Death of an Honest Man

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Nobody loves an honest man--or that was what police sergeant Hamish Macbeth tried to tell newcomer Paul English. Paul had moved to a house in Cnothan, a sour village on Hamish's beat, where he immediately started to stir up outrage among his neighbors.

Paul first attended church in Lochdubh and told the minister, Mr. Wellington, that his sermons were boring. He then told tweedy Mrs. Wellington that she was too fat and should set a better example in these days of increasing obesity. Angela Brody was told her detective stories were pap for the masses and that she should write real literature instead. He accused Hamish of having dyed his fiery red hair. He told Jessie Currie--who compulsively repeats all the last words of her twin sister--that she needed psychiatric help.

"I speak as I find," he bragged. A refrain of "I could kill that man," could be heard from Lochdubh to Cnothan.

And someone did.

Now Hamish is faced with a bewildering array of suspects, this time without the services of his clumsy policeman, Charlie, who resigned from the force after one too many confrontations with Hamish's incompetent boss, Chief Inspector Blair. But can Hamish find the killer on his own?

Critic reviews

"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

one of the Best Hamish MacBeth books, if only

if only Elsa would say Yes!
Charlie is enjoyable, and Hamish reveals he is not always perfect.

Love this series!

Only 3 left to read. I will be sad to see it end. Thank you Marian Chesney. You live on through Your books.

Another recommended tale

Another sweet tale of murder and deduction by Hamish, a bit of Priscilla, and his lovely cat and dogs sidekicks!

Maybe the best of the series

These novels masquerade as cozy fiction but after some thought I think this author was a worthwhile inheritor of the Christie reputation. I really enjoy the plotting, i like the characters who are quite real, i enjoy the plots which are very well structured and i really like that the author didn’t relapse into soap opera until the last novels when she was obviously ill. This is a really good one, heard for the second time and it is on my relisten list because there is much fun in this story. I really appreciate and am grateful for this refuge from he usual yadda yadda crop of crime fiction.

another good story

another classic Hamish story!! I have read every one and the characters and plot are like old friends..