Beth Fish Reads: Constable and Robinson

I am a huge fan of Hamish Macbeth, the laid-back chief constable of the small Scottish town of Lochdubh. Death of a Nag is the eleventh in this fun, light series by M. C. Beaton. Although each mystery can be read on its own, one of the charms of the novels is getting to know the town and the characters and watching how things change over time.

Hamish is going through a bit of bad patch in his private life and decides to do something unprecedented: take a real holiday away from home. He finds the perfect inn the northern town of Skag--it's cheap, it has had a last-minute cancellation, and it allows dogs. Naturally, nothing is as the brochure claims, and Hamish is particularly discouraged by the nearly inedible food.

The other guests don't offer much solace, either. From the two young women who seem to have questionable reputations to the overbearing man who harps on his wife unrelentingly, Hamish isn't finding many friends in the ill-named Friendly House. When one of the guests is found murdered, Hamish finds himself on the receiving end of a police investigation. After the local bobbies discover he's a a policeman too, they put Hamish on the case.

The characters in Death of a Nag are particularly well developed, and it's a treat to see Hamish out of his familiar town and working with a different set of fellow coppers, including the still fairly green Maggie Donald. In his usual slow yet thorough manner, Hamish analyzes the suspects and teases out the important clues. He may be unambitious and may prefer fishing to doing police business, but don't let that fool you. He's smart and observant.

Death of a Nag seems to mark a transition in Hamish's life. By the end of the book, he has had to face up to some major changes, but he fortunately rediscovers how supportive the people of Lochdubh can be. I can't wait to get to book twelve to see what Hamish is up to next.

I listened to the unabridged audio edition (Recorded Books, 6 hr, 17 min) read by one of my all-time favorite narrators, Davina Porter. Her voice is always a pleasure to listen to, and she is particularly wonderful with Scottish accents.

There are currently twenty-seven Hamish Macbeth books with another one scheduled for February 2012. To learn more about M. C. Beaton (a pen name of Marion Chesney), visit her website.