From Booklist
A Macbeth utterly lacking in ambition and a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands that is murderously hard on outsiders form the witty premise of this series. Through 20 mysteries, Hamish Macbeth, police constable of tiny Lochdubh, has retained his stout common sense and disdain for those who scramble after power. Macbeth's stolid character serves as perfect counterpoint to both the scheming, sneering higher-ups in the police and his sometimes hysterical villagers. The virus that sets off the latest fever in Lochdubh is a visiting fiction writer who promises fame and fortune for those who enroll in his writing class. Writer John Heppel, however, soon alienates everyone with his arrogance and condescension. After publicly humiliating several would-be authors in his writing circle, Heppel is found dead in his cottage, his tongue symbolically blackened. Macbeth dexterously paddles through myriad motives, a media blitz, and police power plays to find the murderer. Delightful. Connie Fletcher
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Death of a Bore: A Hamish MacBeth Mystery FROM THE PUBLISHER
Minor writer John Heppel has a problem - he's by all accounts a consummate bore. When he's found dead in his cottage, there are plenty of suspects. But surely boredom shouldn't be cause for murder, or so thinks local bobby and sleuth Hamish Macbeth, whose investigation of Heppel's soap opera script uncovers much more than melodrama. Popular reader and actor Graeme Malcolm makes this intricate whodunit set in Beaton's beloved Scottish village a memorable audio experience. This is the newest title in the popular Hamish Macbeth series.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Only established fans will enjoy M.C. Beaton's Death of a Bore: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery, this predictable series' soporific 21st installment (after 2004's Death of a Poisoned Pen), in which the contrary constable investigates the mysterious death of a self-styled "literary writer" and world-class bore in that Scottish Shangri-La, the village of Lochdubh. Should the U.K. TV series based on Beaton's Hamish Macbeth novels reach the U.S., expect more readers to wake up and pay attention. Agent, Barbara Lowenstein. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
After a writer moves to the Scottish village of Lochdubh and initiates a well-attended writing circle, then browbeats the participants, most of whom are friends of policeman Hamish Macbeth, one of them murders him. Hamish gets the case, but must tread carefully. And new female boss Heather comes to town and complicates matters by trying to get involved with Hamish. For most collections. Beaton lives in England. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Egotistical TV personalities, an obnoxious boss, and a tidal wave of villagers bent on marrying him off can't stop Constable Hamish Macbeth from finding out who murdered Lochdubh's writer-in-residence. John Heppel has written Tenement Dust, an account of growing up poor in Glasgow, and his script for the soap opera Down in the Glen is being filmed by Strathbane Television. No wonder the village hall is packed to the rafters for his writers' workshop. Unfortunately, his brutal critiques of their works prompt the villagers to pelt him with tomatoes, leaving Hamish (Death of a Village, 2002, etc.) a plethora of suspects when Heppel turns up dead in his crofter's cottage in nearby Cnothan. Detective Chief Inspector Blair wants Hamish to pound the pavement in Lochdubh and interview the likes of twin spinsters Jessie and Nessie Curran. But Hamish's eye is trained on Strathbane, where producer Harry Tarrant hectors secretary Alice Patty but is fiercely protective of the late scriptwriter, and prima donnas of both sexes, from actresses Ann King and Patricia Wheeler to director John Gibson, have tantrums on and off the set. Meanwhile, schoolteacher Freda Garrety has her eye trained on Hamish. So does reporter Elspeth Grant, Hamish's ex-girlfriend, who thinks maybe she made a mistake leaving the highlands for urban opportunity in Glasgow. Quirky but well-plotted: Hamish's 20th offers humor, intrigue, and local color galore. Agent: Barbara Lowenstein/Lowenstein-Yost Associates
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