M. C. Beaton

Hamish Macbeth, the laid-back constable of Lochdubh, Scotland, has a new Land Rover to drive and a Highland summer to savor, but as fast as rain rolls in from the loch, his happy life goes to hell in a handbasket. The trouble begins when his beloved Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns from London . . . with a fiancé on her arm. His miseries multiply when clouds of midges (the diabolical Scottish mosquito) descend on the town. Then a paragon of housewifery named Trixie Thomas moves into Lochdubh with her lapdog husband in tow. The newcomer quickly convinces the local ladies to embrace low-cholesterol meals, ban tobacco, and begin bird-watching. Soon the town's fish-and-chips-loving men are up in arms. Now faced with the trials of his own soul, Macbeth must solve Lochdubh's newest crime-the mysterious poisoning of the perfect wife.

Death of a Perfect Wife

Barbara Williford

A new couple moves to town to open a bed and breakfast. When the woman begins to change the lives of the towns people, she ruffles a few feathers and peaks Officer Hamish’s interest. When she turns up missing, there are numerous suspects.

A new couple moves to town to open a bed and breakfast.  When the woman begins to change the lives of the towns people, she ruffles a few feathers and peaks Officer Hamish’s interest.  When she turns up missing, there are numerous suspects. 

Travel to the Scotland Highlands with this classic Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery from the author of the Agatha Raisin series. Death of a Perfect Wife: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery Hamish Macbeth, the laid-back constable of Lochdubh, Scotland, has a new Land Rover to drive and a Highland summer to savor, but as fast as rain rolls in from the loch, his happy life goes to hell in a handbasket. The trouble begins when his beloved Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns from London . . . with a fiance on her arm. His miseries multiply when clouds of midges (the diabolical Scottish mosquito) descend on the town. Then a paragon of housewifery named Trixie Thomas moves into Lochdubh with her lapdog husband in tow. The newcomer quickly convinces the local ladies to embrace low-cholesterol meals, ban tobacco, and begin bird-watching. Soon the town's fish-and-chips-loving men are up in arms. Now faced with the trials of his own soul, Macbeth must solve Lochdubh's newest crime-the mysterious poisoning of the perfect wife.

Sarah Escorsa

Actual rating: 1½ 

I used to love anything M.C. Beaton. I guess my tastes have evolved because whenever I read an Agatha Raisin or Hamish Macbeth mystery these days I tend to find them boring and uneventful. I don’t mind light reading once in a while this is just too light! 

This instalment of the Hamish Macbeth series is not too bad, it’s just that it’s not fun or exciting. At all. I guess the whole “quaint little Scottish village with its quaint Scottish inhabitants” aspect of the series has lost its original appeal. The plot is itself is very weak and I guessed who the culprit was very early on. The characters are poorly done and feel like they are made of cardboard. I don’t plan to read more instalments in this series (or in the Agatha Raisin series for that matter).

Death of a Perfect Wife

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