Death of Yesterday (A Hamish Macbeth Mystery)

I almost skipped this book because I read several negative reviews....so glad I took a chance and bought it! May not be the best in the series but it was classic Hamish Macbeth, enjoyable like visiting an old friend. Looking forward to the next book!

This is a cozi series that endears itself in such a way that you fall in love with the characters and the country. It really makes no difference as to the plot because the strength of the characters and settings overrides all else....in my opinion. Don't get me wrong though, the plot is interesting with twists and turns and invariably there are multiple murders and usually murderers. I've read every Hamish book and only wish M.C. Beaton a very, very long life to keep the Hamish series going.

This book is well written and keeps the reader guessing till the end. The author is very good at describing the scenes and locations. Only shock is the high number of murders in such a small community!

This book is well written and keeps the reader guessing till the end. The author is very good at describing the scenes and locations. Only shock is the high number of murders in such a small community!

I liked some of the earlier MacBeth mysteries better, but M.C. Beaton always gives you a wonderful sense of escape - the gorgeous Highlands, some truly strange characters, and a village copper who does his best for everyone.

jJst love that Scot policeman. Maybe because I am Scottish & have 2 brothers who are cops. But this is fun reading . Love the descriptions of the Scottish highlands & the characters. M C Beaton takes you rigt there. Look forward to these mysteies & her Agatha Raisin. Now if only they could discover tru love.

As usual Hamish manages to get himself into trouble, but also as usual he come through in his usual humorous and solves the case. Beaton does again and writes a book that holds your interest and is up to his usual page turner.

No doubt about it this is brain candy, but wholesome brain candy. Beaton is a master at seeing the comic in any character. She puts them in the contained world of Lochdub and lets the fun begin. You are having so much fun that you fail to notice the subtle commentary on our failings.

Once again, M.C. Beaton enchanted me with her Scottish mystery. Hamish is one of my favorite characters of all time. Ms. Beaton transported me to another place that seems real. She is my favorite author.

I really love this series! The writing is fantastic, the characters are well-developed, the plot is full of twists and turns... what more can you ask for? If you love cozy mysteries this is the series for you! There isn't a single "Hamish" book that is bad.

Old stories written by dead authors, new stories written by authors still alive, can be just as good to read today as they were when written. Reading about Regency England is my favorite time period to enjoy. I picked this story because the author's style of storytelling matches my reading interest level. A complicated plot and storyline to challenge me as I read.

They say that "all good things must eventually come to and end," and I am extremely sad to tell you that this particular series has probably hit that point. This is (as far as I know) number 29 in my beloved Hamish Macbeth Mysteries. These books have been around since the mid 1980s when I first started reading them and I can assure you I have read them all...several of which I have read multiple times. Hamish, the local constable in a small Scottish village, has become almost a friend in my mind and I have to tell you I miss him. He certainly was not present in this cozy mystery nor was he present in the novel which preceded this one, "Death of A Kingfisher."It breaks my heart to write a review such as this.

This current novel, "Death of Yesterday," (Where on earth did the author come up with this title?), I had high hopes for feeling that the previous novel may have been just a fluke. I was wrong. While this one is not as wretched as Kingfisher, it most certainly is a mess and comes pretty close.

Being extremely familiar with all the books in this series I can assure you that this current offering is merely a cut and paste job, a very thin shadow of what was one of my top five cozy mystery series. The author has used the same ploys, plot twists, and indeed, almost the same sentences and paragraphs from previous novels. I could read one line, any line, of this current book and pretty well know almost to the word what was coming next...arrrrgh! The entire story seemed to be hurried and the author threw in so many unnecessary and superficial characters that it became quite difficult to follow the story.

And the body count...oh, my! When I read a cozy I normally expect one, sometimes two, very mild murders. Hey that is part of the genre. But in this one I might as well have been reading one of those police procedurals where the authorities are dealing with mass murders or even watch one of those chainsaw films I run across on late night T.V. I actually almost lost count of the dead bodies and almost dead bodies in this one. This IS NOT the reason I read these things!

Now what is sort of sad, but was the only redeeming feature of this book when all is said and done, is the fact that mixed into this awful mess were flashes here and there of the old Hamish stories. These were delightful paragraphs and each time I hit one of them I felt that maybe the author was turning a corner. Alas, my hopes were quickly shattered as I read on.

