirkiness of the place, as well as the characters there (though some made appearances). Still an entertaining, short, cozy mystery.

This was a gentle read - to me the likes of sunday night TV - ironic really considering that several of the books were the basis of a TV series with Robert Carlisle in it. The books already have set their own formula with a good natured but intimately rascal of police officer who only really wants a quite life, secluded stretch of river to go poaching on and time with the love of his life Pricilla, however things never really work out so easily and with constant moving around the various beats, superiors who are at best suspicious of him and at worst out to have him dismissed he is always finding ways of having his peace interrupted.

In this 3rd book in the 'Hamish Macbeth' series, the police constable is temporarily assigned to patrol a new town. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****



Police Constable Hamish Macbeth lives and works in the Scottish village of Lochdubh, where he patrols the community, raises a few sheep, and roams the countryside with his dog Towser.



Macbeth loves Lochdubh and is chagrined when he's temporarily assigned to the town of Cnothan, when the only cop there takes a vacation.



The people in Cnothan are notoriously cold to outsiders, and won't even provide directions to the police station. Hamish has the gift of gab, though, and manages to befriend everyone.....



except for William Mainwaring - a bully who delights in putting people down.



As Hamish chats with the residents of Cnothan, he realizes that almost everyone hates Mainwaring, including the man's long-suffering wife.



Most people in Cnothan are farmers, but the town also boasts the 'Fish and Game Company', an enterprise that raises lobsters and ships them to high-end stores and restaurants.



One night, after alcoholic security guard Sandy Carmichael shirks his duties at the Fish and Game Company, a skeleton turns up in the lobster tank....the remains of a person eaten by the crustaceans.



Sandy panics, fishes the skeleton out, and hides it. Later that that day the lobsters are sent off to be sold and consumed.



The skeleton incident turns into a missing persons case, and then a murder investigation. As usual Hamish's superior Inspector Blair - a nasty boob who loves to see his picture in papers - rushes to Cnothan with his team, to investigate and get publicity.



When Blair realizes the human-eating lobsters have been shipped and consumed, he's desperate to hide the fact that Britain's hoity-toity have become inadvertent 'cannibals' - fearing he'll be blamed.

As Blair ties himself in knots trying to investigate while hiding the lobster incident, Hamish quietly goes about uncovering the murderer.



While Hamish is in Cnothan he also romances a Canadian artist;



Catches the eye of a gorgeous married woman;



draws an eccentric old man out of his shell;



and generally lifts the spirits of the community.



I enjoyed this cozy mystery, which has an intriguing plot and an interesting variety of characters.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

Great Read

Actual Rating: 3.75

This was an enjoyable read. This is the third book of the Hamish Macbeth series. In this book, our police constable, Hamish Macbeth, is temporarily assigned to the town of Cnothan, where their only cop is on vacation. Exiled to the new town with his dog, he has to figure out who killed the most hated man in the village. I thought the idea of having a cozy mystery with a male character was also something different for me. I thought Hamish was a great character. He is mysterious, but I am enjoying his character more in this book. I think his character makes the story fun and exciting. He is described as bumbling, and lazy. However, as I kept reading, I thought he was observant and skilled at his job. I thought this is a great addition to my first cozy mystery with a male main character. The ending was great. I am looking forward to see how the series goes. I am excited to read book 4. Death of a Perfect Wife, here I come. Overall, a great read.

Poor Hamish has been exiled from his beloved Lochdubh and sent into the town of Cnothan. The good people of Cnothan aren't fond of outsiders, but Hamish with his friendly charm weasels his way into their hearts anyway. William Mainwaring doesn't have the gift of gab or friendliness that Hamish is blessed with and everyone in town hates his guts. Therefore it's not a big surprise when he ends up dead in a lobster tank.

I'm going to be totally honest, I read this about a month ago and I've already forgotten how it ends. This isn't that big of a surprise, the last month of the school year is always a blur and my memory is less than stellar about books, as I mostly just enjoy the journey. I did the love that Hamish was in a new spot and the lobster tank was pretty brilliant (and a bit chilling.) Another favorite thing about this book was how Lochdubh conspired to get Hamish back. They really do love the guy.

I love the way these books are set up. Beaton is brilliant at introducing the characters so that you feel you really know all the players and then building the mystery. It's a very enjoyable ride. I'm currently reading book 5. I've had a to take a break recently with my reading just because of life but I'm excited to rejoin my adventures with the lovable Hamish.

I enjoyed this much more than the first two books of the series. Many of the same elements are there, but by moving Hamish MacBeth to another village to fill in for a vacationing colleague, M.C. Beaton somehow shook things up so that this book felt very different from the previous ones in the series. It was interesting seeing Hamish on new romantic territory and when the murder was being related I simply couldn't imagine how anyone was going to unravel the series of events.

I only hope she can hold this note for the next book, which I assume happens back on Hamish's home turf.

Nothing ever seems to go right for Hamish MacBeth. He's sent away from his usual post at Lochdubh to Cnothen while the local constable is away on an extended vacation. MacBeth arrives with his faithful dog Towser to discover the little village really doesn't like outsiders. Then there's William Mainwaring....an Englishman who seems to enjoy angering everyone he comes across with his snide know-it-all comments. MacBeth can't be his usual lazy, slow-going self with all the strange goings on....witches jumping out scaring people, disappearing locals and, of course, the dead body eaten by lobsters at a local fishery. With a sigh and resignation to responsibility, MacBeth is on the case to find out who turned a local character into fish food.

I enjoyed this book. There is some good character development for Hamish. He does more in this book than just pine for his dream woman, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. He branches out a bit. Maybe being away from Lochdubh for a bit is good for him? Drama and murder follow him though....and the murder is definitely....distinctive. Tipping a body into a vat with lobsters is an interesting way to get rid of evidence. Eww. :)

Another great book in this series. Always a good mystery....and a lot of chuckles at the quirky village characters and Hamish's antics. The character reminds me of a Scottish version of Columbo. He seems to be bumbling....but he's actually very, very clever.

I listened to the audio book (Blackstone Publishing) version of this story. Narrated by Shaun Grindell, the audio is just under 5 hours long. Grindell reads at a nice pace and gives a great performance. Very enjoyable listening experience.

Death of an Outsider is the third book in the Hamish MacBeth series. There are 33 books in the series, so I have a lot of reading to do! Moving on to book 4 -- Death of a Perfect Wife. What trouble will Hamish get himself into next?? :)

A very enjoyable cozy mystery, that only suffers from the inability of the reader to deduce the murderer because the necessary clues are not given until the reveal. Always disappointing when the author decides not to allow the reader the fun of the guess. I want to continue the Hamish MacBeth series, but will soon tire of it if this is the authors' modus operandi.

Meilleur que les deux premiers ! Je commence à m’attacher à Hamish !

My favourite so far. I think I'm starting to warm to this version of Hamish.