Death of a perfect wife

A murder is committed and a killer is apprehended in this delightfully atmospheric mystery, but such mundane plot details are almost an afterthought to the main attraction: the languid village life of Lochdubh, which lies hidden, like the mythical Brigadoon, somewhere deep in the Scottish Highlands. Chief among the many beguiling characters who populate the town is local bobby Hamish Macbeth, whose steel-trap mind is masked by carrot-haired innocence and gallons of charm. Both qualities come into play in Hamish's delightfully old-fashioned romance with the fair Priscilla. Surrounding the lovers are a wealth of eccentric locals: canny crofters, gossiping wags who down swift pints at the local, puzzled policemen lured into a false sense of security by Hamish's laid-back ways. Oh yes, the murder. Trixie Thomas, a relentlessly do-gooding Englishwoman arrives in Lochdubh, stirs up trouble, and is promptly killed, her missionary zeal leaving a host of suspects in her wake. Fortunately, Hamish is on hand to find the killer before such unseemly behavior has a chance to spoil the atmosphere. --Peter Robertson

Constable Hamish Macbeth of Lochdubh in the Scottish Highlands returns to beguile readers in Beaton's fourth whodunit. With the arrival of Trixie and Paul Thomas from England, life in the tranquil village becomes chaotic, as brash Trixie establishes the Thomas house as headquarters for militant feminism. A ``perfect wife,'' Trixie subjugates her husband Paul and teaches the local women to follow her example. Obeying Trixie's dicta, the wives begin serving their spouses health food instead of ``harmful'' hearty meals, and campaign vigorously against smoking. It is no wonder that someone eventually murders Trixie; Hamish's problem is whittling down the number of suspects. As the pace of the merry tale quickens, gentle Hamish draws nearer to exposing the surprising killer whose motive is far different from what he expects. He is also gratified to find the male residents of Lochdubh admitting that they feel better--although not smoking and eating nutritiously--now that they are relieved of Trixie's domineering presence. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Trixie Thomas, "the perfect wife," moves to the highland village of Lochdubh and immediately gives Police Constable Hamish MacBeth the uncomfortable feeling that peace will be disrupted. He watches as she organizes other wives to reform the inhabitants and makes more enemies than friends. His uneasiness proves correct when she is poisoned. Prepare to be entertained as much by the fourth MacBeth mystery as by Davina Porter's charming Scottish lilt. Her unhurried reading sets the mood of the quiet town in which MacBeth makes his lazy but productive rounds. Recommended for all mystery collections.ÄJuleigh Muirhead Clark, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Lib., Williamsburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

There are new arrivals in Lochdubh, the Highlands village where police officer Hamish MacBeth represents law and order (Death of a Cad), and Hamish senses trouble. Paul and Trixie Thomas, English and pleading poverty, have taken over a decaying Victorian villa and plan to take in paying guests. Paul, obese and good-natured, seems totally dependent on Trixie--a handsome dynamo into health food, clean houses, and scrounging the neighborhood for objects to see at a profit, unknown to their charitable donors. But Trixie's energetic espousal of a variety of causes--from antismoking to saving bats--rouses the placid women of the village, alienates the men, and upsets old, established relationships. The town's Dr. Brodie--a fan of junk food, cheap wine and cigarettes, who loves his wife Angela despite her careless housekeeping and terrible cooking--hardly recognizes wife and home when Trixie gets through with them, driving him to thoughts of divorce. Other households suffer upheavals, and so Hamish isn't too shocked when Trixie is found dead of arsenic poisoning. His obnoxious superior, Inspector Blair, promptly arrests John Parker, a boarder at the Thomas house who turns out to be Trixie's ex-husband, but Blair is way off track. In his easygoing fashion, Hamish winkles out the true culprit and also discovers that his own longtime obsession with aristocratic, ambitious Priscilla Halburton-Smythe has been vanquished. The mildly intriguing puzzle takes a back seat, as usual, to Hamish's quiet strength and lively sketches of local characters and village ways. Hamish and Lochdubh continue to charm in a gentle entertainment. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.