M. C. Beaton. Death of a Celebrity. Warner, 2002.

We have enjoyed the various Hamish Macbeth mysteries we have read and reviewed, and it has been a while since we have read one. Death of a Celebrity reached a point where I had to read past my bedtime to find out what was happening.

From the title, the reader can guess immediately who the victim will be. A beautiful emcee of a Highlands-based television program has made some enemies. Like some talk show hosts, Crystal French deliberately observes and interviews Highlanders to put a negative spin on them. She gets lots of hate mail, but her ratings are climbing throughout the U.K.

She is doing piece on the allegedly amateurish police work in the Highlands and is on her way to interview Hamish in Lochdubh when she is murdered. There are multiple suspects. Yes, folks who wrote nasty letters and phoned in threats are among them, but those things happen to all celebrities. There are people closer to her that deserve more investigation.

What about all those people she interviewed and made to look like idiots on television? And then there are people at the television station. What about Felicity, the woman whose show was replaced by Crystal’s? We learn that Crystal slept around to get herself promotions. What about one of her paramours—or one of their wives? She seemed to rub everyone the wrong way.

Some of the usual supporting cast is here. The alcoholic sergeant Jimmy Anderson shows up as does Inspector Daviot. It turns out Daviot and one of the television executives belong to the same fraternal lodge, which puts pressure on Hamish. Hamish’s true nemesis, Blair, is out of town in this one, replaced by one Carson from Inverness. Carson goes by the book—he insists Hamish call him “sir,” for example—but he is much more tolerant of Hamish and willing to consider his ideas.

As always, Hamish is trying to balance doing a good job but avoiding promotion so he does not have to leave Lochdubh. This is an earlier novel than some we have read, late enough so his dog is Lugs rather than Towser, but he has no cat yet.

Also this is the book that introduces us to Elspeth, one of Hamish’s two ongoing love interests. Hamish learns that is ex-fiancée, Priscilla, is engaged, and he has decided to have nothing more to do with women. Elspeth arrives in Lochdubh as a reporter who does the regular horoscope column. Other books remind us that her mother came from the gypsies. Hamish suspects some of the horoscopes are geared consciously towards certain people. For example, one the day she is murdered, Crystal’s horoscope warns her to stay home.

Elspeth helps with the investigation, and she and Hamish develop a mutual attraction. Alas, in typical Hamish fashion, there is enough mutual misunderstanding to make the relationship rocky. Hamish at one point sounds like a “Teenager in Love”:

Women, thought Hamish. I cannae figure them out at all. You want them, they don’t want you, you don’t want them, they want you. (191)

As always, this is a source of humor as well as some frustration.

The plot itself becomes a real page turner as more and more facts are learned. It seems as though the evidence is pointing pretty clearly to one suspect when that suspect gets murdered, too. And that murder sounds like a setup, perhaps associated with organized crime.

Without going into too much detail, neither murder mentioned here is the last of the body count…

There are no real dead ends or red herrings, just many complications that keep Hamish looking and keep readers reading. There will be a few surprises and humorous interludes on the way, but we know that Hamish will never transfer out of Lochdubh in spite of his ability to solve crimes. If nothing else, he knows his people. And M. C. Beaton knows Hamish.