REVIEW: Death of a Cad

Death of a Cad
Author: M.C. Beaton

Death of a Cad is the second book in the Hamish Macbeth mystery series. Macbeth is the village constable in Lochdubh, Scotland. He's got a bit of a thing for the daughter of a local wealthy resident, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. Imagine his disappointment when she brings home a fiance, a playwright from London with all the personality of a dead fish. Upper Class Twit basically. Priscilla's parents are glad to see their daughter not making goo-goo eyes at the local constable and settling down to a marriage within her own class, so they throw a party for Henry Withering. The upper crusties gather to meet the fiance. One of the guests, Captain Bartlett....a total womanizing cad....ends up dead. At first it appears to be an accident.....but then it becomes apparent that someone shuffled Bartlett off the mortal coil with extreme prejudice. Murder.  So.....which upper crustie is a killer??

I love the Hamish Macbeth series mostly because Hamish reminds me of the Scottish version of Columbo. Everyone thinks he is a bumbling, lazy, stupid village bobby.....but he is actually very observant and skilled at his job. While everyone else is observing social lines and graces, he's out looking for clues. For Hamish it's more important to find out who killed Captain Bartlett than to suck up to the local wealthy residents of Lochdubh. I was shocked at how they talk about how lazy and stupid he is when he is still in the room!! I found myself disliking Priscilla.....she uses Hamish when it suits her and teases him....then abandons him with she needs to kiss her family's asses to keep her money. Ick. He would be better off with another woman. Let her marry off to someone like the awful playwright she hooked up with to please her parents.....LOL....

I listened to the audiobook version of the story. The audio is just over 5.5 hours long and narrated by Antony Ferguson. Ferguson's voice and acting are perfect! He reads at a nice steady pace....and his accent is sublime! I have partial hearing loss but was easily able to hear and understand the entire book. All in all, a great listening experience!

There are 33 books in the Hamish Macbeth series. I have a lot of reading to do! M.C. Beaton also writes the Agatha Raisin series.