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)

This is just a great story

Hamish is a great character. Nothing like the normal hero, he's just a guy doing the best he can despite all the problems tossed at him by the people around him. I can believe that these are real people, and have real emotions. And it's very funny. I highly recommend it.

another winner by MC Beton

I never fear when purchasing a Hamish mcbeth mystery by MC Beaton. Her Scottish detective constable always keeps me listening. And I'm so grateful that they keep the same reader who does an excellent job with the characters.

Enjoyable

I dearly love reading about Hamish McBeth. The books about him, this included, are interesting, make you think. Even though they are dealing with murder they are not "dark" but light. Hamish is a lovable character as are all the regulars. You invariably feel good at the end of the book. I've listened to nearly all of them.

nice

....simple story but likeable characters in a nice small town
I could see myself wanting to live in the town and be friends with these people.

Another good story from M.C. Beaton

I love the Hamish Macbeth series. The fact that we get to see more of Hamish's cringe worthy interactions with women makes it that much better!

I love Hamish

Another particularly good adventure.
Humor, mystery and the always wise and kind Hamish. And the narrator is perfect.

Scottish Who Done It

Thoroughly enjoyable, quirky tale of murder in Scotland . . . it was a fun listen and I got a tickle out of how Hamish got his revenge.

Best performance of the series

Funny and entertaining. This is my favorite of the whole Hamish Series. Hope to encounter Ana Krokoski some time again.

Enjoyable, but predicatable!

Where does Death of a Gentle Lady rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Kind of in the middle, I like these stories, but they are all very similiar

Would you recommend Death of a Gentle Lady to your friends? Why or why not?

Sure, I love the Highland accent!

Have you listened to any of Graeme Malcolm’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, he is the main reason I listen, love his voice and accent

If you hear one, you’ve heard them all.

So go ahead and hear or read them all!!
I’ve heard over 20 so far and this one is top tier. MCB was peaking here in 2008. (If you pay attention in this book, MCB sometimes forgets about existence of mobile phones.).
There’s a formula with very many repeating elements common to each of her 30+ Hamish books. Her genius is blending the friendly familiarities with twists and fresh humor. Her characters remain unpredictable in their response to new situations while keeping a core integrity.

(I sometimes wonder what mischief Hamish would get into if PG Wodehouse wrote about Highland detectives or who would solve crime if MCB wrote about Blandings Castle)