2 out of 5 stars.
I’m a huge fan of M.C. Beaton (Marion Chesney) and I’m currently working my way through her Hamish Macbeth series. I’ve read a lot of them before, but not for several years and so am enjoying revisiting some. This book, however, wasn’t one of them.
I wasn’t such a huge fan of this book. I think a lot of the “cosy” charm of the Hamish Macbeth books is because he is a highland copper going about his business, sometimes stumbling over the truth, sometimes guessing. But this book turned him into an undercover, globe-trotting sleuth and the blundering, guessing and sheer good luck just didn’t work. It was going okay until that moment too.
Basically this story came across as if two ideas were put together and, for me, they didn’t work. The story went off on a tangent to add spice and adventure and excitement… then snapped back to the original story to “tidy up” and finish. To me, it came across as another story badly stapled into the middle of a typical Macbeth tale. Didn’t work.
Hoping the next book in the series returns to the old, tried and true format.
Until next time,
Janis. XXOO
Janis's Journal 