Another Hamish Macbeth murder mystery.....good who done it!

3 1/2 really. Delightful fluff. Satisfying chewing gum reading.

I love a good cozy mystery and M. C. Beaton is on of my favorites. She spends a lot of time with a character. Even though you know that if that many murders happened in one small place and if one person kept solving them people would question it, you still enjoy the stories.
Our hero has been loaned to another village and is not happy. Neither is his dog. But since a murder is in order for the story to qualify as a murder mystery he is soon wrapped up in a twisted investigation.
Who killed the most hated man in the village? And how do they keep everyone from Buckingham palace on down from knowing what the lobsters dined on?

Macbeth vs. the Outsider
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (2013) of the St. Martin's Press hardcover original (1988)

After discovering M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery series due to the Estonia cameo in Death of Yesterday, I started to seek out the earlier books by finding several at Toronto's Sleuth of Baker Street. I enjoyed those and found them to be an especially delightful diversion during this continuing pandemic. My next plan was to go back and read the series in order. I then discovered the rather terrific bonus that most of the books are available free on Audible Plus, a service that I had previously been underwhelmed by (some early attempts with longer books had audio difficulties, with book narrations freezing in midstream). Beaton's shorter books (usually 4 to 5 hours on audio) seem to be perfect for this medium.

Death of an Outsider is the third of the series and has change of narrators for the audiobook editions in the voice of Shaun Grindell. Macbeth is temporarily assigned to the village of Cnothan while that local bobby is on vacation. The outsider of the title is an attractive Englishman who is tempting the village wives and who then suddenly disappears under suspicious circumstances. Hamish thinks it is a murder but no one else believes him. Outsider continues the reliability of the series and the new narrator adds an extra amount of Scottish brogue to the performance.

first time reading the series. it was a little difficult getting into the book since the writing style is a bit different than i’m used to + the Scottish accent. i did really enjoy the book and the character. i felt for the characters. i liked the spark of romance and the exciting mystery. because the book is quite short it is a lovely book to read in one sitting and just get it done. i will continue to buy the series. recommend.

I am hooked on M.C. Beaton mysteries. Both series, one with Hamish Macbeth and the other with Agatha Raisin are fun and atmospheric. Quick reads, most of the books are under 200 pages. A bit more racy than typical cozies; murder mysteries with a dash of sex and some outrageous situations.

My third read of the series. This should be good to pass time until the next Strike/ Galloway book gets released. Things I’ve learned about Hamish McBeth:
Going pants-less is nothing to be embarrassed about and occurs regularly. When he loses his temper, hilarity ensues. It’s through his sense of humor that his real appeal lies. Red hair is not a bad thing. He ALMOST always does the right thing and always gets his man/ woman, except not Pricilla. Yet

I have nothing but effusive, gushing and rapturous praise for M.C. Beaton. Will she keep that form all the way to her latest books? Who cares? For now I'm in heaven. Wonderful book! Brilliant! I'll be lucky if I get a better one to read this year. I've never, ever read about the (a more acerbic version of) equivalent of Lestrade/Japp try to imitate the hero of the book and try to grill the suspects till one of them confessed! So original! Took my breath away! And then with perfect timing, Hamish comes in and says : - All of you can go away. Except for x. He's the murderer.' I mean, I have never seen such ideas in my entire life before. The Agatha Raisin books are quite nice, but Hamish eclipsing them is a small tour de force. I'm delighted to have found another super writer. I can't discount being disappointed. That may happen. But I'll be eternally grateful to the author for what I read today.

Another really nice, quick read in this excellent series, this one was perhaps less appealing than the others I've read as Hamish has left Lochdubh for Cnothan, a horrible village full of horrible people in the middle of Sutherland that is definitely not Lairg even though it looks a hell of a lot like it. Here the grotesque nonsense of the set-up is Gladys Mitchell-esque - a horrible pompous Englishman named Mainwaring (ho-ho) has ended up in the lobster tank with all his flesh eaten off, leaving a skeleton being moved about a mountain by various people for no good reason. The mystery itself is perfunctory but the appeal is in the setting and characters. My favourite Hamishes tend to be the country-house gatherings at Lochdubh, and I could have done without the "politically incorrect" "humour" but this was still a good light read.

A light, refreshing read. I finished Hallberg's sprawling, difficult "City of Fire" yesterday and M.C. Beaton's great characters and Scotland settings felt like a well-deserved vacation. Next I'm thinking of diving back into Proust, or perhaps the latest Houellebecq, "Submission", and thankfully I already have Macbeth #4 and #5 here at home on my to-read shelf for a return to Beaton's enjoyable, sometimes comical, world.

Hamish Macbeth doit remplacer un collègue durant trois mois dans la désolante petite ville de Cnothan. Une décision imposée par son supérieur et qu'il digère très mal. Il remarque d'ailleurs que l'ambiance y est délétère et peu hospitalière. Son nouveau chef est irascible. On le fait tourner en bourrique à propos d'une histoire de sorcières et de squelette... Bref. Hamish Macbeth file un mauvais coton. Seule sa rencontre avec une charmante artiste peintre pourrait parvenir à chasser ses idées noires. Ça et un nouveau crime ! ... Car là où Hamish passe, un individu trépasse.
On y est !!! Cette série poursuit son bonhomme de chemin et s'enrichit pour le mieux. L'intrigue se révèle délicieusement cocasse et saugrenue (ah... cette anecdote sur les homards !). Hamish s'empêtre dans des ruminations qui font sourire (demande en mariage ou pas ?). Autour de lui, c'est le festival des mauvaises langues. Adieu Lochdubh, on s'expatrie vers des terres plus hostiles mais les décors font toujours rêver. Et on apprend aussi qu'en Écosse, on entre toujours par la cuisine et seulement par la porte principale pour les grandes occasions ou pour un cercueil !
Suis définitivement conquise par cette série pleine de charme. Coté intrigue, je n'avais pas deviné le coupable... ou peut-être ne m'étais-je pas pleinement impliquée pour le découvrir tant j'étais séduite par ce qu'il se passait autour ! Même la performance audio ne m'a pas fait grincer des dents. On progresse. C'est bien.

Another enjoyable cozy mystery set it the Scottish highlands, a nice breezy read along with a great mystery for Macbeth to solve.

Temporary in charge of Cnothan, Hamish Macbeth soon realises that the locals are sceptical about outsiders, especially William Mainwaring who has ruffled a few feathers.

Having been written during the late 80’s there was a few mentions of ‘poofter’ and aids, which seemed slightly jarring.
I found myself cringing through them places...

But overall found it to be an easy read, I liked that Scotland itself feels so important to this series.
I’m still really enjoying these!