Hamish and the WorldStoppers

Product Information

M.C. Beaton, the international best-selling author, has delivered many books that have amazed readers with their mystery and suspense. I personally love her books and have thoroughly enjoyed this series.

Green provides us with a terrific Foreword in which he not only pays fine tribute to Beaton but also talks about Sergeant Hamish Macbeth, perhaps her greatest fictional creation. Murder is his business, and the patch he calls home is Sutherland in the northernmost part of the Scottish mainland. Statistics show that there are approximately 60 murders in Scotland each year, with half of those taking place in the much larger cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Hamish’s territory averages around one murder per year. Yet Beaton found enough interesting mysteries to keep him busy for years, and DEATH OF A GREEN-EYED MONSTER is no exception. Priscilla Halburton-Smythe – once the love of his life, the beautiful, cool Priscilla still tugs at his heartstrings and has assisted Hamish in solving crimes. Peter Hynd’s arrival has suddenly created chaos in the village. He is a handsome, unmarried man with a good income, and all the ladies in the town are practically swooning and fighting over him. As he begins his incredibly thrilling journey, he meets the daughter of a landowner; Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. He finds her pleasing and lovely. In this first series, readers begin to watch a budding romance unfold between the lithe Hamish and the beautiful Priscilla. Together, this duo begins to solve the murder of Lady Withers using unorthodox methods that Hamish has engineered. As Hamish solves the case, he also incurs the wrath of Chief Inspector Blair, a senior detective from the nearby fictional town of Strathbane. HAMISH MACBETH BOOKS INTO TELEVISION SERIES Working with friend and collaborator Rod Green (credited as RW Green), she added Hot to Trot to the Agatha Raisin book series (published posthumously). They worked together to carry out her ideas and maintain a similar voice – and she gave him her blessing to continue both the Agatha Raisin series and the Hamish Macbeth series after her passing.It has been 4 years though since Death of an Honest Man, so presumably quite a lot of work was still required to complete the new book. R.W. Green would have also been busy with the continuation work on the Agatha Raisin series, which may be currently more popular and on demand due to its ongoing television adaptations. Mrs. Wellington – the local clergyman's wife. She has a loud, booming voice and is at the heart of Lochdubh's village life. And to be quite honest, the whole book moved too fast. We didn't get the full benefit of the Lochdubh characters, and there are some wonderful characters in this village. I missed his meandering and apparently pointless conversations which often elicit important information.

In the Hamish Macbeth debut novel, Death of a Gossip (all of the Macbeth novels being with “Death of a” and end with some kind of career or adjective), eight people meet in Lochdubh. They all go to the same temporary school, all mainly trying to get away from their hectic lives and enjoy a small amount of vacation time. Lady Jane Withers, one of the members of the clan, is a notorious gossip. When she learns that each guest has a secret to hide, she is elated. Lately, our television channels have been swamped with modern police shows, all with the same basic protagonist. Generally speaking, we have a leading lad or lady who is too big for their job, believes themselves smarter than the office above them, and who tends to ignore direct commands in favor of a seemingly more morally-sound or logical quest. It is with some relief that I can say that Death of a Green-Eyed Monster hopefully sets a renewed steady course for the future of the Hamish Macbeth series after the disappointments of the previous books, esp. Death of an Honest Man (2018 - Hamish Macbeth #33) which I reviewed as Not My Hamish.There were 33 novels, one novella and one short story published in the UK by Constable & Robinson before the author's death in 2019. A subsequent novel and a short story, begun as collaborative works with the original author and finished after her death by R. W. Green were published in 2022. Detective Chief Inspector Blair – who hates Hamish (mostly because Hamish is competent and Blair is not); a fat whisky drinker who, on several occasions, is hospitalised with alcohol poisoning. Angela Brodie – the doctor's wife. Motherly, but not very domestic and a poor cook. Dotes on her cats. Author of a detective novel. A good friend and sounding board. May 19, 2022 Update Made a minor edit to correct the numbering of the Hamish Macbeth novella Death of a Laird from #34.5 to #33.5. She wrote a number of historical romance books under her maiden name and various other pen names, but since her success with the pseudonym M.C. Beaton, everything has now been attributed to that name.

At time of writing, you can watch Hamish Macbeth on Acorn TV, Pluto, Freevee, Roku Channel, and Tubi. Opt for Acorn TV if you prefer a version without adverts. Will There Be More Hamish Macbeth Books?Any time a series goes beyond the normal length (3-6 books) it becomes quite the juggling act to figure out what to read next. To tell you this book broke my heart and left me terribly, terribly sad for Hamish would be putting it mildly – especially if there are no future books. I’m not sure if I’m glad I read it or not because, if it is the last book, my imagination was so very much better than where this went. That said, it was a good mystery and a good read even if it wasn’t the same as it would have been had M.C. Beaton written all of the words. Hamish is the oldest of seven, and lives in a farming family. As an adult, he resides in the local police station and works as a “bobby” (constable), often going out of his way to avoid being promoted. Macbeth also has a natural inquisitive nature that feeds the flame in his career. The next book in the The Hamish Macbeth Series by M.C. Beaton is Death of a Spy and will be released on February, 22nd 2024.

There are so many things that don’t make sense to Hamish. Is all of it related to gangs bleeding over from the big cities into the Highlands? Who is the blonde woman in the blue car? What does the soldier, Keith Bain, have to do with any of it? His alibi certainly doesn’t hold up. Then, there is the American, James Bland. Who is he really and why is he in Lochdubh? We all know DCI Blair is up to no good – but what is it he is actually up to? I was worried that Hamish's romance with Dorothy was moving too fast and that she was too good to be true. Was I right? You'll have to find out for yourself.

Hamish and the Magic Golf Balls

The first novel in the series, Death of a Gossip, begins with Hamish on the receiving end of sharp-tongued Lady Jane Withers. But with her murder, he’s immediately thrust into the limelight as the town of Lochdubh looks to him to solve the case and apprehend the person responsible for her grisly murder. Hamish must navigate the dangerous terrain of tight-lipped suspects, dead bodies and murder. Priscilla is the “love of Macbeth’s life”, though she gets engaged in the second novel to a playwright who has become famous. Ultimately, the relationship seems to go nowhere even though Priscilla never quite leaves the spotlight, remaining Macbeth’s right-hand on many cases. Later, Macbeth has a short affair with reporter Elspeth Grant. But that, too, ends badly.