Following M.C. Beaton’s death, R.W. Green took over her series. He provided a tender introduction here to describe their arrangement and his friendship with "Marion".

In this story Hamish is in love with the newly-posted PC Dorothy McIvor and he is delighted that she feels the same way. This is a believable mystery with the focus on Hamish. Green has seamlessly taken over Hamish Macbeth and the delightful characters of Lochdubh. ( )

This is the 35th Hamish Macbeth murder mystery story from M. C. Beaton, actually written by R. W. Green, since Beaton died in 2019. In her later years Beaton was unwell and worked very closely with Green on plots, characters and storyboards for Hamish Macbeth books. Although it is unclear if this is the last Macbeth book, the story does give some kind of natural ending for the series if necessary.

PC Dorothy McIver is posted to Lochdubh to work with Macbeth and proceeds to charm all the locals, including Hamish himself. A murder on their patch sets them at odds with a big city crime gang, endangering themselves and other locals who get in the way. Macbeth is further hindered by the presence of the city crime team intent on solving the murder their way and not afraid of stepping on local toes.

This is a very good murder mystery, with a strong and believable plot and plenty of diversions (both characters and events) to keep the reader guessing. The focus here is almost entirely on Macbeth himself, with other characters hardly getting a look in at all, which I think is unusual for this series. However, the sense of place is as powerful as ever, and Macbeth’s humanity shines through.

Highly recommended. ( )

The series is still one of my favorites even though Ms Chesney is not around to write or supervise the writing. Mr Green does a beautiful job of keeping Hamish in work.

That said, this one breaks my heart. But you must read it to find out because I don’t want to spoil it for you. I hope there will be future novels so we can continue enjoying Hamish’s life and adventures. ( )

I have read all of the Hamish Macbeth series by MC Beaton, and hoped that after the author's passing we would get some closure with her wonderful characters. Although this one has a little bit different tone and voice, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Not sure if there will be any more going forward, but if it is the last, I liked the way this book left things. ( )

This was one of the better Hamish Macbeth stories. We really enjoyed it. Sorry to have MC Beaton gone, but RW Green has done a wonderful job picking up the reins. Great twists and still all the great old characters. ( )