Death of a Maid

Mavis Gillespie is an unpleasant woman who works as a maid at various homes in Braikie; when she is found dead, bludgeoned with her own mop bucket, just outside the house of Professor Sander for whom she had worked, there are no mourners. Not even her husband or stepdaughter, both of whom have reason to hate her. Nevertheless, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth is determined to find out who murdered her, and when he realizes that she had been blackmailing her employers, among others, his list of suspects grows. But it is not until Shona Fraser, a researcher for a documentary team at Strathbane Television, is killed that Hamish begins to look in the right direction…. Another fun outing with Hamish Macbeth and the beautiful Scottish show more Highlands, this one features a number of rather despicable characters along with a few old friends. I must say I’m getting a little tired of the culprit turning out to be female in these books; sure, it’s de rigueur to do that these days, but it’s still true that in the real world perpetrators of violent crime are overwhelmingly male whereas I’d guess that something like 75% of the culprits in these books are female. A bit annoying, really. Nevertheless, mildly recommended. show less

After Constable Hamish Macbeth wins the cleaning services of Mrs. Mavis Gillespie in a church raffle, he wonders why anyone would hire her. She does a terrible job of cleaning and he suspects she's up to something when a personal letter of his goes missing. Macbeth suspects Mrs. Gillespie is trouble and isn't terribly surprised when she is murdered. He has plenty of suspects including many of her customers and he has to solve the case while ducking the attention of a documentary crew. When he's not trying to solve the murder and avoid promotion, he is wondering about the relationship between his ex-girlfriend Elspeth Grant and Luke Teviot. Who says village life is quiet?

"Death of a Maid" is another nice entry in M.C. Beaton's charming show more Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery series. I love my visits to Lochdubh and all the familiar elements that make this series so delightful are in this book - Hamish hiding his intelligence in order to avoid promotion; his mooching meals; his odd pets; Blair; the village people; Hamish's tangled love life. Hamish is a multi-layered character - despite his appearance of laziness he is a hard worker who really cares about the people in his village - his reaction when fisherman Archie Maclean is about to lose his boat is one of my favorite moments in the entire series. The mystery itself is well written with plenty of suspects, although I did figure out who the murderer was pretty early on.

There were a couple of things I didn't like about "Death of a Maid". While Hamish's being unwilling to commit to a relationship is a running and sometime humorous theme in this series, it wore thing for me in this book. I was pleased there was no Priscilla in this book, but I felt there was a bit too much Elspeth. Also, the book could have ended earlier, I felt the last few chapters were unnecessary - they felt written just to up the page count. But, despite those flaws, I really enjoyed "Death of a Maid". show less

A decent entry in the Hamish Macbeth series.  It probably could have ended earlier than it did (with the actual resolution of the murder).  The rest of the story seemed very contrived.  But I enjoyed the storyline of the maid who blackmails her clients.  It was interesting to see the perceptions vs. reality of the people in a small town.  And I enjoy Hamish as a character, so I'm always willing to read (or listen to) a story with him.

Those who have enjoyed previous books in this series will likely enjoy this one too. It has all of the elements of the typical Hamish Macbeth mystery. A miserable person dies and everyone is relieved. Hamish investigates and finds that the local cleaner was a far more nefarious woman than anyone thought. Hamish continues to have woman problems and fights with Blair.

There are a few new elements. A new police sergeant has arrived in Strathbane. Blair seems to have worn out his welcome, and I can never figure out why he hasn't been fired yet. I'm getting a bit tired of Hamish's woman problems. He's unable to commit, and weasels out of commitment whenever he's in danger of coming too close. The mysteries are still entertaining, but the show more side plots are getting a bit tired. Hamish needs to get Priscilla back once and for all. show less

"Armed with a bucket and mop, Mrs. Gillespie brings misery into the quiet life of Hamish Macbeth when he wins her maid srvices in a church raffle. He fears she's more likely to snoop than clean, since rumor has it that she damages more items than she dusts.

"Yet Macbeth has more upsetting issues to ponder -- his former girlfriend, reporter Elspeth Grant, is back in the village for a holiday with her new boyfriend. Then he gets notice that a TV crew plans a documentary on him. Its airing is sure to get him a promotion and transfer to the city -- and Hamish Macbeth would rather be boiled in oil than leave the serenity of Lochdubh.

"Though lately Macbeth's seeing the squabbling of seagulls and feeling an ill wind coming. Sure enough, Mrs. show more Gillespie is soon found dead under suspicious circumstances. And as he investigates the case, Elspeth's presence torments the red-headed bobby and drives him to folish antics. But what should really preoccupy Macbeth are the town's hidden secrets -- ones that will forace a ki9ller to lash out in deadly, irrevocable acts ..."
~~front & back flaps

A convoluted plot, lots of characters, another fleeting love interest, show less

I liked look of the book cover so I took a chance on a 23rd installment of a series. It's a chance I'm glad I took. It felt as though I was stepping into something familiar and familial, rather than being lost in details I didn't have. There was enough happening that I didn't want to put it down, which may have been part of finishing it in one night. The characters were cozy, the plot just twisty enough, and the gory yuck nonexistent. I'm definitely going to keep my eyes open for more in the series.

This is a typical Hamish MacBeth story--stock characters, stock story, and very comforting when told by a lovely narrator, Graham Malcolm.
A quite terrifying cleaning lady has a hold on a lot of people in the area. She is discovered murdered and, as usual, has a large number of people who could quite possibly have wished her dead.
Hamish does his usual poking around, in spite of the interference of his boss and works his usual magic.