M. C. Beaton. Death of Yesterday. Grand Central, 2013. A Hamish Macbeth Mystery.

We have been fans of the BBC mysteries set in Oxford: Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, and Endeavour. The three series cover a period of about fifty-five or sixty years covering murders in that university city. Each episode usually contains two or three murders. These shows might give the impression that Oxford is a dangerous city.

If that is the case, then County Sutherland in northern Scotland must be under a reign of terror as we start adding up the body count in the Hamish Macbeth stories. Hamish loves the town of Lochdubh because it is quiet and nothing ever happens. At least we are meant to believe this until we start seeing how many people get murdered in this sparsely populated region!¹

In Death of Yesterday, an Englishwoman comes north to work in a textile factory that is the main employer of the notoriously insular (even by Highland standards) town of Cnothan. Her haughty attitude earns her few friends, and she is murdered not too long after she arrives. It is true that no one seems to like her, but it is also true that no one seems to know her very well to have any motive for killing her.

As Hamish Macbeth investigates Morag’s murder, he finds everyone at the factory from the lowliest worker to the CEO is tight-lipped. As always Sergeant Inspector Blair is trying to get Hamish in trouble. And Hamish’s constable partner, Charlie, is quite lazy, but he takes good care of the pets and is a good cook.

What at first seems to be an isolated murder of a stranger turns into a small crime wave. Hamish dates Hannah who happens to be the sister of a suspect. She appears prettier than Hamish’s old flame Elspeth, and is in line to be taking over Elspeth’s new gig as a news anchor on a Glasgow television station. But she is discovered murdered as well.

Hamish does not usually go too far afield, except for an occasional trip to London, but here he flies to—Estonia. The wife of the CEO likes to travel, so Hamish sees if he can get her to open up.

We also encounter the weather prophet/seer Angus who has appeared in some of the other Macbeth stories. Hamish, of course, is usually a skeptic, but some people take him more seriously. In this tale Angus may have met his match. Does he really have “the gift,” or is he just an attentive busybody?

This is one of the more complicated Hamish mysteries. It will keep the reader guessing until the very end. There are surprises—both in the investigation and in his personal life. Fans of Beaton’s series will appreciate this one.

¹The latest (2021) mystery includes an introduction which assures us that Sutherland really is a safe place and that the Hamish Macbeth mysteries are fiction.