A light fun mystery. Great cozy escape. It is fun to get to know these folks and visit Lochdubh again. I'm so happy that Sonsie is back! Graeme Malcolm is a superb narrator for these stories. These can be read in any order, though we have been reading Hamish Macbeth for a long time and so are very familiar with return characters.

M.C. Beaton's Death of an Honest Man has Hamish Macbeth forced to investigate the murder of an obnoxious English transplant, Paul English. Paul English takes pride in "I speak as I find" which is his justification for saying all sorts of offensive, racist, sexist, mean comments. When Paul English turns up dead, almost everyone in town has a reason to want him dead. Hamish investigates with his usual charm and luck, delivering a fun Scottish detective mystery!

"Nobody loves an honest man, or that was what police sergeant Hamish Macbeth tried to tell newcomer Paul English. Paul had moved to a house in Cnothan, a sour village on Hamish's beat.

He attended church in Lochdubh. He told the minister, Mr. Wellington, that his sermons were boring. He told tweedy Mrs. Wellington that she was too fat and in these days of increasing obesity it was her duty to show a good example. Angela Brody was told her detective stories were pap for the masses and it was time she wrote literature instead. He accused Hamish of having dyed his fiery red hair. He told Jessie Currie--who repeated all the last words of her twin sister--that she needed psychiatric help.

"I speak as I find," he bragged. Voices saying, "I could kill that man," could be heard from Lochdubh to Cnothan.

And someone did.

Now Hamish is faced with a bewildering array of suspects. And he's lost the services of his clumsy policeman, Charlie, who has resigned from the force after Chief Inspector Blair berated Charlie one too many times, and the policeman threw Blair into the loch. Can Hamish find the killer on his own?"

For my mom, the Hamish Macbeth acolyte.

As always, a well planned and suspenseful mystery in the Hamish Macbeth series. Although some parts were more sluggish than usual, I still found the book entertaining and many twists and turns lead to a satisfying conclusion. The dialogue concerning Hamish's pets verses his love life added some humor.
I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

I tried to get into this book, but it was a bit too slow for my taste. It's much closer to a cozy mystery than to a fast-paced crime novel or thriller. I'm sorry I had to give it up halfway through. This book was just not for me.

Our beloved Hamish McBeth is back in this 33rd installment of the Hamish McBeth Mystery series by M.C. Beaton. Each book in the series is a delightful read. I have read each book multiple times and enjoyed every adventure of Hamish. This is a wonderful addition for our favorite wonderful Scottish Policeman .
In this next in series poor Hamish is missing his cat, losing another assistant and hiding from headquarters as he fears he will lose his beloved post in the highlands village of Lochdubh. Hamish loves his small village, his friends and lives a quiet life. As always the author has marvelous descriptions and fun detail of life in a small seaside Scottish village.
In the nearby village of Cnothan a newcomer Paul English is stirring up trouble with his rude and blunt remarks to the locals. Hamish pays him a visit and is put off by his rudeness. After Hamish leaves the man is found dead and Hamish is on the case interviewing suspects in both villages as everyone disliked him. Hamish is on his own for this investigation which keeps him out of harms way of his superiors who dislike him.
What fun this mystery is ! I loved the addition of a new village, multiple suspects and Hamish working on his own. Each book is a mystery lovers delight. The plot and sleuth are so well crafted that the author has a surprise for the reader at every turn. I am unable to put these books down reading them to the end they are so enjoyable.
I thank the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book which does not influence my review. I look forward as always to the next adventure for Hamish! Thank you M.C. Beaton for such a wonderful series. 100 stars would not be enough!

Death of an Honest Man is the 33rd book in the Hamish Macbeth Mystery series by author M.C. Beaton. I have read most of the books in this series and they are always entertaining!

In Death of an Honest Man, Hamish is having to deal with a nasty man, Paul English, who turns everyone against him in no time. You know is time is limited and of course there are endless suspects.

