Easy going Hamish Macbeth has been promoted to sergeant and given PC Willie Lamont for an assistant. So much for Hamish’s easy life. Seems Willie is a clean freak. This doesn’t bode well for Hamish.

When a rusty van, driven by a “self-proclaimed” traveler and his girlfriend, show up things get a bit strange. The couple aren’t true travelers but are expecting the same treatment given to true travelers. Hamish points them to the moors to camp. Not the best or most welcoming area.

Shortly later, there are thefts and friendly neighbours become unfriendly. Something is going on and it’s not good. When a body turns up, Hamish finds he has a case that involves not just thefts but murder, witchcraft and blackmail.

Between dealing with PC Lamont and his tidiness, and the elements revolving around the pseudo-travellers, he is stretched to the limits. Oh, and there is also his infatuation with Priscilla Halburton-Smythe…

Another fast, fun read by M.C. Beaton ( )

This is probably the best book so far in the series ( )

Macbeth and the Gypsies
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (2013) of the St. Martin's Press hardcover original (1993)

Death of a Traveling Man finds newly promoted and reluctant Sergeant Hamish Macbeth fighting off disruptions to his usually tranquil Highland Scots life with an overly fussy live-in Constable tidying the police station/house constantly and a pair of questionable travellers squatting on the village parish lands. Of course some one is murdered along the way, and Hamish has to sort out the alibis of the villagers that were apparently caught up by the wiles of the conniving incomer. Can he get constable Willie Lamont married and out of his hair and solve the crime as well? Of course he can! This series continues to delight.

After discovering M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery series due to the Estonia cameo in "Death of Yesterday", I started to seek out the earlier books by finding several at Toronto's Sleuth of Baker Street. I enjoyed those and found them to be an especially delightful diversion during this continuing pandemic. My next plan was to go back and read the series in order. I then discovered the rather terrific bonus that most of the books are available for free on Audible Plus, a service that I had previously been underwhelmed by (some early attempts with longer books had audio difficulties, with book narrations freezing in midstream). Beaton's shorter books (usually 4 to 5 hours on audio) seem to be perfect for this medium.

The performance by Shaun Grindell in all voices was excellent as always. ( )

Once more Beaton blunders by making her villain not horrible enough. But obviously many fans of the series are satisfied with the writing.

Kafka this was never intended as. I would have been happy with less padding of the story. There were entire Chapters dedicated to so called investigation.

I'm beginning to think that Hamish spoils the mechanism of any of his stories. He should appear sparingly. But notice how better the book gets when he is not the first person narrator. ( )

I have no idea why, (although I suspect it was the explosive nature of Cheryl’s tantrums) but I didn’t gel with this one so much as the others so far. ( )