Review: Death of Yesterday (Hamish Macbeth, #29)

Although I seem to be in a minority in this opinion, I like the direction that Beaton is taking this series. It's moving towards longer mysteries, that is, those that take more than a week to solve. These aren't necessarily "closed" mysteries, the way the earlier ones in the series were- they don't involve a specific group of suspects in a particular location, such as guests at a hotel. I appreciate that some signs of modern technology have entered Lochdubh. At least now characters have laptops and mobile phones. The total isolation was skirting the boundaries of the absurd.

In this case Hamish investigates a woman's claim of rape, only to find her body turn up weeks later. Investigating the case takes him to the continent and back. I'm not entirely sure why this book is called Death of Yesterday. I can come up with a few very tangential metaphorical possibilities, but usually the titles in this series are obvious. I'm getting sick of Hamish's women problems. Really, Beaton needs to to do something about this. I'm sick of watching Hamish treat women badly and then whine about being single. There needs to be movement on this front! The mysteries in this series have developed, but Hamish's personal life has not.

M.C. Beaton, Death of Yesterday (Grand Central, 2013) ISBN: 145552252X 

Review: Death of a Maid

Those who have enjoyed previous books in this series will likely enjoy this one too. It has all of the elements of the typical Hamish Macbeth mystery. A miserable person dies and everyone is relieved. Hamish investigates and finds that the local cleaner was a far more nefarious woman than anyone thought. Hamish continues to have woman problems and fights with Blair.

There are a few new elements. A new police sergeant has arrived in Strathbane. Blair seems to have worn out his welcome, and I can never figure out why he hasn't been fired yet. I'm getting a bit tired of Hamish's woman problems. He's unable to commit, and weasels out of commitment whenever he's in danger of coming too close. The mysteries are still entertaining, but the side plots are getting a bit tired. Hamish needs to get Priscilla back once and for all.

M.C. Beaton, Death of a Maid (Grand Central, 2008) ISBN: 0446615471 

Review: Death of a Bore

Hamish Macbeth is back investigating the death of someone nobody liked. This time the victim is an arrogant author who runs writing classes solely for the purpose of taking villagers' money and telling them they can't write. John Heppel is an arrogant publicity-hound whose own book is pretentious and unreadable. Any of the villagers in Lochdubh could be the murderer.

By this point in the series I'm starting to wonder if things aren't becoming a bit too predictable. The formula is always the same: unlikable victim, many possible suspects, Hamish employs unorthodox methods that nearly get him fired. The romantic undercurrents are also the same. Hamish moons about the loss of former loves (in this book it's more Elspeth Grant than Priscilla Halburton-Smythe).

That said, it is a testament to Beaton's writing abilities that despite all this I still enjoy reading these books. What made this particular volume less enjoyable than some of the others was that it lacked the sense of danger that I've found in others. The climax, in particular, was missing that frisson of danger.

M.C. Beaton, Death of a Bore (Mysterious Press, 2005) ISBN: 0892967951