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Death of a Gossip
- Hamish Macbeth, Book 1
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Series: Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, Book 1
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense
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Summary
When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joins the local fishing class she wastes no time in ruffling feathers of those around her. Among the victims of her sharp tongue is Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth, yet not even Hamish thinks someone would seriously want to silence Lady Jane’s shrill voice permanently – until her strangled body is fished out of the river.
Now with the help of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish must steer a course through the choppy waters of the tattler’s life to find a murderer. But with a school of suspects who aren’t willing to talk, and the dead woman telling no tales, Hamish may well be in over his head for he knows that secrets are dangerous, knowledge is power, and killers when cornered usually do strike again.
M. C. Beaton is the author of the best-selling Agatha Raisin series. She has also written several Regency romance series. She lives between Paris and the Cotswolds.
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What listeners say about Death of a Gossip
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Julian E. Boyce
- 21-10-17
Light-hearted piece of Tosh.
I got this because I had never 'read' M C Beaton before and I felt it might have some amusement value amid all the serious crime and thriller stuff I have been listening to of late. Having started I kind of felt I might just have made an error but, y'know, it turned into a really amusing hoot. Light, frivolous, but hugely enjoyable. Who knows, I may be back for more.
21 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Orangesan Lemons
- 12-01-17
Back to the beginning
it has been a while since I read this the first in a long series of Hamish books and has a flavour of the classic murder mystery in its setting. A fishing school in a beautiful highland setting turns ugly and the star of the series Hamish uses his family contacts and various other wiles to solve the case and helps a liitle boy out into the bargain. This is not hard hitting but rather a cosy escapism with touches of humour. I personally like the little bit about the higland midges when getting coffee in spite of Lady Jane. The author has actually lived in Scotland and the Cotswolds where she sets her other series about Agatha Raisin so is writing about what she knows.
15 people found this helpful
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- Mary Carnegie
- 04-01-17
Classic murder mystery, first of a good series
David Monteath is a perfect narrator for the Hamish MacBeth stories. It's not great literature, but these are decent whodunnits, in the old style: without excessive violence, or dwelling on sadistic detail. The murder victim is always unlovable, scunners everyone in sight, and there is a very traditional cast of suspects, in a circumscribed location, so that a denouement in "the library" or similar is possible. Easier to manage in rural Sutherland than urban Central Belt...
Sutherland is WEATHER, all the west coast Gulf Stream warmth, but without the shelter God granted to more southern counties of Ireland, the islands, and Kintyre to preserve us from hibernation and procrastination.
The residents of Lochdubh are usually innocent souls, guileless, or only sinful in a small way; incomers often bring foreign vices, snobbery, greed, but also additional income. The men of Lochdubh certainly need a shakeup, but unfortunately this series has not yet given them the boot in the b---s they need.
Still, easy listening, amusing, agreeably resolved novels, with recurring characters to love or hate, nicely told.
8 people found this helpful
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- Robin
- 01-04-20
Entertaining and amusing
Perfect listen for times when you need something light to capture your attention , for a lazy afternoon or sleepless nights.
7 people found this helpful
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- gixxer
- 16-07-19
Relaxing
Absolutely relaxing . Could picture the highlands . Looking forward to the next one. Well done M C Beaton.
3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 13-12-20
David Monteath What Happened?
I know nobody will believe this but I only downloaded this book because the narrator is David Monteath. He was so very good narrating the Denzil Meyrick's DCI Jim Daley series. He brings those average stories to life and makes you want more. Unfortunately his attempt at a Liverpudlian accent in this book ruins it! The story is OK but not gripping and the somewhat unlikely method for solving the crime by the local policeman having relatives all over the worlf is neither credible nor ingenious. Avoid!
2 people found this helpful
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- Janet Matthews
- 08-09-17
light hearted.
light hearted good read. good story telling helps reader see beautiful scenery and put faces to characters
2 people found this helpful
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- Susi Moffat
- 24-06-21
He’s no Agatha Raisin, but he’s good
I’ve always been more of a fan of the Agatha Raisin books, but I have to say I really enjoyed this - the narration is excellent, and the story is as cosy as ever.
1 person found this helpful
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- NJ
- 16-06-21
Fabulous fun
As a fan of Agatha Raisin, I thought I would try Hamish Macbeth I in the 2 for 1 sale.
M C Beaton has not disappointed. Full of the kind of humour and well-written characters that I've come to expect, this was great entertainment.
David Monteith was a superb narrator.
1 person found this helpful
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- Sarah
- 10-05-22
Takes a while to warm up
how I got through the first half of this book I don't know! so boring. There was far too much fishing and scene building. Hamish Macbeth features very little until half way through but once he does then you can see why the stories and the character are popular. I enjoyed the latter third and I will try the next one and hope that the series continue as this one ended.
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- mr kieran j murphy
- 22-04-18
an interesting start
this is the first book in the Hamish McBeth novel. It is an interesting story, but not at the standard of Agatha Christie or the royal spy novels. will Continue with number 2 and see how it goes.
1 person found this helpful