Death of a Gentle Lady

A Hamish Macbeth Mystery

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Gentle by name, gentle by nature. Everyone in the sleepy Scottish town of Lochdubh adores elderly Mrs. Gentle - everyone but Hamish Macbeth, that is. Hamish thinks the gentle lady is quite sly and vicious, and the citizens of Lochdubh think he is overly cranky. Perhaps it's time for him to get married, they say.

But who has time for marriage when there's a murder to be solved? When Mrs. Gentle dies under mysterious circumstances, the town is shocked and outraged. Chief Detective Inspector Blair suspects members of her family, but Hamish Macbeth thinks there's more to the story, and begins investigating the truth behind this lady's gentle exterior.

Great Scot! Don't miss more of Hamish Macbeth's cases.

©2008 Marion Chesney (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Malcolm's polished delivery meshes perfectly with the dialogue, small-town setting, and the atmosphere." ( Booklist)

Great as usual!

I love Hamish and I feel so bad that he has such a hard time with women. I’m always going to root for him and Priscilla though.

Very good.

Another good story. I’ve read them all up to now. Love the descriptions of the Scottish highlands.

Death of a Gentle Lady

Gentle lady was the outside persona she presented. But underneath was a termagant. Who could have murdered her?

Hilarious Whodunit

This was my first listen of a Hamish Macbeth book, and I'm glad to see that there are many more out there. I love the characters in this book, especially that of Hamish. I completely understand his obsessive need to make sure his dog and cat are all right. The story was excellent and the characters unusual. It was a delightful experience. The narrator has the requisite Scottish brogue, and I found myself speaking with that lilt after listening to the book for a couple of hours. My only criticism is that there wasn't much voice variation among the characters, and his Russian inspector didn't sound Russian. But I highly recommend this book. No F-bombs! Good clean mischievous fun.

too much fun

Wonderful listen with the best of narrators. Get your tea and biscuits, wait for a blustry day, and enjoy.

wonderful twist of fate

always a good listen and look at our distant cousins. nice twist of fate for anyone who has had a nasty boss.

Another grand story

The twists and turns in the plot hold the reader’s interest This is written with humor snd I loved the detailed descriptions of the Scottish landscape. Malcom is the absolute best narrator for the series!

Loved it.

Another hit. Twist and turns that keep you still reading. Onward through the series I go.

Dissapointing

The narrator does their best with material that is undecided about whether it is a serious mystery. The story opens well but the actions of Hamish Macbeth are unrealistic especially where he escapes from his arch Nemesis Blair, another police officer, who has kidnapped him.The conclusion where Macbeth connives to have Blair marry a prostitute as retribution is in my opinion ludicrous.

The author attempts to inject reality into her criminals by having them iterate a litany of factors that caused their warped psychology. This also detracts from what is basically a good murder mystery.

Light reading

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Not really. I like the characters and the story was interesting.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I was entertained by the story but it wasn't as suspenseful as I'd hoped it would be. I didn't guess the ending but this wasn't a nail-biter.

Which character – as performed by Graeme Malcolm – was your favorite?

My favorite character was Hamish MacBeth.

Did Death of a Gentle Lady inspire you to do anything?

About the only thing it inspired me to do was to see if there was anything else available by this author. I know the book is part of a series and so after listening to this one, I thought I might enjoy listening to a few more of Hamish MacBeth's mysteries.