Always entertaining and always a nice fast fun read, this series is awesome. Highly recommend Death of an Honest Man.

Hamish Macbeth has worked as a policeman in the small village of Lochdubh, Scotland for many years, and he's grown very comfortable there. Although he doesn't have much luck finding a lasting partner in crime-solving (they keep turning into chefs, for some reason), Macbeth still loves his work. 

When the new villager, Paul English, moves into town and starts immediately setting people against him with his brash and harsh judgments, Hamish feels it would be in everyone's best interest if he stopped by to welcome him and see if he could make peace with the newly retired banker. Instead, English's wrath turns on him too. 

So when English turns up dead, Macbeth finds that he can't swing a haggis around without hitting someone who was offended by, insulted by, bullied by, or outraged by the actions of his murder victim. And while he's trying to solve the murder, the charming Scottish detective also has to deal with a host of other issues, including an unstable (and possibly homicidal) Detective Chief Inspector Blair, insurmountable veterinary bills for an injured wildcat, a clumsy constable who's thinking of finding a different occupation, and visits from an ex-girlfriend or two. 

Lochdubh has never been more charming or more challenging for Hamish Macbeth. 

Death of an Honest Man is the 33rd (!!) book in this enduring series about fighting crime in northwest Scotland. And while I have not yet read them all, I can attest that each visit I get to make to Lochdubh is a very welcome break to my everyday stresses. M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth is a complex, smart, fascinating character who never fails to deliver an interesting resolution to a murder. The story in Death of an Honest Man is a little on the rambly side, with big subplots that threaten to take over the main story, but I still couldn't put this book down. Love M.C. Beaton, love Lochdubh, love Hamish Macbeth, and I can't wait for number 34!



Galleys for Death of an Honest Man were provided by Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.

When Paul English comes to live in the village of Cnothan, he offends everyone he comes in contact with, including police sergeant Hamish Macbeth. Hamish tries to warn English that honesty is not necessarily the best policy, but English doesn’t take his advice and ends up murdered. Since Charlie Carter, Hamish’s police constable, has resigned, Hamish will have to find the murderer on his own, hampered, as always, by Detective Chief Inspector Blair, who will do anything he can, to sabotage Hamish.

Death of an Honest Man is the 33rd book in the Hamish Macbeth series by MC Beaton in as many years. I received a copy from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I have been a fan of this series for many years and have read all the previous books.

I feel that the quality of the writing and editing has gone downhill with the recent additions to the series. There are several instances in the book where Hamish acts uncharacteristically – making an off-color joke and trusting DCI Blair are two examples. The book also has a few continuity issues and a couple of huge run-on sentences. At this point, I read the books more because I have come to feel that the characters are old friends. I love to drop in on them to know what Beaton has planned for their lives, but I don’t always enjoy the stories anymore.

If you are a fan of MC Beaton and the Hamish Macbeth series, you will want to read this book; otherwise, I recommend that you start the series at the beginning.

Death of an Honest Man
Hamish McBeth Series #33
Reviewed by Richard Mann of BookPleasures.com

AUTHOR: M. C. Beaton
PUBLISHER: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 978-1455558315 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1455558339 E-book

Hamish McBeth is a village constable in the Scottish Highlands, the star of some 33 books so far. The books are short little murder mysteries that follow a general pattern and use the same continuing cast of characters. They are light in tone, easy to read, and usually rather fun.

As a confirmed audiobook fan, I have listened to a dozen or more of Hamish’s adventures on CD while driving the car. They are fun to hear, as the books are full of odd place names and feature Scottish Highland dialect and its arcane vocabulary. Hearing the accents is a good bit of the fun.

Actually reading the book is a different experience. Those strange words and place names are right there on the page, ready to confound you with their outrageous spellings and total unfamiliarity. Luckily, I was reading on a Kindle, where a long-pressed finger on the strange word brings up a definition or a Wikipedia explanation of the place or event. What a big help! Having the meaning of those odd words really enhanced my enjoyment. (There was one word, however, that even the Kindle’s vast information resources couldn’t demystify.)

