Death of yesterday

In the twenty-eighth installment of this series, murder once again disrupts Scottish Highlands Sergeant Hamish Macbeth's quiet routine of loch gazing and tending to his massive dog and wild cat. In the best tradition of the cozy, whoever is either new to the village or is the least popular resident (Macbeth patrols two villages Cnothan and Lochdubh along with great swatches of countryside) is always the next to go. The first victim here is a completely graceless, acerbic young woman, an art student working at a Highlands clothes factory during the summer, who seeks out Macbeth to report that she was raped the previous night. Macbeth follows up on the charge, finding intriguingly confusing bits of information about her. Three weeks later, her body is found in a dumpster outside the factory. And, as the number of murder victims rises, Macbeth does what he does best: ignore the bureaucratic grumblings of his superiors in the ugly big city of Strathbane, follow his instincts, and demonstrate the fine art of interviewing. Completely satisfying.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2010 Booklist

Near the start of Beaton's delightful 29th Hamish Macbeth mystery (after 2012's Death of a Kingfisher), art student Morag Merrilea complains to the Scottish police sergeant about the theft of her sketchbook in a pub where she was drinking heavily one night. When Morag disappears and later turns up dead, Macbeth attempts to solve the crime, but blustery Detective Chief Superintendent Blair keeps ordering him to do the most menial tasks. Meanwhile, Macbeth's love life has more snags than an old wool sweater, as shown by his strained relationships with Priscilla Halburton-Smythe and Elspeth Grant, not to mention his infatuation with Hannah Fleming, the sister of suspect Geordie Fleming. A second victim found by Macbeth ups the pressure and media interest. While Macbeth matches wits with a desperate and elusive killer, the dreadful Palfour teens from Death of a Kingfisher, Olivia and Charles, muddy the investigative waters. Cozy fans are in for a treat. Agent: Barbara Lowenstein, Lowenstein Associates. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.