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Published Feb 2009
256 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Returning from a foreign holiday, Hamish Macbeth is worried because he senses a dark cloud of evil hanging over the Highland village of Lochdubh. He learns that a newcomer, Catriona Beldame, is regarded as a witch and various men have been seen visiting her. Hamish himself is charmed by her until he finds out she has been supplying dangerous potions. At first the villagers won't listen to him, saying that the loveless Hamish has turned against all women. He threatens to kill her so that when she is found murdered, he must clear his name and then work to solve yet another murder to bring peace and quiet back to his beloved village. His investigations are complicated by a romance with a female forensic expert. Perhaps he'll get married at last!
"As usual, Beaton's crisp plotting and effervescent humor complement Macbeth's deft crime solving." - Publishers Weekly.
"A sound mystery featuring a generous portion of Hamish's complicated relationships and the usual delightful Highland descriptions." - Kirkus Reviews.
"Lochdubh has a ridiculously high homicide rate for a tiny village, but it provides readers with a great deal of atmospheric fun." - Booklist.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
M. C. Beaton has written over twenty Hamish Macbeth mysteries (starting with Death of a Gossip 1985). She is also the author of the Agatha Raisin series (starting with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death 1992) and is a film commentator on BBC television. She lives in a Cotswolds cottage (mid-west England) with her husband, journalist Harry Scott. A former journalist for daily newspapers, she now devotes her time to writing fiction. Under her own name, Marion Chesney, she also writes Regency romances, and has also written under a variety of other pseudonyms: Sarah Chester, Helen Crampton, Ann Fairfax, Marion Gibbons, Jennie Tremaine, and Charlotte Ward.
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