Death of a Travelling Man is the ninth entry in the Hamish Macbeth series. This review assumes you've read the other books, but there are really few spoilers to the series.

Hamish Macbeth likes the quiet life and likes his adopted town of Lochdubh. He's not so sure he likes having been promoted to sergeant because now he's stuck with an assistant. Police Constable Willie Lamont is more than staff, however; he's moved in to Hamish's home in the police station. And Willie is not only gung-ho about the law but he's a clean freak and is always cooking. Poor Hamish, everything seems to be changing.

When Hamish comes across a camper illegally parked in town, he meets the handsome Sean Gourlay and his traveling companion, Cheryl Higgins. Soon after Sean moves the camper to the minister's property, life in Lochdubh becomes unsettled. Middle-aged women are seen bringing the drifter baked goods at a regular pace, petty thefts are reported, long-time residents put their house up for sale, and the minister seems to have lost his faith.

Before Hamish can gather evidence to solve the thefts, there is a murder. And this time it looks as if one of his friends and neighbors may be involved. Hamish is at loss of how to proceed; he believes in the law, but he trusts the townsfolk, no matter which way the evidence is pointing.

The Hamish Macbeth series is about more than the murder. It's about the easygoing Hamish and his life in the northern Highlands. It's also about his tentative relationship with the beautiful Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. Death of a Travelling Man doesn't let us down on any of these planes.

The murder mystery is nicely crafted in this entry, and I wasn't unable to figure it out any faster than Hamish was. One of Hamish's endearing characteristics is his ability to seem as if he were lazy and somewhat slow on the uptake when he is really way ahead of everyone else in solving the crime. The problem is that he doesn't want to be promoted because he's afraid that he'll be transferred to the city of Strathbane if he keeps doing a good job. He loves his simple small-town life and wants to have time to fish and visit with his friends.

This is a fun cozy series. The books are short but entertaining, and I highly recommend them. The audiobook was read by the fabulous Davina Porter. In fact, I started this series solely because she was the narrator. Porter is terrific, and I would listen to almost anything she read. I'm already looking forward to the next book in this series. ( )

#9 in the Hamish MacBeth cozy Scottish police procedural series in which a pair of “travelers” show up in an old converted bus in Lochdubh and Hamish immediately senses something amiss. Ruggedly handsome Sean and his scrawny girlfriend Cheryl seem to have brought nothing but ill will with them, though there’s nothing specific that Hamish can arrest them for, nor even hassle them about. None of the villagers will have anything bad to say about the pair—until Sean ends up with his head bashed in in the bus. And Hamish has enough on his plate, as he’s been promoted to Sergeant and how has a PC, Willie, who stays at the police station with him. Willie is a cleaning fanatic and is driving Hamish mad! Enjoyable read and as always a visit with Hamish is sure to put a smile on my face. ( )

Our favorite Scottish constable has been promoted and now has an underling
hanging about the police station that is driving him nuts, cleaning and
rearranging furniture and generally doing everything except police work. To
make matters worse, an old bus with a couple of hippies (known as
"travelers") in it has arrived in Lochduh, and is parked in a field behind
the vicar's house, with the vicar's complete blessing, so there is nothing
Hamish can do to make them move along, even though he feels in his bones
that these two are up to no good. And he is soon proved right when drugs
are missing from the doctor's supply, money is missing from the Charity Box,
and even Hamish's friend, Priscilla, has discovered a personal item missing.
And some of the villagers that Hamish has known for years have begun to act
strangely, sniping at each other, spending money recklessly, even putting a
home up for sale in the middle of one night. Then, the traveling man is
found, bludgeoned to death a few days after his girlfriend disappeared, and
Hamish has a complicated case to untangle. His shocking discoveries about
people he's known for years will stay with him for the rest of his life, and
it seems that the murderer must be someone from his very own village...

This was another pleasant visit with Hamish and gets the usual 4 from me. I
enjoy this series. ( )

When a suspicious gypsy and his girlfriend park their van in the midst of Lochdub, it's not long before the crime rate begins to soar. Although none of the villagers wants to give him any information, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth must solve a case that is truly bizarre.