Hamish's love life has been done over and over and over again...same scenario, same results. I should also note that there was not one likeable character in this entire book and that would include Hamish. It would be difficult to find any location in the world populated my so many surely, critical and attitude impaired people. Even the animals, both dog and cat, usually a delight in these novels, only slept and ate and seemed more of a "bother" than anything else.

And the ending of this work.....!

I am giving this one two stars for the simple reason that I feel a loyalty to both the author who has given me much reading pleasure for the past 30 years and of course a loyality to Hamish. Had this been another author or protagonist I would give it one star. Will I read the next novel? Yes I will and hope for better.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

If you enjoy reading about Northern Scotland, with such great descriptions of the weather that you can feeeel yourself there, or if you like quaint and/or nasty characters, this is a good read. But how many names can a reader keep track of while reading? Get yourself a pencil and paper, because here are some, but not all, of the ones in The Death of Yesterday: The regulars: Hamish, Dick--his sidekick of the day, Priscilla, Elspeth, Annie, Angus the Seer, Archie the fisherman, sisters Nessie and Jessie, Mrs. Wellington, Angela and Willie. Then the cast of victims, suspects and informers: Morag, Celia, Stolly, Spotty and Snotty (just kidding about the last two), Joan, Jason, Abbie, Beordie, Hannah, Olivia, Charles, John, Freddy, Sean, Harry, Freda, Fergus, Stacey, Heather and Pete. Plus about eight other characters in two side stories that might have been meant for another book altogether--I couldn't keep track of it all. M. C. Beaton, bless her heart, has written this series and I thank her for it, because I have read every one, and with great pleasure.
I have escaped this callous world and visited Hamish and his friends in Lockdubh many times, thanks to her. A word of caution to any informers who tell Hamish they have something important about a case to tell him, but will meet him in the morning: You'll never make it through the night!

We're approaching 30 novels in the Hamish MacBeth series. It's tough for any author to get this deep into a continuing series - ANY continuing series. The audience will drop off if you continue to rehash the same material over and over again, BUT if you change too much and/or change the wrong thing(s), you can turn off your readership, too.

With "Death of Yesterday", I believe that the charming M. C. Beaton is looking at a critical juncture in her Highlands series. "What do I maintain? What do I evolve, and how quickly? What do I drop altogether?" I suspect that the title of this book may reflect the author's preparation for the next phase in Hamish's life and in how she relays it to her readership.

I include these thoughts in my review, because it is critical to my opinions - I felt "Death of Yesterday" was stale. We've seen so much of the subplots and subtexts from this book in the earlier Hamish MacBeth books. We have our colorful Highlands characters - although, in my opinion, less colorful in this particular book than in most others. It felt like some made a cameo - or were even just referred to - in order to "check off the box" that someone's favorite appeared in this story. We got to experience "Will he or won't he" with Priscilla, or Elspeth, or with some altogether new lassie? We got police politics, with the Chief's social snobbery and Blair's anger management issues and Jimmy Anderson's cooperation in return for a wee dram - unless potential promotion is on the line.

Yes, we have a murder. In fact, we have several - more than most other books in the series. And, of course, our village copper helps in the resolution of the matter with his unorthodox ways. What we didn't have, darn it, was enough new content to really make me feel like I made a good investment of time with this installment.

I apologize profusely, Miss Beaton, but I cannot in good conscious give this more than 3 stars.

Beaton’s latest is set mostly in the unfriendly town of Cnothan, where the townspeople “keep themselves to themselves.” Their proclivity for not sharing information slows down Hamish’s investigations. There is nothing very memorable in the storyline or the new characters, of which there are far too many. The significant occurrence is the return of Charles and Olivia, the two murderous children from “Death of a Kingfisher.” Beaton gives no reason for their return from America, but it’s not long before they target another victim. Meanwhile, the missing body of their last victim washes into view during a hurricane, and the two confess. As with “The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency,” Beaton’s stories are a lark, but it’s the continuing characters you care about most. Beaton’s humor shines through, using the Lochdubh villagers as a Greek Chorus to comment on Hamish’s lovelife and direct it as well. After learning that Hamish has become engaged to Elspeth, they manage to bring Priscilla back for a visit. Elspeth hears about it and ends up having a drunken one-night stand with a male stripper. It appears that the engagement is over.