Beaton, M. C. Hamish Macbeth Mysteries. #bk. 21

Read by Graeme Malcolm

Occasionally, the rugged landscape of Scotland attracts dreamers who move north, wrapped in fantasies of enjoying the simple life. They usually don't last, defeated by the climate or by inhospitable locals. But it looks as if Effie Garrand has come to stay. When local constable Hamish Macbeth calls on her, he is amazed to find the small woman still in residence after a particularly hideous winter. Unfortunately, Effie is also quite delusional, having convinced herself-and everyone else-that local artist Jock Fleming is in love with her and that they are engaged. After a huge fight with Jock, Effie is found in the mountains, dead from poisoning. Now, it's up to Hamish to find the dreamer's killer-before any more nightmares unfold. "Beaton's flawless twenty-first installment in her popular Hamish Macbeth series boasts amusing local color and singularly savvy sleuthing." "Graeme Malcolm gives a nuanced portrayal of diverse characters inhabiting or visiting a remote village in northern Scotland. Various characters stride across the canvas, and Malcolm essays them all, including a grumpy American, and Englishmen and women from down south…The voice and the setting are so compatible that one settles back and enjoys the story, scarcely noticing the narrator's expertise." "Part police procedural and part psychological thriller…Beaton, a Scot herself, excels at giving readers a taste of Highland life and creating a believable character in the lonely, brilliant, continually frustrated-in-love Macbeth. A treat." "Fans of Hamish will love this combination of mystery and romantic escapades."

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