Death of a Gossip & Death of a Cad

The First Two Hamish Macbeth Mysteries

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Antony Ferguson

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Death of a Gossip

When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joined the fishing class, she wasted no time in ruffling the feathers—or was it the fins?—of those around her. Among the victims of her sharp tongue and unladylike manner was Lochdubh Constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet not even Hamish thought someone would permanently silence Lady Jane's shrills—until her strangled body is fished out of the river. Now with the help of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish must angle through the choppy waters of the tattler's life to find the murderer. But with a school of suspects who aren't ready to talk and dead women telling no tales, Hamish may be in over his head, for he knows that secrets are dangerous, knowledge is power, and killers usually do strike again.

Death of a Cad

When Priscilla Halburton-Smythe brings her London playwright fiancé home to Lochdubh, everybody in town is delighted…except for love-smitten Constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet his affairs of the heart will have to wait. Vile, boorish Captain Bartlett, one of the guests at Priscilla's engagement party, has just been found murdered—shot while on a grouse hunt. Now with many titled party guests as the prime suspects, each with a reason for snuffing out the despicable captain, Hamish must smooth ruffled feathers as he investigates the case. When the hidden culprit strikes again, Hamish will find himself trying to save Priscilla from a miserable marriage—and catch a killer before he flies the coop.

©2013 M. C. Beaton (P)2014 AudioGO

What a character!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A person could possibly not like Hamish Macbeth, but then, what the heck would they be reading books for anyway? It's not their thing. If you love character and personality, these books are loaded with it all around, and starting from the beginning of the series is a very good idea.

Harish is the bomb.

Macbeth is the funniest hero i have ever read. Love the books M. C. Beaton is a great job writing this glad there are more.

Love Hamish

Love the straight forward comments of the constable. Priscilla is a bit too naïve for my taste but you can’t have everything.

The most improbable hero!

Hamish is seen as stupid and lazy, but he is far from that. He stands in the background and watches and thinks, and ask the right questions. He offends the upper class easily. But he gets the job done. The narrator is wonderful with different accents. The early stories are not as refined as the later ones, but they are fun.

A fun listen

Amish Macbeth is a wonderful unassuming small town policeman often outwitting both the culprit and the city cops, fun.

I want more!

Where have I been? I have just gotten into MC Beaton due to the Agatha Raisin on Acorn. What a fun listen! Hamish is funny and a typical - MC Beaton keeps him real.

Really enjoying the book series

Book 1 I struggled through so I went back and read the reviews and decided to give Book 2 a chance. So glad I did. Especially the ending.

Nice, easy read

This series is a little edgier than others I have read in this genre. I like how the story has its main thread, but there are several sub-plots going on at the same time. It's shocking to me how women wrre, and still are, treated. Nice performance, good story . Definitely worth the credit.

Highly Entertaining

I had never heard of the "Hamish Macbeth Mysteries" before but now that I have I am a fan. These stories are exactly what I like about cozy mysteries. They are like comfort food. Per usual we have some charming characters and not so charming characters and that small village feeling where everyone knows everyone and their business. Or so we think until secrets start to spill out.

These two books have me wanting more and I will certainly following up with book number 3, "Death of an Outsider". I will certainly be recommending this book to anyone who asks about a good cozy mystery.

Takes getting used to

Not bad, these are short cozy mysteries and take some getting used to overall. However, they’re good to listen to in the car or while working. The mysteries are compact, the characters are unlikeable enough you want them to be guilty 😂😂😂 and with recurring characters there’s the opportunity for growth.