You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I can only assume that these must get better as the series progresses, but I wasn't terribly impressed with the first installment. Hamish Macbeth just seemed too weird, and the characters were hopeless stereotypes. I've seen mysteries with better characterization, so I know it can be done. I did enjoy the setting.
Re-read years later because I like Agatha Raisin quite a bit, still not better than 2 stars.
Re-read years later because I like Agatha Raisin quite a bit, still not better than 2 stars.
Introduces Police Constable Hamish Macbeth. Can't wait to see more of him!
I read this book at the request of my partner, who adores the Hamish Macbeth series.
This book was a breeze to get through, which I greatly enjoyed! It was a good palette cleanser if nothing else. Beaton's writing style is fluid, quick, and insightful.
Prose: I really enjoyed Beaton's writing. I feel like it fits the genre well--accessible, witty, and not much subtext to analyze. The sentences were short and fluid, which aided in shaping the simple and laid-back tone of the overall story. One thing I found less than ideal is Beaton's tendency to use adverbs in conjunction with already-strong verbs.
Plot:
Setting - I liked the setting well enough! I felt that there wasn't enough imagery to fully immerse myself in the Highlands, but the imagery that was there served its purpose.
The Mystery - The mystery was.... fine! I was hoping that Beaton would have more of a Christie-esque approach at mystery solving, with an emphasis on evidence and psychology, but that unfortunately wasn't the case. There are a few hints dropped from time to time about who the killer is... but ultimately, Hamish solves the mystery off-page, and the reveal comes like a left-hook out of nowhere. Some threads of the mystery are never closed, and furthermore, I still find it hard to believe that an out-of-shape middle-aged woman would have the physical strength to throttle someone without receiving some kind of injury in return and then have the stamina left to tie and drag the body into a lake.
Internal Conflict - I found Amy's internal conflict a bit grating at times, but ultimately sympathetic. Beaton does a good job of making her a good-hearted (but ultimately vain and over-enthusiastic) woman.
The Victim - Lady Jane, the murdered woman, was a nightmarish character but a delight to read. I loved her little quips, her desire to take the aristocracy of the British upper-crust down a few pegs, and her utter audacity. 10/10, would murder again.
The Pacing - This is definitely Death of a Gossip's weakest point. Beaton's pacing is ridiculously slow at the start, and way too fast at the end. The first half of the book sets up Lady Jane's opposition with the potential suspects, overly focuses on Amy's affection toward Jeremy, and goes into a severe amount of depth regarding fishing (even considering the setting is a fishing school). This means that the mystery solving doesn't begin until the midway point... and therefore rushes through it way too quickly.
The Detective: I loved Hamish. He's like a wet dog of a man. A complete disaster. I wish that the story focused more on his process through solving the mystery, his relationship with the object of his affections, and his bond with the murder suspects.
Overall a great cozy read! Definitely recommend if you're looking to kill a few hours with something a bit unserious.
This book was a breeze to get through, which I greatly enjoyed! It was a good palette cleanser if nothing else. Beaton's writing style is fluid, quick, and insightful.
Prose: I really enjoyed Beaton's writing. I feel like it fits the genre well--accessible, witty, and not much subtext to analyze. The sentences were short and fluid, which aided in shaping the simple and laid-back tone of the overall story. One thing I found less than ideal is Beaton's tendency to use adverbs in conjunction with already-strong verbs.
Plot:
Setting - I liked the setting well enough! I felt that there wasn't enough imagery to fully immerse myself in the Highlands, but the imagery that was there served its purpose.
The Mystery - The mystery was.... fine! I was hoping that Beaton would have more of a Christie-esque approach at mystery solving, with an emphasis on evidence and psychology, but that unfortunately wasn't the case. There are a few hints dropped from time to time about who the killer is... but ultimately, Hamish solves the mystery off-page, and the reveal comes like a left-hook out of nowhere. Some threads of the mystery are never closed, and furthermore, I still find it hard to believe that an out-of-shape middle-aged woman would have the physical strength to throttle someone without receiving some kind of injury in return and then have the stamina left to tie and drag the body into a lake.
Internal Conflict - I found Amy's internal conflict a bit grating at times, but ultimately sympathetic. Beaton does a good job of making her a good-hearted (but ultimately vain and over-enthusiastic) woman.
The Victim - Lady Jane, the murdered woman, was a nightmarish character but a delight to read. I loved her little quips, her desire to take the aristocracy of the British upper-crust down a few pegs, and her utter audacity. 10/10, would murder again.
The Pacing - This is definitely Death of a Gossip's weakest point. Beaton's pacing is ridiculously slow at the start, and way too fast at the end. The first half of the book sets up Lady Jane's opposition with the potential suspects, overly focuses on Amy's affection toward Jeremy, and goes into a severe amount of depth regarding fishing (even considering the setting is a fishing school). This means that the mystery solving doesn't begin until the midway point... and therefore rushes through it way too quickly.
The Detective: I loved Hamish. He's like a wet dog of a man. A complete disaster. I wish that the story focused more on his process through solving the mystery, his relationship with the object of his affections, and his bond with the murder suspects.
Overall a great cozy read! Definitely recommend if you're looking to kill a few hours with something a bit unserious.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I did not enjoy this book at all. I didn't like any of the characters - even the main detective. Although he was the most likable of them all. The story and mystery was okay. But I just hated all of the characters. Maybe the narration didn't work for me either. I won't be reading anything else from this series.