Before we discuss the book’s plot, let’s ruminate a bit on the willing suspension of disbelief required to read this. As a former fan of fantasy and science fiction, I find it relatively easy to suspend my disbelief—that is, to accept the unlikely and even absurd elements in the story as plausible under the circumstances. This Hamish story really stretches that willingness to ignore the unending stream of wildly implausible or impossible things that happen--more so than any of the other Hamish stories I have previously been exposed to. All of them stretch your credibility somewhat; this one does it a-lot-what.

I do not wish to be unkind, but I suspect that Ms. Beaton, who is now over 80, may be experiencing the same sad fate of aging authors that we have seen with others, such as Lilian Jackson Braun, whose last Cat Who… books were all but unreadable. This Hamish book is not that far gone, but it is well on the way.

Why do I say that? Well, we have a yellow-eyed wildcat that is the personification of evil, that refuses to die, and somehow finds it way unaided across many miles to appear at just the right moment to play a pivotal role in the plot. We have Blair, the Deputy Chief Inspector who has been Hamish’s nemesis throughout the series, finally going completely bonkers and actually shooting at Hamish and his assistant. We see Blair taking off across country seriously intending to kill the new husband of an extremely fetching young former policewoman with whom Blair has fallen instantly in love.

We get one rabid implausibility after another. Yet, somehow, somehow by the end we have bought into the story enough to enjoy the way it all plays out.

OK, now for the basic plot. As usual in these stories, a non-Highlander who is patently evil shows up and somehow gets murdered early in the story. Hamish works on solving the case while his boss, DCI Blair, actively tries to hinder and hamstring our good hero so Hamish can’t solve the case, leaving it to Blair to solve. We long-time readers know Blair has never solved anything on his own; he is brutishly incompetent. He impotently rides on Hamish’s coattails, which Hamish is glad to provide. The last thing Hamish wants is glory or credit, which could lead to a promotion. That would force him to abandon his comfy, lazy, non-stressful idyll of a life in Lochdubh. He solves murder after murder, letting anyone else get the credit.

In this story, the honest man of the title is a startlingly reprehensible fellow who has just retired from being a banker who took great delight in denying every loan possible. He likes to be “honest,” which translates into insulting everyone he ever comes into contact with—in the name of honesty. Everyone hates him. So, when he turns up dead, there is no shortage of suspects.

As Hamish works the case, his pet wildcat (not just a feral cat, but a true wildcat) disappears. As Hamish searches for him, he finds what he thinks is his cat, which has just been shot by hunters. He tenderly takes the beast to the vet and pays a fortune to keep the cat alive. Everyone who sees the cat knows it is not Hamish’s pet Sonsie but is really a force of pure evil with supernatural powers. Everyone but Hamish, that is. He knows it’s Sonsie.

Things go on and on and on, with one unlikely turn of plot following another until you really have to wonder who this author is trying to fool. It’s just too much. But, as your intrepid reviewer, I have to soldier on so I can tell you the whole story. By the end, I was punchy with all the hopelessly unbelievable, downright silly things that were presented to me with a straight face, as it were. Somehow, though, when it was all over, I felt I had been entertained adequately and I would probably be interested in the next book in this long series. Don’t ask me how that happened. It just did.

So…if you can occasionally be lulled into halfway believing a bunch of unlikely nonsense because it makes for a fun story, give this a try. But don’t start your exposure to Hamish McBeth with this story—read a bunch of his earlier adventures so you’ll know what’s going on and why he does the strange things he does. Then and only then, you might like this.

DEATH OF AN HONEST MAN is the thirty-third book in M.C.Newton's Hamish Macbeth series. In it, we find Hamish searching for the murderer of a newcomer so brutally honest that every person he meets hates him, making it all that much more difficult to narrow down suspects.

Some changes in this book not seen in the series before. There's no visit to see the old seer and the sisters are only mentioned in passing.

