Death of a Scriptwriter proved a very nice surprise even for a Hamish Macbeth fan such as myself. I've come to relish time spent in the Highlands with the quirky villagers of Lochdubh. I was a late-comer to this fun mystery series, and ended up reading them in quite haphazard fashion, completely out of order. I'm delighted to say it did not lessen my enjoyment of the series whatsoever. It has given me an appreciation for how charming the series truly is; and sadly was, now that the author has passed.

This older Hamish mystery has poignancy and depth, augmenting the well-plotted mystery. The trademark humor fans have come to enjoy is rife throughout, but this one has that special something which makes it stand out as one of the finest in the long-running series from M.C. Beaton. I would even say the character of Patricia Martyn-Broyd, a mystery writer whose better days are behind her, is actually quite memorable.

But before you begin to get the idea that Death of a Scriptwriter is too serious in tone, be reassured that everything we love about our favorite constable and those quirky Lochdubh villagers whom Hamish mooches food from while solving the mystery is here in abundance. When a television crew wants to film a local mystery writer's book, everyone wants to be a star. But Lady Harriet Vere has been changed in ways which doesn't please everyone. There are so many despicable souls running around the Highlands, in fact, the reader isn't sure who will be murdered, much less who will do the dirty deed.

As usual, Hamish has his nasty boss Blair with which to contend in the initial stages. But when Blair finds himself in hot water, Hamish discovers his replacement is even worse! Attempting to get over his breakup with Priscilla by catching the eye of a lovely lass who happens to be a suspect, Hamish will be confronted by quite a bit of violence before the case is solved.

Dark comedy and a good village mystery, supplemented by characters who've grown on us, make Death of a Scriptwriter a deceptively complex and poignant mystery. While this series is always entertaining, often grandly so, this one has some bite to it. I highly recommend picking this one up if you somehow missed it. Hamish's wild cat, Sonsie, and his dog Lugs are not around yet, but you'll have so much fun in Lochdubh, you'll barely notice. A terrific read. ( )

Macbeth and the TV People
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (2020) of the Mysterious Press hardcover original (1998)

Death of a Scriptwriter has Lochdubh village constable Hamish Macbeth dealing with the filming of a Strathbane TV series in the Highlands. The scriptwriter and some of the actors & production people are the apparent targets of either a vengeful local or one of their own. The original novel writer is on hand and is irate about the adaptation of her book. Perhaps this is author M.C. Beaton winking at the audience over the adaptation of her own books into the Hamish Macbeth TV series which also wasn't faithful to the books, but was at least charming in its own way.

This edition on Audible Audio has the excellent narration of series regular Shaun Grindell. ( )

I've read a bunch of Hamish MacBeth mysteries, but not in a number of years. I don't know if my memory of them is faulty, or if I've grown past them, but I didn't enjoy this one as much. All of the characters were fairly miserable, either being downright nasty or being absently neglectful and hurtful. The only decent characters were Hamish himself and his colleague Jimmy Anderson.

It was nice revisiting an old series, even if, in doing so, I learned that it's not something that brings me pleasure anymore. ( )

I’m having a quandary with M.C. Beaton books at the moment - or this series, in that domestic violence frequently appears and there is often gaslighting of it rather than resolute condemnation. The weird thing is reading the “victim deserves it” attitude of some characters which frequently goes unchecked. I’ll persist for the moment but to be honest if it continues into future books I may have to walk away from this series. ( )

Filming in highlands leads to murder. The plot is very weak, very poor character development - nothing like others in this series I have read. ( )