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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
Poorly written and confusing. I love a mystery, but this one completely lacked character development and was weirdly hard to follow.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I’m a fan of [a:M.C. Beaton|1657638|M.C. Beaton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1565037575p2/1657638.jpg]’s Agatha Raisin series and I’ve always believed those books could be read in any order without missing out on too much. M.C. Beaton is great about providing the character’s backstory in a paragraph or two within the first few pages of the book. You miss the entire rollercoaster of the main character’s history, but it isn’t essential, or so I thought.
Previous to this, I have only read book one in this series, [b:Death of a Gossip|8857|Death of a Gossip (Hamish Macbeth, #1)|M.C. Beaton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387704274l/8857._SY75_.jpg|2286362]. So when I saw that my library had ordered the latest book in this series, Death of a Spy, I didn’t think I’d have any trouble following along with the 36th book.
This assumption wasn’t entirely incorrect. I was able to follow along with the story all right, but because I hadn’t read the rest of the books in the series I felt like I was missing a lot of Hamish Macbeth’s history. For one, the assistant he is saddled with is someone he has come across before, James Bland. But as I didn’t have that backstory I felt like I was missing essential parts to their relationship. I wasn’t emotionally invested in either of these characters and I can’t say for sure that reading the rest of the series would have done anything to improve the situation, but probably wouldn’t have hurt!
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth teams up with James Bland, an American with whom Hamish has had previous adventures. He doesn’t know what Bland does for work, but he isn’t surprised when he finds out that Bland’s real reason for being in Scotland is to track down a spy ring.
What Hamish wouldn’t do for a quiet life! Tracking down a list of potential spies fills half of Hamish’s time, the other half is spent dealing with a collapsed bridge and a spate of burglaries in Lochdubh. It doesn’t leave much time for a personal life, that’s for sure!
This was a fun book and I love that this series is set in the Scottish Highlands. My plan is to pick up book two, and hopefully read this entire series in order. Who knows, maybe I’ll read this one again at some point. And hopefully, I’ll enjoy it more once I get to know Hamish Macbeth a bit better.
Previous to this, I have only read book one in this series, [b:Death of a Gossip|8857|Death of a Gossip (Hamish Macbeth, #1)|M.C. Beaton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387704274l/8857._SY75_.jpg|2286362]. So when I saw that my library had ordered the latest book in this series, Death of a Spy, I didn’t think I’d have any trouble following along with the 36th book.
This assumption wasn’t entirely incorrect. I was able to follow along with the story all right, but because I hadn’t read the rest of the books in the series I felt like I was missing a lot of Hamish Macbeth’s history. For one, the assistant he is saddled with is someone he has come across before, James Bland. But as I didn’t have that backstory I felt like I was missing essential parts to their relationship. I wasn’t emotionally invested in either of these characters and I can’t say for sure that reading the rest of the series would have done anything to improve the situation, but probably wouldn’t have hurt!
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth teams up with James Bland, an American with whom Hamish has had previous adventures. He doesn’t know what Bland does for work, but he isn’t surprised when he finds out that Bland’s real reason for being in Scotland is to track down a spy ring.
What Hamish wouldn’t do for a quiet life! Tracking down a list of potential spies fills half of Hamish’s time, the other half is spent dealing with a collapsed bridge and a spate of burglaries in Lochdubh. It doesn’t leave much time for a personal life, that’s for sure!
This was a fun book and I love that this series is set in the Scottish Highlands. My plan is to pick up book two, and hopefully read this entire series in order. Who knows, maybe I’ll read this one again at some point. And hopefully, I’ll enjoy it more once I get to know Hamish Macbeth a bit better.
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Another nice little read in the series, although I feel its missing the wit of M.C. Beaton.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced