The book that launched the series and its central character, the no nonsense at work but ever frustrated in love PC Hamish Macbeth. A sharp-tongued socialite is found strangled and only with the help of Tatler'sWho's Who and the lovely Priscila Halburton-Smythe will he solve the case. A warning though. These brilliantly written, easy to read, cosy, crime novels are pretty addictive. Luckily there are now nearly 30 in the series.
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When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joins the local fishing class she wastes no time in ruffling feathers - or should that be fins? - of those around her. Among the victims of her sharp tongue is Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth, yet not even Hamish thinks someone would seriously want to silence Lady Jane's shrill voice permanently - until her strangled body is fished out of the river. Now with the help of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish must steer a course through the choppy waters of the tattler's life to find a murderer. But with a school of suspects who aren't willing to talk, and the dead woman telling no tales, Hamish may well be in over his head for he knows that secrets are dangerous, knowledge is power, and killers when cornered usually do strike again.
'Beaton, a Scot herself, excels at giving readers a taste of Highland life and creating a believable character in the lonely, brilliant, continually frustrated-in-love Macbeth.' Booklist
'An enchanting series...M.C. Beaton has a foolproof plot for the village mystery.' New York Times Book Review
'Recommended for all mystery collections.' Library Journal
'Superb entertainment, as rich and warming as a fine malt whisky, and every bit as addictive' Houston Chronicle
Author
About M. C. Beaton
M.C. Beaton (1936-2019) was the author of both the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series, as well as numerous Regency romances. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages and have sold more than twenty-two million copies worldwide. She is consistently the most borrowed UK adult author in British libraries, and her Agatha Raisin books have been turned into a TV series on Sky.