Death of a Hussy

Hamish Macbeth, Book 5

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: David Monteath

Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

A tart with a heart of stone....

Maggie Baird is neither kind or generous, but she is very, very rich. So when her car catches fire, with her inside it, there are five likely candidates for the role of murderer. All five had been houseguests at her luxurious Highlands home - Maggie's timid niece and four former lovers, one of whom Maggie had intended to pick for a husband.

All five are utterly broke and all had ample opportunity to tamper with Maggie's car. So finding out who did it will require all of PC Hamish Macbeth's extraordinary common sense and insight into human nature; especially when the killer appears to be the wrong person entirely....

©1990 M. C. Beaton (P)2013 Audible Ltd

another yarn

nothing super but a good yarn none the less. well told and did not see the outcome too soon into the story.

Liverpool accent

love all narration by David Monteath but his Liverpool accent was awful. If you are not a Scouser don't try it!,

Hamish the hero

If you could sum up Death of a Hussy in three words, what would they be?

amusing, intriguing, delightful

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hamish as he's so much fun and so honest

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The confrontation between Hamish and the suspects

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

the book made me laugh

Any additional comments?

Another superb book and always so wonderfully read by the narrator

The usual quite enjoyable

As usual enjoyable book and always the same quetion: why female characters are always so silly?!

really enjoyable with quite a few chuckles

loved it love the characters the plot the humour and how hamish always manages to get his man/woman

Another Great MC Beaton Cosy Mystery

Loved it very much A strong plot which moved swiftly to its conclusion Strongly recommend

Old fashioned, not for me

It feels like a product of its time, if it were written in the 70s. I suppose I should have guessed that from the title! I will be returning it.

Another great story

I love these books, they are easy to read, with lots of twists. I can't wait for the next Hamish Mablethorpe adventure.

Not the voice I hear in my head when reading.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I felt the narrator's performance quite poor, although he did improve as time went on -or I got used to him. I did not enjoy the vocal characterisations, which seemed contrived, and his voice droned a lot of the time, suggesting little empathy with the story.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I did not see the murderer coming. The secondary climax did not really fit into the book and would have been better as the start of another.

What didn’t you like about David Monteath’s performance?

Almost everything. I would not buy another book with this narrator.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was disappointed with the book. MacBeth played a tiny part in it and there was too much build-up before the murder occurred, something like two-thirds of the book. It did not follow the pattern if the previous four and was less satisfying as a result.

Any additional comments?

M C Beaton's book are not high literature but a few hours worth of distraction. With any short story, the plot is important and this one seemed unbalanced. My enjoyment was not helped by a narrator whose performance frequently jarred with the flow and I found myself having to repeat some parts to take it all in. Not one I can recommend, even to a hardened Beaton fa.