DEATH OF A MAID: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
M.C. Beaton
Mysterious Press
Mystery
ISBN-10: 0892960108
ISBN-13: 9780892960101

A win at the church raffle leaves Police Constable Hamish Macbeth with the services of Mavis Gillespie, a vicious local gossip working as a maid --- although her snooping skills far outshine her cleaning abilities. When Macbeth discovers that Mrs. Gillespie has made off with a letter addressed to him from his ex-girlfriend, Elspeth, he decides enough is enough and vows to confront her with this little bit of thievery. Unfortunately, by the time he catches up to her, she lies dead in a pool of her own blood, the apparent victim of a fatal bucket bash to the head.

Macbeth now has the job of figuring out who murdered her, all the while knowing that his superior from nearby Strathbane, Detective Chief Inspector Blair, will undoubtedly take the credit --- as he always does. That doesn't really bother him, but a television crew intent on producing a documentary film on Hamish Macbeth certainly does. Comfortable in his role as village policeman, he curses his luck, for a well-run investigation with extensive media exposure could easily earn him a promotion --- the very thing he assiduously strives to avoid.

Soon, Elspeth, old flame and veteran journalist, shows up --- and with a new beau in tow. Macbeth pines for a return to the days of stoking the fire and tending his sheep, while his cat and dog make all the demands on him he would happily handle. But there's a murder case to solve.

Extraordinarily competent, while pretending to be a plodding policeman, Macbeth conducts a fine and thorough investigation, all the while trying to avoid Elspeth, Blair and the documentarians. He does so thorough a job, in fact, that he touches a raw nerve, sending the panicked killer into a downward spiral that leaves one reporter dead too. He wishes he knew what fatal piece of information the reporter had discovered.

As Macbeth works his way through the many witness interviews, he realizes, with mild surprise, the number of secrets that the Lochdubhians are harboring. And it begins to appear that Mrs. Gillespie had been unearthing those secrets rather than dusting furniture and mopping floors, for her bankbook reveals a sum that cannot be explained by a maid's modest earnings. It looks as though she had entered dangerous ground and become a blackmailer.

Macbeth finds there is no shortage of suspects. The victim's husband appears relieved by his wife's death. Her daughter sees a way to repair her ruined marriage now that her meddling mother is dead. Even the lady who runs the church bingo is not sorry that Mrs. Gillespie is gone. And there are myriad more. Good riddance, they all seem to say. Macbeth has a lot of sorting out to do.

Meanwhile, Elspeth keeps creeping into his thoughts. Try as he might, he cannot banish her from his mind. But what does his heart say? Is he simply jealous because there is another man in her life, or does he really want her back? He remembers how good they were together. But he also remembers they drove each other crazy. For now, he must forget about her and concentrate on finding this killer.

M.C. Beaton gives us delightful, refreshing, light reading. Sure, there's a dead body, but the victim deserved it. Plus, the killer is a despicable rogue. DEATH OF A MAID makes murder fun.

   --- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

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