Also, we've got to start wondering how many new cops can Hamish get and then lose before Strathbane considers it being HIS fault theory all move on so quick.

Why does no one age? It's a series question that always bugs me. Entire years go by, but every is the same age as they were 32 books ago.

Another great addition to the Hamish MacBeth series!

All of us know have come across the person who says impossibly rude things whose defense is always, “I’m just being honest.” Honesty becomes the hall pass for racism, sexism, bigotry, meanness, and spite. I think honesty would like to bow out, but as long as there are people, there will be the “honest man” who steamrolls through life making enemies everywhere and every day.

Paul English is just such an honest man, honestly awful, and sure enough, he ends up dead in a peat bog. The question for Hamish and his colleague Charlie is who didn’t want to kill him. For some, the only reason to look for the killer is to know where to send the thank you cards. Hamish, though, doesn’t like the idea of a killer running around his patch. Once that taboo is broken, murderers often kill again, and sure enough…

Meanwhile, Hamish and Charlie have to deal with the corrupt, drunk cop Blair who Hamish thinks is homicidal. The internal drama among the police is shockingly bad.

Having watched the entire Hamish Macbeth series, I thought I knew what to expect from Death of an Honest Man by M. C. Beaton. I know that TV adaptations may diverge from their originals. For example, while the television series has Phryne Fisher and Jack in a will-they-won’t-they romance, there is no romance in the books. Characters disappear or merge into a composite, and sometimes even the crime and the bad guy turn out differently. But I think this is the first time where the mood of the novel is in sharp contrast to the TV series. There is far more menace in the books. There is something genial and charming in the TV series, Hamish is bemused by the locals. Here Hamish is more a part of the local community, not so much an observer.

I liked Death of an Honest Man. There is a strong sense of the community and of place. The mystery is satisfyingly complicated. There’s a bit of deux ex machina and hints of supernatural intervention, but then it is rural Scotland and in keeping with the community sensibility. I was less sanguine about the Blair storyline and the seeming acceptance of domestic violence. Still, it makes me interested in reading more.

I received an e-galley of Death of an Honest Man from the publisher through NetGalley.

Death of an Honest Man at Hachette Book Group | Grand Central Publishing
M. C. Beaton author site

I have read all of the books in this series and have always waited with great anticipation for a new one every February. I think it is time for MacBeth to break out of his routine and explore new worlds. A few of the usual characters may need to be removed from the stories.

Ms. Beaton may need to reboot the series with some new life.

M.C. Beaton has written her 33rd book in the Hammish McBeth series. Hammish is a laid-back police officer in a small Scottish village. One of his main concerns is how to retain his position, solve crimes and not attract the attention of his superiors. One whom would like to promote him to a higher position in a larger city, while the other would like to see his dismissal Hammish is perfectly content to remain a village policeman while taking care of his livestock and dog. In Death of an Honest Man Hammish is once again faced with a murder. This time the victim is an onerous man who has managed to insult everyone he's met. As a result, Hammish has a number of suspects to consider as he investigates the murder. Along the way he must also deal with an assistant who is unhappy in his job, a number of “ helpful” villagers, unrequited love and a missing cat.

The Hammish McBeth novels are short cozies that I would characterize as simply written and very quick to read. With that said, they can also be very charming. However, the characters are exaggerated personalities that can become somewhat annoying. The author's writing style is quite uncomplicated, with elementary vocabulary and only a small amount of detail.

I’m sure I will continue to read the Hammish McBeth series, although it has become fairly predictable. Even though there is little real advancement in the overall storyline, I will remain hopeful that future books will show the same spark that the earlier books have demonstrated.

Many thanks to Net Galley for providing an ARC of this book.

*3 to 3.5 stars

I've read the first eight books of the Hamish Macbeth mystery series up to now but it really didn't hurt to skip forward and read the latest edition, the 33rd. The 33rd! Can you believe it? M.C. Beaton has such a charming and humorous writing style that she keeps her loyal fans coming back for more.

