Death of a Scriptwriter

The Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, Book 14

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

With the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe away in London, Hamish Macbeth, the constable of the small Scottish town of Lochdubh, pines for company during the long Scottish winter. He gets his wish - and more - when a troupe of flashy, urbane filmmakers clamors into the nearby town of Drim. Before long bedlam erupts around their make-believe mystery - and culminates in the sudden appearance of one very real corpse.

The initial suspect in the killing is one Patricia Martyn-Broyd, the aging mystery writer who is furious that her musty, old cozies are getting a risque face-lift in their television reincarnation. Yet, going behind the scenes, Hamish soon finds a town full of locals bitten by the movie bug and a cast of quarreling show business types, all harboring their own secrets, lies, and hidden agendas. And as the culprit strikes again, Macbeth must quickly find the right killer - or script the wrong finale to a show gone murderously awry.

©1998 M. C. Beaton (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Cartoonish narration

This was my least favorite of the series. The performer voiced the characters as if it was a cartoon. And the characters in the story were, for the most part, uninteresting and I likable.

Good plot and characters

Good plot and characters. but the other narrator, Graeme Malcolm is a much better narrator than this one, Shaun Grindell. He does Hamish with a high pitched, kind of childlike voice which just doesn't fit the character.

Not a great story

I love this series but this book was not up to the author’s usual standard. Also very negative story line.

Voice

With his high, shrill voice, there’s no way all those women would’ve been attracted to Hamish. I love the stories and I love the characters, but it’s time to say something about the reader. He makes Hamish sound like a moron.

Breathy High-Pitched voice - HAMISH??

I finally gave up on this book halfway through. I’ll scan the next one, as it’s the last on this series by this narrator - I cannot wait to get to those recorded by Graeme Malcolm.
Honestly, I just can’t stand another minute of Shaun Grindell‘s rendition of Hamish Macbeth with a high-pitched breathy voice!

Hamish did again

I didn't enjoy this like the others but stay a good read with likable characters

Recording flawed, not narration

I have listened to 14 Macbeth mysteries with this narrator and it’s obvious to me that the recording was made at two different pitches. It’s odd but the other recordings didn’t have this problem and I think Grindell does a great job overall. None of the other recordings have the extreme high pitched Hamish. The recording engineer messed up. Another great story.

Mystery and Mayhem

wonderful characters and plot twists. enjoyed every minute. looking for more in this series. Thanks

Trash

Not entertained by profanity. First ten books were great. No more Hamish Macbeth for me.