Monday, October 19, 2009

Death of a Witch by M.C. Beaton

British author, M.C. Beaton has spun another tale about Scottish bobby, Hamish Macbeth, and the small Highland village of Lochdubh. This tale is also appropriately read in the fall when we are thinking about the ghosts and goblins of Halloween.

The hero is called to investigate the murder of a woman considered by many to be a witch, Catronia Beldame. Beldame has been giving local men a potion that is supposed to enhance a certain part of the anatomy, but actually just creates an itchy rash. Hamish is about to investigate the potion complaints when Catronia turns up dead. Is she killed by a jealous wife, an angry client, or someone who knows something more about her past?

Vying for Hamish's attention and assisting in assessing the murder clues are Priscilla, the daughter of the local innkeeper, and Hamish's former girlfriend, Elspeth Grant, a journalist for one of the area newspapers.

It's fun as an American to read the Scottish dialect in this book and to try to beat Hamish at solving the case.

Liz Nichols

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