I've finally read it. I had to read this series twice in its entirety (but for Death of a Gossip) before I could finish the first book.
I can only look at this book as the joining of two parts: the first part being a set-up that only includes Hamish as a pop-in for assaulting and throwing slanders at women, and the second part being a traditional Hamish Macbeth mystery. I have no idea why Beaton decided to introduce Hamish's character this way. She must have been told to cool it down for future installments. Because I didn't recognize this man, and I had read all thirty-some other books. Twice.
The actual murder mystery was pretty good. The scenes with Hamish and Charlie were adorable. I've mentioned it before, but Beaton really should have added more scenes throughout the series of Hamish interacting with children, it being one of his only good characteristics.
Also the Colonel's first name is James in this novel. I'm not sure when it was changed to George. Or why.
Anyway, it still stands that I'm immensely glad that I didn't start the series with this novel, as I might not have continued and might not have had the experience of reading one of my favourite series. Sometimes it pays to read things out of order.
Original attempt at reading (2020):
I'd read about fifteen books in the Hamish Macbeth series before I got my hands on its debut, Death of a Gossip. I'm a huge fan of this series, and I can't even finish the first book.
This is the first novel I've DNF'd in years. But I can't continue this one.
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a sensitive reader. I can take a joke, even when it runs really roughly against modern sensibilities. I mean, this series has Inspector Blair, who's a sexist, racist, pig. But here's the differenence. Blair is set up as a villain - or at least a foil.
If this was my first Hamish Macbeth novel, I would have assumed that Hamish was being set up as the villain. Hamish does some offensive things later in the series, for sure. But when it comes to this first novel, never have I read a protagonist (dare I say hero) that exhibits so many flagrant examples of sexual assault (verbal and physical - yes, physical). In front of witnesses. In his police uniform.
I'll just conclude this by saying that I'm really glad that Beaton was signed on to write more novels in this series, because it gets really good, I'm just so surprised that she did.
My desire not to ruin this series for myself supersedes my desire to finish this series in its entirety. Sorry, Beaton.
I can only look at this book as the joining of two parts: the first part being a set-up that only includes Hamish as a pop-in for assaulting and throwing slanders at women, and the second part being a traditional Hamish Macbeth mystery. I have no idea why Beaton decided to introduce Hamish's character this way. She must have been told to cool it down for future installments. Because I didn't recognize this man, and I had read all thirty-some other books. Twice.
The actual murder mystery was pretty good. The scenes with Hamish and Charlie were adorable. I've mentioned it before, but Beaton really should have added more scenes throughout the series of Hamish interacting with children, it being one of his only good characteristics.
Also the Colonel's first name is James in this novel. I'm not sure when it was changed to George. Or why.
Anyway, it still stands that I'm immensely glad that I didn't start the series with this novel, as I might not have continued and might not have had the experience of reading one of my favourite series. Sometimes it pays to read things out of order.
Original attempt at reading (2020):
I'd read about fifteen books in the Hamish Macbeth series before I got my hands on its debut, Death of a Gossip. I'm a huge fan of this series, and I can't even finish the first book.
This is the first novel I've DNF'd in years. But I can't continue this one.
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a sensitive reader. I can take a joke, even when it runs really roughly against modern sensibilities. I mean, this series has Inspector Blair, who's a sexist, racist, pig. But here's the differenence. Blair is set up as a villain - or at least a foil.
If this was my first Hamish Macbeth novel, I would have assumed that Hamish was being set up as the villain. Hamish does some offensive things later in the series, for sure. But when it comes to this first novel, never have I read a protagonist (dare I say hero) that exhibits so many flagrant examples of sexual assault (verbal and physical - yes, physical). In front of witnesses. In his police uniform.
I'll just conclude this by saying that I'm really glad that Beaton was signed on to write more novels in this series, because it gets really good, I'm just so surprised that she did.
My desire not to ruin this series for myself supersedes my desire to finish this series in its entirety. Sorry, Beaton.
This book felt like it was set in the 1930s or something, it felt SO old-fashioned. It's portrayal of Alice was so unbelievable, what person would think someone was going to propose after only sleeping with them a couple times.
And the copper says that one of the reasons he was suspicious of the killer because of a "tightening of their eyelids, which is common in killers" what the heck???
Not going to bother with the rest of the series.
At least it was a quick read.
And the copper says that one of the reasons he was suspicious of the killer because of a "tightening of their eyelids, which is common in killers" what the heck???
Not going to bother with the rest of the series.
At least it was a quick read.
The first book in the Hamish Macbeth series is a quick, fun cosy crime listen. I believe this was written in the 1980s, but it felt more like it was written in the 50s as it has quite an old fashioned feel to it.
Hamish, himself, is an interesting, quick witted and well drawn character with , but I found every other character in the book completely irritating! The plot wasn't too taxing and I loved the Highland setting.
One of the main reasons for listening to this is that it is narrated by the talented David Monteith, who also narrates Denzil Meyrick's DCI Daley series. IMHO Meyrick's books are far superior!
Hamish, himself, is an interesting, quick witted and well drawn character with , but I found every other character in the book completely irritating! The plot wasn't too taxing and I loved the Highland setting.
One of the main reasons for listening to this is that it is narrated by the talented David Monteith, who also narrates Denzil Meyrick's DCI Daley series. IMHO Meyrick's books are far superior!