This is the fourth Hamish Macbeth story.
“Hamish hated change almost as much as he hated work. He had the tenancy of some croft land next to the police station at Lochdubh, where he kept a small herd of sheep, now being looked after by a neighbor. He earned quite good money on the side from his small farming, his poaching, and the prize money he won for hill running at the Highland Games in the summer. All that he could save went to his mother and father and brothers and sisters over in Cromarty. He did not anticipate any easy pickings in Cnothan.”
I think the scene is set with this description of Hamish who prefers solving family problems in the close community to spectacular murder cases. But he is forced to leave his usual beat as his superior is going to Florida for three months, and Hamish must act as his stand-in.
Soon after his arrival at Cnothan, one man disappears and the remains of another one crops up in a lobster tank! As such atrocious crimes are not within Hamish´s powers, Chief Detective Inspector Blair swoops down on the reluctant village while trying to keep Hamish out of sight so the village idiot cannot ´steal his thunder´.
This cozy mystery is very cosy indeed; the country setting, the quirky characters and the bodies which are never described in great detail all add to the fiftyish atmosphere, and when the crimes are solved, everybody is happy (at least the good guys), and order is restored.
I bought the book myself and read it for the 2010 Cozy Mystery Challenge # 2.
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11 kommentarer:
Dorte - Isn't Hamish Macbeth a terrific character? I really do like this series quite a lot, so I was very happy when I saw you were reviewing one of them. And you've done an excellent job of reviewinig it, too : ).
Grief, it sounds so dangerous to be living here. I bet life insurance is expensive.
Margot: he is certainly special, and I think I´ll have to test some more stories.
Tracy: I think these cozy mystery villages are the most dangerous spots of the world!
This sounds like a good book (and series). I had to laugh about the "dangerousness" of the locations in cozy mysteries! How true!!
My mother loved that TV series. It was so wonderfully done and brilliantly cast.
Kelly: yes, these conventions around cozy mysteries are rather funny. They must pop around killing each other every other day.
Patti: I can imagine it must be good. The covers are also delicious (they remind me of a Scottish village we saw last summer).
I really enjoy listening to this series in audio - the characters are very definitely quirky with that fiftyish feel. I'm always so surprised when something modern pokes its head into the story!
Belle: quirky and fiftyish is a fairly accurate description! :D
You write short and good. It's a deed beeing able to give one a taste of a book in a few sentences.
I like the cozy atmosphere and country setting you talk about. Althoug - you know - I do not read much crime, this book is the stuff I will read in this genre.
Måske du vil sætte mig på din linkliste, jeg har lige sat dig på min.
http://litteratur-oplevelser.blogspot.com/
Hi Erik & welcome! We´ve met via Søren´s blog, haven´t we?
- fint at få flere danske læsere, og det er helt op til dig selv, om du vil kommentere på dansk eller engelsk. Sidste år var jeg god til at holde fast i min målsætning om at være tosproglig blogger, men jeg har altså ikke så meget tid i år. Det er også lidt af tidnød, at jeg skriver så korte anmeldelser. Men man kan jo ikke leve af at blogge ...
Hi Erik & welcome! We´ve met via Søren´s blog, haven´t we?
- fint at få flere danske læsere, og det er helt op til dig selv, om du vil kommentere på dansk eller engelsk. Sidste år var jeg god til at holde fast i min målsætning om at være tosproglig blogger, men jeg har altså ikke så meget tid i år. Det er også lidt af tidnød, at jeg skriver så korte anmeldelser. Men man kan jo ikke leve af at blogge ...
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