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Death of a Perfect Wife
Series: Hamish Macbeth
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 10,416 ratings, 718 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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See moreThe fourth in the much loved Hamish Macbeth series from the author of the bestselling Agatha Raisin series - with a delightful new jacket style.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Hamish Macbeth is savouring the delights of a Highland summer, but as fast as the rain rolls in from the loch, his happy life goes to hell in a handbasket.
The trouble begins when his beloved Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns to Lochdubh with a new fiancé on her arm. His miseries multiply when clouds of midges descend on the town. And then a paragon of housewife perfection named Trixie Thomas moves into Lochdubh with her cowed husband in tow.
The newcomer quickly convinces the local ladies to embrace low-cholesterol meals, ban alcohol, and begin bird-watching. Soon the town's menfolk are up in arms, and Macbeth must solve Lochdubh's newest crime—the mysterious poisoning of the perfect wife.
Series: Hamish Macbeth
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A Highland Christmas
In dark, wintry Lochdubh, Christmas cheer is about as welcome as a flat tyre on a deserted road. The Calvinist element in town has always resisted what they view as secular frivolity, so for most of the townsfolk there'll be no carols, feasting, gifts - or even whisky on Christmas Day! And for PC Hamish Macbeth, there's no holiday from...Paperback$2699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Death of a Spy
All Sergeant Hamish Macbeth ever wants is a quiet life in the tranquil surroundings of Lochdubh, his home village in the Scottish Highlands. Although the area he polices is vast, he's happiest when he's working alone, yet the police authorities insist he has an assistant. In the past, they have supplied a variety of problematic misfits, but they surpass themselves...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Bore
Not bored to death but murder most foul . . . Celebrated author John Heppel is known in Lochdubh as a self-important bore, prone to belittling the scribblings of the locals in his creative writing class. So when he's found dead, his mouth oozing ink, it seems a fitting fate. But for PC Hamish Macbeth the murder is more than...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Gossip
When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joins the local fishing class, she wastes no time in ruffling the feathers—or should that be fins?—of those around her. Among the victims of her sharp tongue is Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet not even Hamish thinks someone would seriously want to silence Lady Jane's shrill voice permanently—until her strangled body...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Ghost
There are many ruined castles in Scotland. One such lies outside the village of Drim. Hamish begins to hear reports that this castle is haunted and lights have been seen there at night, but he assumes it's some children or maybe the local lads going there to smoke pot, or, worse, inject themselves with drugs. Hamish says to his policeman,...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Cad
When Priscilla Halburton-Smythe brings her London playwright fiancé home to Lochdubh, everyone in town is delighted... except for love-smitten Hamish Macbeth. Yet the affairs of his heart will have to wait. Vile, boorish Captain Bartlett, one of the guests at Priscilla's engagement party, has just been found murdered—shot while on a grouse hunt. Now with so many titled party guests...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Green-Eyed Monster
No one in Lochdubh expects Dorothy to stay for long... She is, after all, entirely unsuitable. She's an uptown girl, used to a fancy lifestyle in the big city of Glasgow. She'll never fit in. And how is that work-shy rogue Hamish Macbeth supposed to get anything done when his new assistant is such a distraction? The village needs a...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Celebrity
No wonder she's been crowned Queen of Cosy Crime Mail on Sunday Amazing news is spreading like wildfire across the Scottish countryside: the most famous of all Lochdubh, remotely nestling in the Highlands, is perfectly anonymous... until well-known TV reporter Crystal French races into town in her bright new BMW. PC Hamish Macbeth, dourly wed to duty rather than the...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Gentle Lady
Mrs Gentle has fooled everyone into thinking she is as sweet as she sounds—Gentle by name and gentle by nature. But local constable Hamish Macbeth isn't fooled. He believes this little old lady is actually quite sly and vicious, but he's in a minority of one. Or is he? When Mrs Gentle dies under unusual circumstances, the villagers of Lochdubh...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Kingfisher
'Explosive and engaging' - Booklist A featherbrained scheme to make cold, hard cash... PC Hamish Macbeth can't help but admire the resourcefulness of the Highlanders during the Recession - in tough times they have to lure tourists to their sleepy towns and the quaint village of Braikie has come up with a novel solution. It really doesn't have that much...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of an Addict
Are drugs responsible for a sighting of Nessie's long lost relative? Recovering addict Tommy Jarret has just rented a chalet to check out reports of a sea monster near the village of Drim. But when he turns up dead, apparently from a drug overdose, Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth finds the lad's demise to be particularly fishy . . . and...PaperbackSold Out -
Death of a Macho Man
The unconventional Hamish Macbeth finds that his own impetuousness places him at the centre of a murder investigation. Death accompanies a tattooed stranger to a tiny Highland town... Everyone in Lochdubh knows about the Macho Man - a mean bully claiming to be a professional wrestler and part-time explorer. His insults at the pub have caused brawls, while his furtive...PaperbackSold Out
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Death of a Perfect Wife by M.C. Beaton is part of the beloved Hamish Macbeth series, praised for its clever and sardonic storytelling. The book offers a charming mix of wry humour and sharp insights into rural life, reminiscent of Compton MacKenzie's style. M.C. Beaton's detective novels are considered cult classics for their masterful black comedy and are always a pleasure to revisit for fans of the series.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781472124098
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 02 May 2017
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Constable
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 20.0mm
Width: 128.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 180g
Pages: 240
About the Author
M.C. Beaton (1936-2019) was the author of both the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series, as well as numerous Regency romances. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages and have sold more than twenty-one million copies worldwide. She is consistently the most borrowed UK adult author in British libraries, and her Agatha Raisin books have been turned into a TV series on Sky.
