Death of a Policeman by M. C. Beaton, a Mysterious Review.

Review: When Sergeant Hamish Macbeth learns that his superior officer has sent Officer Cyril Sessions to quietly investigate his activities, with the intent to determine that so little goes on in Scottish Highland community of Lochdubh to justify keeping the station open, he decides to lead the officer on. But when Sessions is found dead on an isolated stretch of beach, it is Hamish who finds himself at the center of the crime, investigated for the officer's murder, in Death of a Policeman, the 30th mystery in this series by M. C. Beaton.

This latest entry in this long-running series is fairly typical of what goes on in Lochdubh. True, there is a lot of down time for Hamish and his partner Dick Fraser, but they are generally respected by the local community and do keep the peace all the while solving the occasional crime that happens to land on their doorstep. There is a lot of humor in the goings-on, some of it probably not intentional, but it adds balance to the more serious aspects of the story. Probably the most compelling element of the plot is that the more Hamish digs into who might have killed Sessions, the more he inadvertently uncovers criminal activities completely unrelated to the murder. And as the end of the book nears, it isn't clear whodunit — or even whydunit. Still, while the unknown (and unexpected) is always a plus in a murder mystery, the journey to this point includes so many twists and turns that it actually gets a little tiresome. An entertaining mystery for what it is, fans of this series will no doubt welcome Hamish Macbeth's latest adventure but this may not be the best introduction to the characters for new readers.

Acknowledgment: Grand Central provided an eARC of Death of a Policeman for this review.

Hiss and Hers
Minotaur Books (Hardcover), September 2012
ISBN-13: 9780312616250; ISBN-10: 0312616252

Death of a Policeman

A Hamish Macbeth Mystery by M. C. Beaton