Death of a Nurse

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

James Harrison has recently moved to a restored hunting lodge in Sutherland with his gorgeous private nurse Gloria Dainty. When Hamish visits Mr. Harrison to welcome him to the neighborhood, the old man treats him very rudely. Gloria apologizes for her employer's behavior, and Hamish takes the plunge and invites her out for dinner.

On the appointed evening, Hamish waits for Gloria at the restaurant. And waits. Gloria never shows up. Four days later, Gloria's body washes up on the beach near Braikie. Now without a date and without his former policeman Dick Fraser (who left the force to buy a bakery), Hamish must find out who killed the beautiful new resident of Sutherland, and why, before the murderer strikes again....

Critic reviews

"The latest appearance by the charming Scot...provides all the quirky characters and striking Highlands scenery you could want, along with one of Beaton's most successful mysteries."—Kirkus on Death of a Liar

"Macbeth, when roused to action, is very canny at solving mysteries, and the Highlands setting is always satisfying. A fine mix of eccentric characters, vivid landscape, and engaging mystery." —Booklist on Death of a Liar

"Longing for escape? Tired of waiting for Brigadoon to materialize? Time for a trip to Lochdubh, the scenic, if somnolent, village in the Scottish Highlands where M. C. Beaton sets her beguiling whodunits featuring Constable Hamish Macbeth."—New York Times Book Review

"Hamish Macbeth is that most unusual character, one to whom the reader returns because of his charming flaws. May he never get promoted."—New York Journal of Books

"With residents and a constable so authentic, it won't be long before tourists will be seeking Lochdubh and believing in the reality of Hamish Macbeth as surely as they believed in Sherlock Holmes."—Denver Rocky Mountain News

"Macbeth is the sort of character who slyly grows on you."—Chicago Sun-Times

"The latest appearance by the charming Scot...provides all the quirky characters and striking Highlands scenery you could want, along with one of Beaton's most successful mysteries."—Kirkus

"Macbeth, when roused to action, is very canny at solving mysteries, and the Highlands setting is always satisfying. A fine mix of eccentric characters, vivid landscape, and engaging mystery." —Booklist

Hamish is Still Hamish - That's a Good Thing

I choose a Hamish MacBeth book when I want an enjoyable, humorous story with quirky characters. When a character named Gloria Dainty appeared early in the story, I knew I was going to have a good time listening to this book.

If you have read and enjoyed other books in this series, I believe you will be pleased with this entry.

If you are not familiar with the series, do not expect non-stop action, rough language, "edginess", or psychological drama. This is a "cozy" mystery that you can fall asleep listening to and not have nightmares. It will not get your adrenalin pumping. However, it may have you laughing.

Graeme Malcolm performance is excellent. He narrates the story well and lets the story be the "star."

Death in the highlands

Another wonderful romp with Hamish and his animals. A
Always clever and engaging to listen.

I never miss an MC Beaton

The combination of a Beaton story and Graeme Malcolm narration is irresistible to me. I greedily gobble down each new release. Then, I often go I and listen to the series again. They never get old. I heartily enjoy all of Beatons books.

A 5 star book from my favorite series

Finally Hamish told the Currie twins to sod off! Granted, he unfortunately apologized twice afterwards but still. I've been waiting for him to tell this to them & the preacher's wife for so long! I've been hating that a strong character like Hamish has been a wuss around them not just because they're all constantly nosy, pushy, & rude but because despite this he's helped them in the past. One instance was huge as 2 of them were around a hippy druggie in a van. If I remember correctly, 1 of them was drugged & the other got naked and there was video evidence of this. Hamish kept all of this private many books ago. Why Beaton has allowed Hamish to just take their crap after that has been bothering me every book.

Once again, chief inspector Blair screws up but doesn't get fired, demoted, or even transferred but merely suspended. This has gotten quite old. He could get booted to Strathbain & still be a jerk side character that gets discussed &/or runs into Hamish sometimes. This is the least that should've happened before when Hamish could've ruined their boss's career but didn't. I hope to see Daviat being even better to Hamish & harder on Blair.

It seems like we may get to stop hearing about Hamish flip flopping between wanting Priscilla & Elsbeth. Maybe he'll mature emotionally & finally know what real love is. It looks like we'll have to see.

I like the new constable Charlie as he's smart & not lazy so he's very helpful with Hamish. He's secretly staying at the castle which is perfect as Hamish gets the police station to himself but also gets help from a good constable. The previous one still gets visited & I'm glad he's now another side character.

This is still my favorite series, though! While you can enjoy any book without reading prior ones I recommend starting at book 1 & going in order. I borrowed all but the last 5 audiobooks via my library app called Hoopla but wouldn't have minded if I had bought them through Audible because I enjoy the series that much. It's not one of those cutesy or romantic cozy mystery series which I'm not fond of. It's a good mystery series with interesting plots (never too easy nor too difficult), with main & side characters that are fun to follow, & a dash of humor. I also recommend Beaton's Agatha Raisin series. It's my 2nd favorite one.

Love ya Hamish

I can never pass up a new book in this series. (The very series that got me hooked on audiobooks) Very unexpected to have the brief albeit shocking sexual themes. In other books you wouldn't take notice to hearing the phrase 'hand job'. Hearing it here almost made me drop the dish I was washing as if my Grandmother had said it.
As always looking forward to the next book.