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Death of a Ghost
Hamish Macbeth Murder Mysteries – Book XXXIII
M C Beaton

Constable (Constable and Robinson)
21 February 2017/ ISBN 9781472117243
Mystery

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

 

Hamish Macbeth expects that the ghostly noises emanating from Castle Drim are nothing more than locals playing pranks, but new owner and ex-cop Hanover “Handy” Ebrington wants them checked out. While investigating, Hamish discovers a dead body, but by the time the police have arrived it has vanished! Clearly something is going on, and it is up to Hamish to discover what before somebody else gets murdered.

Ms. Beaton has come up with the perfect recipe for writing a long-running series. She wisely does not age the characters and adds just enough changes to keep it interesting without shedding important people who readers would miss. Although almost everything is set in the Highlands in most books, we get to visit a different location and meet some new characters. There is a mix of the things people tend to associate with the area with modern additions and a twisty, rather unusual way of telling a story that usually spans a year. This time Hamish and Charlie visit the gloomy, secretive village of Drim and, despite the title, I can promise that there is nothing of the supernatural to be found there. To say what they do uncover would spoil the story, but as usual Ms. Beaton manages to cram a lot into not that many pages and deliver up another highly entertaining tale. As with all good series, we get to revisit the usual characters and find out what they are up to with a few surprises I didn’t see coming. I look forward to the next in the series, not only for the new story but to find out what happens to everybody. Highly recommended.

Reviews of other titles in this series

Death of a Gossip #1
Death of a Cad #2
Death of an Outsider #3
Death of a Macho Man #12
Death of a Dentist #13
Death of a Scriptwriter #14
Death of an Addict #15
A Highland Christmas #15.5
Death of a Dustman #16  [review 1] [review 2]
Death of a Celebrity #17  [review 1] [review 2]
Death of a Village #18
Death of a Poison Pen #19
Death of a Bore #20  [review 1] [review 2]
Death of a Dreamer #21 [audio] [book 1 ] [book 2]
Death of a Maid #22  [review 1] [uk review 2]
Death of a Gentle Lady #23  [review 1] [review 2]
Death of a Witch #24  [review 1] [review 2]
Death of a Valentine #25  [review 1] [review 2]
Death of a Chimney Sweep #26  [review 1] [review 2]
Death of a Kingfisher #27  [review 1] [review 2]
Death of Yesterday #28  [audio] [ book]
Death of a Policeman #29  [audio] [book]
Death of a Liar #30  [audio] [book]
Death of a Nurse #31  [audio] [book]
Death of a Ghost #32 [audio] [book]

Death of an Honest Man #33 [audio] [book]

Reviewed 2017
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