In this latest mystery, a thoroughly unlikeable man who always speaks his mind is murdered. There are innumerable people who aren't the least bit sad that he is dead but unfortunately they all seem to have alibis for the time of the murder. Sergeant Macbeth and one of his ever-changing partners keep spinning their mental wheels, returning to the same list of suspects. What are they missing? In the meantime, Hamish's nemesis Inspector Blair is still plotting his demise and a wild cat is spooking the whole neighborhood.

A quick read with a little touch of the supernatural. Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity of reading an arc of the latest in this long-running mystery series.

After 33 Hamish books, I am still a huge fan. I love reading about the Scottish countryside and the unrealistic but oh-so-fun antics of the policeman. And for some reason I really love hearing about all Hamish’s sidekicks. I think it gives me a better sense of the idyllic world the author creates. This book is not my favorite, it’s a little tired and formulaic. But that said, it’s worth reading and I definitely enjoyed my time reading it. A thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I realize some of the appeal of a cozy series is that you get to know the main characters and follow them through their own personal lives in addition to there being a mystery in each installment. I think the balance between the two aspects of a cozy has been lost in this series. Way too much time is spent on the shenanigans of Hamish and his police supervisors. I almost feel like Ms. Beaton has written herself into a corner. It is confusing and uncomfortable. Additionally, I spend a good portion of the book wondering why Hamish has two ex-girlfriends lamenting around when he is not presented as being a good catch at all. I hope Ms. Beaton is able to return the series to a balance or find a graceful exist for Scotland's least ambitious police officer.

Death of an Honest Man by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hamish is back with another mystery to solve. This time he has other things to worry about. He misses his cat, is losing police assigned to help him right and left and Blair is really out to get him. This is another fun story that is light and easy to read. I do wonder if Hamish will ever find true love. Maybe M.C. Beaton is planning that. The book ends with Hamish getting a female police office as his new help. Just have to wait and see what happens next. Oh and it turns out you can be too honest.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I have read all thirty-three of the Hamish Macbeth books and I always love to visit the Scottish Highlands and the tiny village of Lochdubh, located in the northwest of Scotland. It is fun to see what is going on at Tommel Castle Hotel, and the vile village of Cnothan. Then, there is always the adventure of seeing how many side-kicks Hamish will go through – and I think this one wins with four. Sadly though, I have been disappointed in books thirty-two and thirty-three – they have become a bit dull and formulaic. I’m sure the author has written so many by now that she could almost write them in her sleep. Maybe that will change with the next book because apparently Blair will be gone and Hamish’s latest side-kick is a tall, nice looking young lady copper. If you are new to the series, you probably aren’t tired of Priscilla, Blair, Jimmy, Elspeth and even Hamish – but – if you’ve read from the first, they are probably getting a bit tiresome. I will try one more book to see what happens with the addition of Constable Dorothy McIver as Hamish’s new side-kick and also the addition of Johnny Southern because he sounds like he could be a new Blair. Hamish has also gotten Sonsie back from Ardnamurchan and it will be interesting to see how that goes.

Paul English is a retired banker who has moved to Cnothan. It doesn’t take long for him to alienate the entire population of Hamish’s territory. The man prides himself on being honest, but he is really judgmental, cruel and insulting. Is it any surprise that he turns up dead – in the bog? Not at all.

There are lots of suspects, so how will Hamish manage to track down the murderer – and not take credit for it. That is always a challenge for poor Hamish. He has a fine mind as a detective, but he doesn’t want to take credit for his solutions because he doesn’t want to be promoted out of his beloved village. As Hamish digs deeper, he finds there is more to some of the relationships in the area than you’d suspect.

Hamish is a very busy man – people are dying and being injured right and left and he has to solve the case and keep Blair off his back. When the solution finally presents itself, you’ll be surprised at how the end happens.

M. C. Beaton writes well, plots well and creates interesting characters. Her books are very, very busy though and sometimes you have to work a little to keep all of the side stories straight.

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”