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Death of a Maid  By  cover art

Death of a Maid

By: M. C. Beaton
Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
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Publisher's summary

Mrs. Gillespie is famous for being the best maid in the northwest of Sutherland. But to Hamish Macbeth, she is a malicious gossip who bangs around the furniture and clanks pots. When Hamish wins Mrs. Gillespie's services in a church raffle, he spends most of the day trying to avoid her. He doesn't understand how she managed to gain such a fine reputation. Then she is found dead, struck down violently by a metal bucket of water. Knowing Mrs. Gillespie's penchant for gossip, Hamish is sure she delighted in finding out her clients' secrets - which means that everyone whose home she cleaned is a suspect.
Great Scot! Don't miss more of Hamish Macbeth's cases.
©2007 Marion Chesney (P)2007 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Macbeth...remains as charming a hero as ever in this funny, unpredictable read." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Death of a Maid

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

THE NARRATOR!!!!!!!!

Graeme Malcolm is, repeat, is Hamish Macbeth. While Ms. Beaton writes a wonderful story, my pleasure would be only half with any other narrator.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Lack of voices is problematic

I notice that the reader of this - Graeme Malcolm - has apparently done 25+ audiobooks, so I guess someone likes him, but I found this disappointing.

The Hamish MacBeth series is pretty good if you're a fan of the whole "unassuming/chronically lonely self-effacing Scottish detective guy solves murders which for some reason always happen within 50 miles of his house" genre, so the story's pretty good.

And the reader's voice - another reviewer mentioned his Scottish accent, which I like too - is good. However, he doesn't do a very good job of having different 'voices' for different characters, so when he's reading dialogue between 2 or 3 people, it's VERY hard to figure out who's saying what. It's not a disaster, but it did mean that at first I couldn't keep MacBeth, Daviot and Blair (3 male police characters) straight, so I was kind of confused for the first few chapters and didn't really get the characterization properly.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Extremely entertaining

My 2nd one. Very quick moving. While murders happen they are no gory. Keeps you guessing what will happen even when you think you know what is going on.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun and enjoyable books

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

Yes, if you want a cozy read Hamish MacBeth stories are for you.

Any additional comments?

I have listened to almost all of the Hamish MacBeth books and read a few, I only have one complaint....Blair his roles in these books are far to predicable and tiresome, in his daily attempts to destroy Hamish with his petty schemes and always flying under the radar of his boss Daviot with compliments and endless gifts to his with wife...old, boring and lets not forget to mention fustrating

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Murder and great entertainment in north Highlands

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

Up there in this genre. Amusing, gentle (for a murder) and great character development of Hamish Macbeth, constable of tiny Highland village and his life.

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

Yes. Love his scottish interpretation and accent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes,

Any additional comments?

I will listen to more! Only wish I had done them in order.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

So many endings

If you are a Hamish MacBeth fan, you already know that the author hates to say goodbye. Frequently, these books have a good 30 minutes or more after the murder is solved, and I often find the complete endings charming and satisfying. In Death of a Maid, however, there are just too many endings. This book is a fun read with an interesting plot, but the last hour has a "horror movie" quality in that the main story can't seem to die out so we can get the pleasing wrap up that we usually get. If you are listening to this whole series, you will be happy with this installment. If you are looking at this series for the first time, I'd suggest you not start here (Wikipedia has a good list of the Hamish MacBeth stories under the article on M.C. Beaton; take them in order). Either way, prepare yourself to have to say goodbye to this story at least three separate times!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Charming and different

Not your usual crime novel, the unassuming lead is as interesting as the mystery itself! Nice mix of humor and mystery. More Hamish MacBeth!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Waffling

Hamish s waffling among different women is frustrating and is getting tiresome. He needs to make up his mind.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Always a great read

Hamish Macbeth is up to his ingenious methods of detecting crime again and giving the credit to others. He is much at ease in his much beloved Highlands and doesn't want to leave and we are grateful for that. All the more we get to hear of his antics. it would be a relief though if he would just finally break down and give Elsbeth that ring he has locked up in his safe. These stories are always fun to listen to and make you want to hear many more. this one is no exception. I loved it!!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Reliable fun

This one doesn't disappoint and is great escapist fun, with intrigue mixed with memorable characters and lots of humour.

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2 people found this helpful