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Death of a Cad (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, No. 2)

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Death of a Cad (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, No. 2)

(20 customer reviews)

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1632048

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Murder Most Fowl When Priscilla Halburton-Smythe brings her London playwright fiance home to Lochdubh, everybody in town is delighted...except for love-smitten Constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet his affairs of the heart will have to wait. Vile, boorish Captain Bartlett, one of the guests at Priscilla's engagement party, has just been found murdered-shot while on a grouse hunt. Now with many titled party guests as the prime suspects, each with a reason for snuffing out the despicable captain, Hamish must smooth ruffled feathers as he investigates the case. When the hidden culprit strikes again, Hamish will find himself trying to save Priscilla from a miserable marriage-and catch a killer before he flies the coop.

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Product Details

Author:	M. C. Beaton
Mass Market Paperback:	214 pages
Publisher:	Warner Books
Publication Date:	July 01, 2004
Language:	English
ISBN:	0446607142
Product Length:	4.25 inches
Product Width:	0.75 inches
Product Height:	7.0 inches
Product Weight:	0.25 pounds
Package Length:	6.7 inches
Package Width:	4.1 inches
Package Height:	0.7 inches
Package Weight:	0.2 pounds
Average Customer Rating:	based on 20 reviews

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 4.0

( 20 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:

The further adventures of Hamish Macbeth Jun 01, 2005 By Jeanne Tassotto
This is the second book of the Hamish Macbeth series, picking up a few months after THE DEATH OF A GOSSIP.

The story opens as Priscilla Halburton-Smithe is driving her new fiance home to Lochdubh for a weekend houseparty at her parents' house. Tensions soon develop at the party, including the inclusion (or intrusion depending on your point of view) of local constable Macbeth into the group. Naturally there is soon a death to investigate, one that of course confuses all but our hero.

This is very much in the long tradition of cozy series mystery. The murder victim richly deserves his fate, the characters of those involved is more important than the action, and there is a large cast of recurring characters. Our hero manages to solve the crime while overcoming the incompetance of his superiors. There is even an ongoing romance.

If 'cozies' are your cup of tea you will definitely enjoy this series and will want to read them all.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Death of a cad Apr 13, 2000 By S. N. Hall
The Hamish Macbeth books are wonderful. I only came to discover the Hamish books after reading the thoroughly enjoyable Agatha Raisin series written also by M.C. Beaton. In Hamish's village of Lochdubh, curious characters abound and this helps keep the true killer's identity hidden to the very end. I have now read all of the Hamish books and I highly recommend "Death of a Cad" and "Death of a prankster" as two of the best. There is a television series loosely based on the books. It is very amusing but completely different (not mysteries at all); more an "All creatures great and small" without the livestock. I encourage everyone to give Hamish a try. The books are light yet clever. I can't wait for the next one!

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

Another enjoyable mystery from M.C. Beaton Apr 08, 2005 By William
I'm new to the Hamish Macbeth series. I read Death of a Poison Pen (set later than this novel) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Poison Pen had a lot of charm and funny characters, something this series is known for.
Death of a Cad is not quite as good as that one. It starts out as more of a typical mystery with the usual rich, English suspects sitting around in a big house. But once Hamish gets into the act, it gets a lot better. If this is the first book in the series you read, you'll still enjoy it, but if your impression is lukewarm, don't stop with this book. Read Death of a Poison Pen and other books in the series. I think you'll be charmed by the humor and characterizations. I plan to read more of this series.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Bring on More Hamish Macbeth. Jul 20, 2003 By S. Schwartz "romonko"
M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series is wonderful! I think I even enjoy him more than Agatha Raisin. He's funny, charming and smart. In this book Hamish gets drawn into a murder that happens in the house of his ladylove, Priscilla. Priscilla comes back to Lochdubh from a job in London with a new fiance in tow. Hamish has to stay on the sidelines and watch his beloved with another man. He handles even this appalling situation with grace and humour. But then a death occurs and Hamish is sure it's murder. He sets out to find the killer, but before he does another murder happens. But, never fear, he does solve the murder in the end, and it was a surprise to me.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Still not the best the series has to offer Apr 21, 2008 By Smeddley
This is the second book in the series, and we begin to see Priscilla's and Hamish's relationship take form. Though there is that pesky murder to deal with, although that seems more like background to the drama of the two of them working their way delicately about one another. It turns a plot-driven mystery into more of a character study. I might not have minded, except there is nothing remotely redeemable about Priscilla through most of this book. She's whiny and stupid and vapid. She can't even think on her own, and I cannot imagine what Hamish sees in her - other than she is described as very beautiful. In a lot of ways this story seems much older than it is, set at a time in the more distant past than the 1980s (like when Henry thinks to himself that woman shouldn't drive or wear pants, and Priscilla's overwhelming drive to please her parents).

If you're a fan of strong female protagonists, steer very clear of this book. It will drive you insane. Even Hamish is not in top form, but it could be that it's still early in the series. In later books he seems more... understandable. And you still haven't met a lot of the more colorful and interesting villagers - in later books they very much round out the story, making them more engaging and interesting.

The book has some bright spots, though, with some good dialogue and a pretty good mystery at the end. I'd say it's firmly middle-of-the-road as far as cozy mysteries go, if you can get past Priscilla.

See all 20 customer reviews on Amazon.com