Also by M.C. Beaton
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A Highland Christmas
In dark, wintry Lochdubh, Christmas cheer is about as welcome as a flat tyre on a deserted road. The Calvinist element in town has always resisted what they view as secular frivolity, so for most of the townsfolk there'll be no carols, feasting, gifts - or even whisky on Christmas Day! And for PC Hamish Macbeth, there's no holiday from...Paperback$2699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death features Agatha Raisin's neighbouring village of Ancombe, which is usually the epitome of quiet rural charm. However, the arrival of a new mineral-water company, which intends to tap into the village spring, sends tempers flaring and divides the parish council into two stubborn camps. When Agatha, who just happens to be handling the...PaperbackSold Out -
Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate
He was a vicar to die for - and he did! Agatha is going through a man-hating phase and so is unmoved by news of the captivating new curate. But when she meets the golden-haired, blue-eyed Tristan Delon, she is swept off her feet... along with every other female in the village. She is positively ecstatic when he invites her...PaperbackSold Out -
Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance
There may be trouble ahead... so will Agatha face the music? Can the feisty Agatha cut it as a private investigator? She soon learns that running her own detective agency in the Cotswolds is not quite like starring in a Raymond Chandler movie. But then walks in wealthy divorcée Catherine Laggat-Brown, and Agatha is given her first real case. Death...PaperbackSold Out -
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
The morning of Agatha's marriage to James Lacey dawns bright and clear. But her luck runs out in the church when Jimmy, the husband she had believed long dead, turns up large as life and twice as ugly. Agatha has a go at strangling him. James breaks off the engagement. So when Jimmy is found murdered the next day, Agatha...PaperbackSold Out -
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
The local ladies all deem Mr John a wizard, so when Agatha finds a few grey hairs on her head—and the rinse she tries at home turns her hair purple—she makes a beeline for the handsome Evesham hairdresser. As well as sorting out her hair, it soon becomes clear the charming man also has designs on her heart. However, their...PaperbackSold Out -
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
An unexpected hike to the Other Side... After time away, Agatha Raisin returns to her beloved Cotswold village of Carsely—and to her handsome neighbour, James Lacey. True, James seems less than thrilled to see her, but Agatha is soon distracted by a sensational murder. The victim, found in a field, is young hiker Jessica Tartinck, who spent her life enraging...PaperbackSold Out -
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden
Eye of newt, toe of frog . . . and murder most foul! Left with bald patches thanks to the wicked doings of a murderer from a previous investigation, Agatha flees to coastal Wyckhadden to re-grow her lost locks. With hair tonic supplied by a local witch, Agatha's tresses begin to flow - but the witch is found bludgeoned to...PaperbackSold Out -
Agatha Raisin: Beating About the Bush
Every new Agatha Raisin escapade is a total joy — ASHLEY JENSEN No wonder she's been crowned Queen of Cosy Crime — MAIL ON SUNDAY A Beaton novel is like The Archers on speed — DAILY MAIL The detective novels of M C Beaton have reached cult status — THE TIMES Irresistible, unputdownable, a joy — ANNE ROBINSON Agatha Raisin:...PaperbackSold Out -
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Death of a Spy
All Sergeant Hamish Macbeth ever wants is a quiet life in the tranquil surroundings of Lochdubh, his home village in the Scottish Highlands. Although the area he polices is vast, he's happiest when he's working alone, yet the police authorities insist he has an assistant. In the past, they have supplied a variety of problematic misfits, but they surpass themselves...PaperbackSold Out
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