Hamish Macbeth is savouring the delights of a Highland summer, but as fast as the rain rolls in from the loch his happy life goes to hell in a handbasket.
The trouble begins when his beloved Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns to Lochdubh with a new fiancé on her arm. His miseries multiply when clouds of midges descend on the town. And then a paragon of housewife perfection named Trixie Thomas moves into Lochdubh with her cowed husband in tow.
The newcomer quickly convinces the local ladies to embrace low-cholesterol meals, ban alcohol and begin bird-watching. Soon the town's menfolk are up in arms and Macbeth must solve Lochdubh's newest crime - the mysterious poisoning of the perfect wife.
"The much-loved Hamish Macbeth series... a beguiling blend of wry humour and sharp observations of rural life." - Good Book Guide
"The detective novels of M C Beaton, a master of outrageous black comedy, have reached cult status." - The Times
"The much-loved Hamish Macbeth series... a beguiling blend of wry humour and sharp observations of rural life." - Good Book Guide
"The detective novels of M C Beaton, a master of outrageous black comedy, have reached cult status." - The Times
"Beaton, a Scot herself, excels at giving readers a taste of Highland life and creating a believable character in the lonely, brilliant, continually frustrated-in-love Macbeth." - Booklist
"Beaton, a Scot herself, excels at giving readers a taste of Highland life and creating a believable character in the lonely, brilliant, continually frustrated-in-love Macbeth." - Booklist
"Superb entertainment, as rich and warming as a fine malt whisky, and every bit as addictive" - Houston Chronicle
"Superb entertainment, as rich and warming as a fine malt whisky, and every bit as addictive" - Houston Chronicle
"It's always a special treat to return to Lochdubh" - New York Times
"It's always a special treat to return to Lochdubh" - New York Times
"As usual, Beaton delivers a delightfully old-fashioned, absorbing village mystery." - Booklist
"As usual, Beaton delivers a delightfully old-fashioned, absorbing village mystery." - Booklist
"This fictional world-part cozy, part unsparing-can be highly addictive." - School Library Journal
"This fictional world-part cozy, part unsparing-can be highly addictive." - School Library Journal